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USMNT Starting XI and MLS Weekend Ahead

 Gregg took a new tactic, that I'm sure won't continue in non-friendlies but he named his starting eleven for Saturday's match in St. Louis. From the looks of things Gregg really wants to beat Uzbekistan. Let's have a look at what he announced:

GK: Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest)

RB: Sergino Dest (PSV)

RCB: Chris Richards (Crystal Palace)

LCB: Tim Ream (Fulham)

LB: Jedi Robinson (Fulham)

CM: Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo) OR Tanner Tessman (Vanezia)

AM: Yunus Musah (AC Milan)

AM: Weston McKennie (Juventas)

ST: Florian Balogun (Monaco) half time sub Ricardo Pepi (PSV)

RW: Tim Weah (Juventas)

LW: Christian Pulisic (AC Milan)

First off, that is an impressive club list to type, especially considering everyone except Chris Richards is a regular starter/important role player for their club. You have Premier League and Champions League players all over the field. It's our best XI minus Gio and Tyler Adams. 

The result is far less important to me than how we look tactically. The last time we saw this group (mostly) together was Nations League semi finals and finals where they decimated Mexico and Canada under BJ Callaghan. Under Callaghan they played with Reyna at the 10 and moved the ball fast and forward often. Berhalter has often been criticized for his high line, build out of the back system. This group needs some creative flexibility. Ream and Richards can move the ball vertically off the back line and Dest/Jedi can score and play quality defense. 

My prediction USA 3-0

There are 63 MLS players called up for national duty across the league, and different clubs are impacted very differently. You can find the list from MLS here but Inter Miami lead the way with nine members of their team called up. I would expect a healthy dose of Busquets, Jordi Alba, Campana and Farias this weekend. 

It's really poor planning by MLS to not break for the international window. If you're trying to sell the idea that every game matters then you can't have teams fighting for playoff positioning missing seven to nine players in September! 

There are a lot of good games on the schedule this weekend and I will be tuned in while not missing the US match!



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