Compelling Soccer

Four days ago, this was supposed to be do or die time for the US men's national team. They were supposed to be fighting for their World Cup lives in the nation's capital against Costa Rica. The winner went to South Africa. The loser likely had two dates with Argentina complete with a probable complementary trip home. It represented the doomsday possibility for the US. As unlikely as a loss on the home turf would be, the lead up and game was going to be a nerve wracking experience.

And then the US won in Honduras and made the game completely inconsequential.

Well that's not entirely true. It's still means something to both Costa Rica and Honduras, neither of whom wants to end up in that spot. But it means zip to the US, unless you are a believer they are fighting for a seed in the Cup. (Right now, that doesn't look likely) A relatively meaningless game for the US against a team who needs it more than anything else right now could provide the squad with a nice opportunity to take a look at some of the other US players in a major role squaring off against first team competition. In other words, it's a chance to start the selection process for who is making the trip next year.

Of the team that played Saturday, Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onewyu, Jonathan Spector, Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Charlie Davies and Jozy Altidore are probably the only locks. Of the guys who didn't play, figure Clint Dempsey is as close to a lock as Donovan. For everyone else, the chance to impress starts Wednesday and it may well be the best opportunity for the guys already called in, to do so. The Friendly can be a handy tool, but it's no substitute for the intensity of a team fighting for it's World Cup life.

Now, it's true that since the main lineup has already been called in, Bob Bradley probably doesn't resort to the entire second team for this one. But I do think it's possible we see some changes in the lineup. How could you not; the opportunity is too great. Sure you want to win the group for pride, and Honduran fans may not like if the US doesn't send out it's "A" team, but who cares about them? It's about finding out your best 23 players, not about helping Honduras make the World Cup.

So with that in mind, here's what I would do:

--------Cooper-----------Casey-----------

---------------Feilhaber---------------------

-----Donovan-----------------Holden----------

-----------------Torres-----------------------

Spector----Onewyu----Conrad------Cherundolo

-----------------Guzan------------------------

Subs: Howard (GK), Goodson (D), Bocanegra (D), Rogers (M), Bradley (M), Clark (M), Altidore (ST)

It's the 4-4-2 again, with one holding mid. I give Michael Bradley a break for a few reasons. One, I want to see what Jose Francisco Torres can do in the holding role. This kid has talent, it's time to see it once again. Plus if you are a believer in such things, he might want some revenge. It is the Costa Rica game at the Saprissa where Torres got demoted in the first place. The other reason is that while yellow cards are wiped out after qualifying, red cards are not. Who is the US player most likely to pick up a red card due to undisciplined play? Michael Bradley.

It might surprise you that going with a second string lineup, I left Donovan in there. Why? Because nobody is auditioning for that spot. I'd prefer to see what the midfield and strikers can do with Donovan, rather than without him. You want to evaluate their roles on a team with Donovan on it. That was a problem in the Gold Cup for players like Stuart Holden; if they aren't going to be playing that role on with the big boys, then it's hard to take stock of their performance. Likewise, if he were healthy, I'd probably have Dempsey on the field in Holden's spot.

After I wrote a piece yesterday arguing why Conor Casey should not start, it might seem hypocritical to put him in. But this isn't the A team lineup. He's still behind the top two strikers of Davies and Altidore, but neither are in this 11. He's paired with Kenny Cooper, which may seem odd at first given Cooper is also a big guy. But he doesn't play like a prototypical target striker or true holding forward, so he fits more of the Davies role. I don't think the two are opposed to one another, so it could be interesting to see what they can do together.

For the backline, I think it's finally time we give Spector a look at left back. It could be that Edgar Castillo is the long term answer, but we don't know that yet. I'm fairly confident it isn't Jonathan Bornstein. In the meantime the Spector/Cherundolo combination might be the best one we've got, depending on how you feel about Carlos Bocanegra or Jay Demerit. Finally Jimmy Conrad starts at center back. I'm not sure he's truly international caliber, but there's no time like the present to find out.

There's little need to play Tim Howard in this one, so Brad Guzan gets the start.

The subs are mainly the normal starters with the exception of Clarence Goodson and Rogers. I'd bring Goodson in at some point, possibly with Conrad to spell Onewyu, though I suppose it might be wrong to deprive Gooch of the only playing time he's seen as of late. Rogers is there because he may deserve one last opportunity to prove he doesn't belong.

It wasn't supposed to be this way, but this is a great opportunity for Bradley to learn a bit about the lesser players of the US squad. He would be doing himself and the US' chances at advancing past the group stage in 2010 a disservice by not taking it.