A strange 2018 for the United States men’s national team is winding down, who play their final home friendly of the year tonight against Peru. We’re over a year past the colossal failure to qualify for the World Cup, and progress has been iffy at best. On one hand, exciting young players have been brought in at the expense of veterans from the group that embarrassingly finished 5th in Concacaf’s final round of qualifying. On the other hand, it took months to hire a general manager, and the search for the next USMNT head coach is a) still (still!) ongoing and b) is probably going to end with a fairly uninspiring domestic hire whose brother happens to be in a powerful position within US Soccer.
Anyway, amid all that, let’s see if this team gained anything from being sliced and diced by Colombia a few days ago.
Location: Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field (East Hartford, CT)
Kickoff time: 8:05pm Eastern (broadcast starts at 7:30)
Projected USMNT starting 11: (4231) - Brad Guzan; DeAndre Yedlin, Matt Miazga, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Ben Sweat; Wil Trapp, Kellyn Acosta; Tim Weah, Julian Green, Jonathan Amon; Bobby Wood
Bench: Ethan Horvath, Reggie Cannon, Aaron Long, John Brooks, Antonee Robinson, Michael Bradley, Fafa Picault, Marky Delgado, Kenny Saief, Andrija Novakovich, Josh Sargent
Dave Sarachan said that he was going to rotate a bit, and also confirmed that Guzan will start today. The rotation is a complete guess here, but if this projected team is right, the changes will be Carter-Vickers for Brooks, Sweat for Robinson, Trapp for Bradley, and Amon (arguably the most interesting player in this entire squad) for Saief.
As a D.C. United site, we’d love to see Bradley go 90 here, but it seems unlikely after his struggles against Colombia.
Available TV: ESPN2, UniMas, Univision Deportes
Available streaming: WatchESPN, Univision Deportes
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.
What do we our friends have to say about it?: Stars and Stripes FC has a USMNT-centric preview by our own Donald Wine II and an in-depth look at Peru.
What are you drinking?: I don’t care that it’s not the right time of year for mint juleps. I’ve got a bunch of mint syrup, I’ve got half a bottle of Rittenhouse bottled-in-bond rye, and I’ve got enough Libette Castille bas armagnac to make this twist on a julep, so I’m gonna make one.
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