Bruce has a fetish for connections.
Wood / Dempsey was dynamic in the Copa, and with Wood playing direct and drawing attention, Dempsey will be able to ghost, which is a nightmare for this level of competition. I am of course assuming that Clint is Clint. If he is, with the quality on the flanks, this group will score the goals we need. Antidor and Morris would be tremendous options off the bench.
Cameron / Bradely has been effective before in big games, and with the other creative players in the team and not conceding being a top priority, this solid connection in front of a less-than-first-choice back 4, makes sense. Cameron starting in this position against Chelsea today, also.
One of the bright spots versus Jam was the work Lletget / Jorge did down the left side. I trust Sueno against this level, though DMB could do the job just as well.
Brooks had a nightmare in his last outing for us. I don't trust him in a must-win game, and I do not think a twin towers combo of Omar and Brooks is what's called for in CONCACAF. Bruce knows what he has in Omar and pairing him with Ream makes for a sensible Big / Small combo. For this level of competition, Ream / Gonzalez is an enviable pairing.
Orozco brings the toughness and experience you need in a game like this and, honestly, there isn't anyone else I trust on this roster to play RB other than Cameron. With Geoff playing a larger role in midfield, Orozco gets the assignment to win every ball on set pieces, lock down one man and not cross midfield. Can't see him linking with Pulisic (or anyone frankly) but with Bradley, Ream and Dempsey out there, we'll have plenty of opportunities to release Christian into one-on-one situations.
Zero German-Americans? That wasn't intentional, but if Bruce does this, he'll hear about it...
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Josh Westerman
over 8 years
Bruce has a fetish for connections. Wood / Dempsey was dynamic in the Copa, and with Wood playing direct and drawing attention, Dempsey will be able to ghost, which is a nightmare for this level of competition. I am of course assuming that Clint is Clint. If he is, with the quality on the flanks, this group will score the goals we need. Antidor and Morris would be tremendous options off the bench. Cameron / Bradely has been effective before in big games, and with the other creative players in the team and not conceding being a top priority, this solid connection in front of a less-than-first-choice back 4, makes sense. Cameron starting in this position against Chelsea today, also. One of the bright spots versus Jam was the work Lletget / Jorge did down the left side. I trust Sueno against this level, though DMB could do the job just as well. Brooks had a nightmare in his last outing for us. I don't trust him in a must-win game, and I do not think a twin towers combo of Omar and Brooks is what's called for in CONCACAF. Bruce knows what he has in Omar and pairing him with Ream makes for a sensible Big / Small combo. For this level of competition, Ream / Gonzalez is an enviable pairing. Orozco brings the toughness and experience you need in a game like this and, honestly, there isn't anyone else I trust on this roster to play RB other than Cameron. With Geoff playing a larger role in midfield, Orozco gets the assignment to win every ball on set pieces, lock down one man and not cross midfield. Can't see him linking with Pulisic (or anyone frankly) but with Bradley, Ream and Dempsey out there, we'll have plenty of opportunities to release Christian into one-on-one situations. Zero German-Americans? That wasn't intentional, but if Bruce does this, he'll hear about it...