The Second Shift Arrives; USA Preps for Honduras

Honduras US Wcup Soccer

Clint Dempsey and the USMNT rendez-vous with the Catrachos again. (Photo: The Guardian)

by Roderick MacNeil

Early last week we broke down our USMNT roster projections for the October friendlies. Things shook out more or less like we thought they might, with a second wave of MLS players arriving in camp for the Honduras match. Several others were sent back to their clubs after the Ecuador match, and we’re left with a roster that has a very different feel than the one that showed up in East Hartford four days ago. A few of the names are different than our projections, with injuries playing a partial role, but Jurgen Klinsmann did in fact try to work with MLS as best he could to avoid players missing club matches.

The Changes for Honduras:

New Arrivals

  • Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Forward
  • Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Midfielder
  • Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Midfielder
  • Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City), Midfielder
  • Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Defender
  • Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Goalkeeper

Just Departed

  • Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Forward
  • Joe Gyau (Borussia Dortmund), Forward
  • Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Midfielder
  • Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Defender
  • John Brooks (Hertha BSC), Defender
  • Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Goalkeeper

What jumps out at me here is that nearly all of the new arrivals are Starting XI caliber. That means many changes expected from Friday night.

Here’s what else we know based on the roster changes, and news that has emerged from training camp over the holiday weekend:

  • Sadly, Joe Gyau was sent back to Dortmund far earlier than expected. The injury news is grim; he’ll be out until at least January after surgery to repair a meniscus tear.
  • As announced last week, Nick Rimando will go the full 90 minutes vs. Honduras. Brad Guzan has returned to England. Neither Bill Hamid nor Sean Johnson will see game action.
  • Comments from Jermaine Jones at training this weekend suggest a positional change, even if just an experimental one. It’s hard to envision that new spot to be anything other than center back, so look for him there.
  • Is the Jones move a reaction to a lack of center back depth, or perhaps moreso, has Mix Diskerud forced his way into the lineup? A Diskerud-Bradley central pairing is intriguing and may get a run out.
  • Klinsmann indicated that he’d use this match as an opportunity to put younger players on the field with experienced veterans and see how they respond. Another start for DeAndre Yedlin and Greg Garza makes sense.

Here’s a look at the full projected Starting XI:

USAHON

Substitutions: I think we’ll see a lot more of Alfredo Morales and Bobby Wood again. Miguel Ibarra should make a late cameo just get his feet wet. Tim Chandler, Michael Orozco and Joe Corona also like see minutes.

PREDICTION:

United States 2, Honduras 0

USA: Dempsey 24′ (Bradley, Zusi)

USA: Altidore 67′ (Morales)

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