The U.S. national team takes on Ukraine in Larnaca, Cyprus, on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, and Jurgen Klinsmann has made some bold selections for the Nats.
In a 4-2-3-1 formation, Klinsmann has used a mixture of youth and experience from the start in the friendly which will provide the USA with a big test.
Tim Howard is in goal, while there’s a makeshift back four of Geoff Cameron at right back, Oguchi Onyewu and John Brooks in central defense and Fabian Castillo at left back.
In front of them, Jermaine Jones and Sacha Kljestan will sit in as the holding midfielders, with Alejandro Bedoya, Clint Dempsey and Fabian Johnson in front of them. Jozy Altidore is the USA’s lone striker.
With this match acting as the final audition for many of Klinsmann’s European based players, Onyewu and Brooks will have to shine at center back against Ukraine’s speedy attackers. Kljestan also needs to have a big game, while many thought Aron Johannsson could oust Altidore from the U.S. starting lineup, but the AZ Alkmaar star has been left on the bench.
Do you agree with Klinsmann’s starting lineup? Here it is...
U.S. starting lineup vs. Ukraine: Howard; Cameron, Onyewu, Brooks, Castillo; Jones, Kljestan; Bedoya, Dempsey, Johnson; Altidore. Subs: Spector, Morales, Johannsson, Guzan, Williams, Packwood, Boyd, Agudelo, Shea
Here at ProSoccerTalk we will have a recap, plus reaction and analysis from the USA’s encounter with Ukraine.