The USMNT take on Canada in Toronto on Tuesday in a very tasty CONCACAF Nations League clash.
With Gregg Berhalter’s side beating Cuba 7-0 last Friday, they’ll be up for a much tougher test this time.
This feels like a massive game in determining which direction Berhalter’s reign will go in, as a convincing win will make a statement but a defeat would see plenty of questions asked about any progress made over the past two years.
Canada’s attacking trio of Junior Hoilett, Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David will cause the USMNT defense lots of problems, with Davies a global star in the making after being named among the Golden Boy finalists.
As for the USMNT, Berhalter will hope Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Zack Steffen stand tall throughout the spine of the team as Canada fancy their chances of grabbing a marquee win in front of a fired up home crowd.
Below is a look at the strongest possible USMNT lineup, in our opinion, with some reasoning as to why these players should be selected.
USMNT starting XI versus Canada
—– Steffen —–
— Yedlin — Miazga — Long — Ream —
—- McKennie —- Bradley —-
— Morris — Lletget — Pulisic —-
—– Sargent —–
Analysis
Berhalter has said Steffen will start in goal, so no surprise there. In defense DeAndre Yedlin should get the nod at right back but Reggie Cannon has played well, while Matt Miazga and Aaron Long will likely continue at center back. The problem position at left back has been filled by Lovitz and Lima in recent game, while Tim Ream could also start there. Ream’s experience could be key, so it would be good to slot him in where you can.
In midfield Michael Bradley was rested for the game against Cuba and is likely to start in his home stadium, while McKennie’s goalscoring ability was on show with his hat trick but we will have to see more of his defensive prowess against Canada.
In attack, having Christian Pulisic, Jordan Morris and Sebastian Lletget linking across the three attacking midfield positions (Pulisic and Morris starting out wide) would make sense. Josh Sargent is suffering with an ankle knock so if he isn’t fit expect Zardes or Boyd to come in with Morris perhaps switching to a central striking role of Boyd or Paul Arriola come in.
