The U.S. men’s national team host Brazil at MetLife Stadium on Friday, with Dave Sarachan once again going with a very youthful squad.
USMNT’s interim head coach has said he will introduce new players for the challenging upcoming friendlies in October and November but it’s likely the majority of this young squad, which has featured heavily for the USA over the past 12 months, will continue to lead the charge.
Below is a look at the USMNT’s strongest lineup based on the players available for the game against Brazil.
JPW’s strongest USMNT starting lineup v Brazil
----- Steffen -----
---- Carter-Vickers ---- Brooks ---- Miazga ----
---- Yedlin ---- Adams ---- Trapp —— McKennie ---- Robinson ----
---- Weah ---- Wood ----
Evaluation
There is no doubt Steffen is the number one goalkeeper for the USMNT. His recent displays for the Columbus Crew and for the USA against France underlined that. In defense, the USMNT look really solid in a 3-5-2 formation and CCV and Miazga alongside the returning Brooks will be a well-balanced central defensive trio. In midfield Adams and McKennie will play and I’d be surprised if Trapp doesn’t start instead of Weah or Arriola in attack. Trapp will add an extra shield in front of the back three. Yedlin and Robinson love to get forward and are perfect wing backs in this system, while Bobby Wood will chase lost causes all day long and is a real veteran at this point. Wood and Weah linking up is key to the USMNT sustaining attacks but this lineup is all about defending first and trying to hit Brazil on the counter.