Blended Lineup Gives USMNT Best Chance to Open Hex with Win over Mexico
Welcome to the wild, unpredictable rollercoaster ride that is the Hexagonal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
The Hex, as it's affectionately called, begins on Friday with the highest-profile matchup the North American federation is capable of producing.
The United States men's national team, who won the Hex during the last FIFA World Cup cycle, host Mexico at their fortress Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
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Friday's opener against Mexico isn't a strange occurrence since the Yanks started the Hex two World Cup cycles ago at home against El Tri, but this time around there is a new challenge awaiting Jurgen Klinsmann's men.
The USMNT is in the middle of a switch in generations. Eighteen-year-old wonderkid Christian Pulisic is emerging as the star of the team and face of American soccer, but the Yanks still rely on players over 30 like Jermaine Jones, Graham Zusi and Tim Howard to get results in big matches.
During the 10 games of the Hex, the Yanks will bring younger players into the mix to test their mettle on the international stage. Older players will also work their way out of the team. But these have been the hopes of the USMNT fan base since the end of the last World Cup in Brazil.
Stalwarts and Klinsmann favorites Kyle Beckerman and Chris Wondolowski are only off the roster for the Mexico match and Tuesday's trip to Costa Rica due to injuries, and the USMNT boss replaced 22-year-old forward Jordan Morris with 35-year-old Alan Gordon after the Seattle Sounders man was ruled out of the match with an injury.
If everything goes to plan, the Yanks will start eight players 27 or older on Friday against Mexico. Pulisic, right-back DeAndre Yedlin and center-back John Brooks would be the only players under the age of 25 in the lineup.
There are younger options available on the bench, but the possibility that Klinsmann throws Lynden Gooch, Julian Green, Caleb Stanko or Cameron Carter-Vickers into the fray is small at best. If you've learned anything from the Klinsmann era, it's that Zusi, Michael Orozco and one forward will be Jurgen's changes in the second half, barring injury.
The predictability of the USMNT manager's decision-making is why there should be some concern that the younger players in the squad won't receive ample opportunities throughout the Hex. Of course, Klinsmann has to do what's best for his team in his mind, but there are places for guys like Green to be inserted to sink or swim.
That can start on Friday if Klinsmann arranges his side in the right manner to start the contest. Given the enormity of the match, the USMNT boss will most likely start Michael Bradley in the No. 6 role and Jones in some capacity in the center of his formation. Jones' presence is key next to the in-form Bradley because he brings a physical presence to the match that few on the USMNT depth chart can duplicate.
Jones is also still recovering from an injury that kept him out for the majority of the MLS season. That means there's a good chance Klinsmann will replace him with another player at some point. Instead of using Zusi as a substitute just for his crossing ability, Klinsmann should take a risk and bring on Julian Green or Bobby Wood. Wood has the potential to start on Friday, but he could be moved to the bench in favor of a more defensive setup.
The same situation is at hand further up the field on the wings. Pulisic, who made his debut in Columbus against Guatemala in March, is a lock to start on one side, and Alejandro Bedoya seems to be the right choice opposite the Borussia Dortmund man, due to his two-way work rate.
Bedoya's situation is similar to Jones in one aspect since he was bugged by an injury during the end of the Philadelphia Union's season. If the 29-year-old produces his normal hustle and defensive cover, he'll start to run out of gas midway through the second half. That's not a knock on Bedoya, it's just a fact given the skill he'll be facing on both sides of the ball.
That's where Green or Gooch could enter the fray instead of a member of the old guard. Sure, the two have a combined nine appearances, but during their time on the field, they've impressed. Green especially has earned his spot on the 23-man roster despite not seeing much time with the first team at Bayern Munich.
Green scored in each of the USMNT's friendlies in October, and Gooch came off the bench and impressed against New Zealand. Playing against Mexico is a completely different animal, but if these two and others are going to be the future faces of the USMNT, they have to start performing in pressure situations.
The back four of Yedlin, Brooks, Fabian Johnson and either Matt Besler or Omar Gonzalez should work well together as a unit to contain the amount of chances produced by the Mexico attack led by Giovani dos Santos, Javier Hernandez and Carlos Vela.
Yedlin's pace will be one of the USMNT's biggest weapons on Friday, but it may only be used to track down players in green shirts, which is why a burst in pace from Green or Gooch would be ideal in the second half to keep Mexico's full-backs from bombing forward on a consistent basis.
Gonzalez is Brooks' likely center-back partner due to his experience gained from playing every week in Liga MX with Club Pachuca, but if you look into the future, there's a good chance the 28-year-old won't be in the starting XI in Russia. Eighteen-year-old Tottenham Hotspur prospect Cameron Carter-Vickers is on the squad, but he may only see a few minutes on the pitch just so he can be cap-tied to the USMNT. Carter-Vickers is also eligible to play for England.
Tim Howard's veteran presence is needed in net for the time being. There is a young corp of goalkeepers ready to fight for the No. 1 position when the time comes. That group is led by 21-year-old Ethan Horvath.
If you look past Klinsmann's baffling decision to replace Morris with Gordon at forward, there's plenty of youth ready to fill in behind Jozy Altidore, who is a lock to start against Mexico. Wood has turned into a valuable strike partner—or a like-for-like replacement. The physical nature of either forward will wreak havoc on the Mexico defense and force multiple defenders to gravitate in their direction.
Slowly but surely the Yanks are turning the reigns over to players who are expected to thrive after the 2018 World Cup. Some of that will be on display on Friday against Mexico if Klinsmann deems some of his younger players ready for the big stage, like Pulisic already is.
A full shift from old to young won't happen overnight, but Klinsmann has a chance to show it's on the verge of happening by the way he selects his squad on Friday and on Tuesday in Costa Rica.
Joe Tansey covers U.S. Soccer for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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