The United States Men National team is gearing up for the Gold Cup, the team has struggled the last two games as they lost to Jamaica 1-0 and Venezuela 3-0. In this post, I’ll explore who I believe should be the 23 representing the US this summer please note that John Brooks, DeAndre Yedlin, and Tyler Adams are all out with injuries. The starters are in bold, I’m going with a 4-2-3-1 formation.

what are some of the bigger storylines surrounding the @usmnt heading into the gold cup? we discuss @FOXSoccer



On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being very, how concerned are you about USMNT? pic.twitter.com/HcKcLAfFSX — Stu Holden (@stuholden) June 15, 2019

Goalkeepers: Zach Steffen, Ethan Horvath, Brad Guzan- Zach Steffen is the clear starter and our best keeper he has struggled the last two games but he’s our best option. Horvath is a quality keeper that plays in Belgium he’ll be our number 2. Our 3rd goalie will be Brad Guzan, 3rd goalies rarely are forced into action and his leadership and mentorship could be a huge influence on this young team.

Left Backs: Antonee Robinson and Jorge Villafana- The player pool at left back is very poor and its slim picking Robinson has showed flashes of potential but has also struggled, Villafana has experience and is the next best option to be the main backup.

Center Backs: Matt Miazga, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Walker Zimmerman, Erik Palmer-Brown- Matt Miazga and CCV get the start here Miazga because of his experience, and CCV because of his youth and potential. Zimmerman and Palmer-Brown are young and can use this experience to learn from the more experienced Matt Miazga.

Right Backs: Nick Lima and Shaq Moore- Nick Lima has proven serviceable in the friendlies he’s played. Moore showed enough potential and talent to warrant a roster spot in the friendlies he played in.

Center Midfielders: Weston McKennie, Kellyn Acosta, Joe Corona, Russell Canouse- McKennie is the only clear starter here as it would be a battle for playing time after. Acosta has shown quality and gave the US great minutes and starts so he’s proven and he’s only 23 years old so no need to give up on him yet. Corona has floated around the team and makes it as a fringe player, Canouse has given DC United quality minutes so he gets the call up here as well.

Left Midfielders/Wing: Tyler Boyd and Jonathon Amon- Tyler Boyd has just joined the United States player pool from New Zeland, he impressed in his debut vs Venezuela he gets the starting nod. Amon is has a lot of raw talent, but again he has too much potential to leave off the roster.

Central Attacking Midfielders/Number 10s: Christian Pulisic and Julian Green- Pulisisc may already be the best male American soccer player of all time so no argument that he’s the starter. Julian Green has been around since the 2014 world cup and has played well when he gets a chance so we’ll give him another chance with this roster spot.

Right Midfielders/Wing: Timothy Weah and Lynden Gooch- Weah has been prolific for club and country when he gets match time so he’ll be the starter to help bolster the attack. Gooch barely made it on the roster over Emmanuel Sabbi, Gooch is still young (23 years old) this can be a huge opportunity for him to break through into a regular on the senior team.

Strikers: Josh Sargent and Bobby Wood- Sargent is the future goal scorer of the USMNT for the next decade why not start him now during this Gold Cup? Wood has scored some goals for the US, he’s only 26 but he’ll bring some much needed experience.

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