We’ve spent a lot of time harping on Jurgen Klinsmann’s United States roster selections in these parts. Outside of the USMNT boss’s maddening inability to see how much better Bill Hamid is than other members of the American goalkeeping pool, there’s also the general puzzle of how he evaluates players all over the field. To a certain extent, the roster he selected for this international window - along with Cuba, the US plays New Zealand at RFK Stadium on October 11th - is just another example of those problems.
However, let’s take a different angle this time. Let’s talk about the players we’re excited about seeing don the red, white, and blue...er, black, red-ish, and blue-ish. Thanks Nike. Obviously the guy at the top of our list is D.C. United’s Steve Birnbaum, who continues to battle with Geoff Cameron, John Brooks, and Omar Gonzalez to be a regular starter at center back. Cameron and Brooks have the inside edge, but Klinsmann clearly sees some things in Birnbaum. Why that doesn’t apply to Hamid, I’ll never...
No. I’m not going to do it. Let’s stay on track. Former United defensive midfielder Perry Kitchen is in the squad too, and here’s hoping he gets a chance to show that he can be a good partner for Michael Bradley. Cuba is not a challenging opponent, so the job for Kitchen here is showing how well he fits in alongside Bradley, who remains a surefire starter. He’ll have to beat Danny Williams to get those minutes, though, and possibly even Sacha Kljestan if Klinsmann goes back to a 442.
Christian Pulisic is obviously the player currently most likely to send USMNT fans into a tizzy, and for good reason. It’s not every day, or every decade, that an American player is getting to play decisive Champions League minutes against Real Madrid on merit rather than out of desperation. However, let’s not forget Lynden Gooch, another promising young American. The former US under-20 is up for his first cap after appearing in five of Sunderland’s first seven league matches this year (with four starts). He and Pulisic playing on opposite flanks could possibly be the US’s look for years to come.
Location: Estadio Pedro Marrero (Havana, Cuba)
Kick-off time: 4:00pm Eastern
Available TV: ESPN 2 (English), Univision (Spanish), UniMas (Spanish), Univision Deportes (Spanish)
Available streaming: WatchESPN (English), Univision Deportes app (Spanish)
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.
Treat this as the gamethread for tonight’s game.