Alexi Lalas
Soccer Analyst
I look at this U.S. men’s national team roster that Mauricio Pochettino has called, and I know there’s a lot of people scratching their heads. And fairly so. A lot of people predicted that this was going to happen.
But these are the players in camp ahead of two upcoming friendly matches against two World Cup-bound teams: Korea Republic on Saturday and Japan on Tuesday.
So, what if this was the World Cup? What if this is who Pochettino called in? Who do you play to give yourself the best chance of winning? Here’s how I see the formation:
Goalkeeper: As much as it pains me or surprises me right now with Matt Turner not in camp, it’s going to be Matt Freese. And if Freese is really the No. 1, then you’re damn right you put him in goal because I want him to get in as many potential games. I think he’s going to see a lot more action than he’s had this summer at the Gold Cup.
Defenders: I know there’s talk about Sergino Dest playing left back. But I want him at right back, and I want to see how he is physically after that ACL injury last year. So far so good from a club perspective with PSV Eindhoven. He looks good, and I want to make sure that he has that energy and that insatiable need to go forward. I know at times that’s been difficult, but I’m excited to see Dest. I want to see him on the right-hand side. I think that’s where he’s best, and I think Pochettino would agree.
I’m putting Chris Richards and Tim Ream in as center backs right now because they have been the most successful tandem. But if this is about assessing other players, as Pochettino has said, I want to see Triston Blackman or Nokai Banks — even though he’s only 18 years old — because I think that’s why they’re in camp. So I’m going to stick with Ream as if this was a World Cup game, but I want a different center-back to come in with Richards, who I definitely want to see continue on.
On the left-hand side, you have Max Arfsten. That’s who we have. Until Antonee “Jedi” Robinson is back, it’s slim pickins’. But Pochettino seems to like Arfsten, and I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and continue on here.
Midfield: I got Tyler Adams, Luca de la Torre and Diego Luna, and this is as good as it’s going to get here for this midfield. Sebastian Berhalter may have a case at times, and I think he will see some time over these next two games. And I want to see Luna with these players.
Forward: And then up top, it’s what we’ve wanted all along. The stars have aligned, and the soccer gods have smiled upon us here. And so that’s Christian Pulisic on the left, Tim Weah on the right, and Folarin Balogun up top. And I think that’s a pretty good lineup. Again, who knows what Pochettino is going to do, but that would be my starting XI if I had to win this game.
But the striker dynamic will be interesting. If Balogun had continued on the way we thought and not been derailed by injuries, then I would be saying put Josh Sargent in and let’s see if it’s a different version than we have seen at times in the past with the national team. But I want to see, is Balogun still the guy?
And when that whistle blows and if it’s Balogun up top, and we’re seeing the flow of the game and, God willing, the goals that he’s scoring, then I’ll be reminded why there was so much hype and so much excitement about that guy.
Alexi Lalas is a soccer analyst for FOX Sports and host of “Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union Podcast.” He represented the USMNT at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and had a nine-year professional career. In 2006, he became the president of the LA Galaxy and helped bring David Beckham to Major League Soccer.
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