The USA will face Guus Hiddink and his men at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia today at 2 PM. The final match before the squad departs for the World Cup.
A chance to experiment with the new faces in the squad or does Bob Bradley stick to the familiar figures. Oguchi Onyewu’s performance will be keenly watched to see whether the AC Milan central defender’s return to match fitness is going as planned.
Does Bob Bradley put in Edson Buddle as partner to Jozy Altidore?
Clint Dempsey plays down the right, Landon Donovan on the left with Ricardo Clark and Michael Bradley occupying the central midfield positions.
Carlos Bocanegra occupies left back with Oguchi Onyewu and Jay De Merit at center and Steve Cherundolo at right.
Or he could get more experimental and put in Jose Francisco Torres and Maurice Edu in central midfield. Replace Cherundolo with Jonathan Spector and pair Herculez Gomez with Altidore up top. Dempsey could also move to the top if Bradley wants to play DaMarcus Beasley/ Stuart Holden to the left and shift Donovan to the right.
The sight of Bocanegra at left back might be a bit jarring. He’s been employed in that position at Rennes but he does not fit the wingback prototype, in comparison to the opposition in Group C- Nadir Belhadj and Ashley Cole are relatively short and quick. They are known for their attacking forays and crosses.
Bocanegra’s relative inertness might be beneficial for defensive reasons but the winger whether it is DaMarcus Beasley, Holden or Donovan will have to cover a wide swath of territory.
The left back position marred by poor performances and the central spots with injury concerns are areas that the Turkish attack will look to exploit. They are a relentless team with a fine record in international competition. The 2008 Euro campaign still rings loud.
Bayern Munich’s Hamit Altintop recently seen taking over Franck Ribery’s position down the left in the Champions League final. He can play on either flank. Veteran Emre Belozoglu, of Toon fame- the Maradona of the Bosporus is the creative trust. Up top the Turks have a trio of fine strikers. Workhorse Tuncay Sanli of Stoke City, Besiktas’s Nihat Kahveci, and pint sized Semih Senturk of Fenerbahce.
Hiddink just took over Turkish duties so it will be too early to judge whether his tactics are in place but these players have enough international experience and knowledge to know what it takes to control the ball and score when needed. They are a very good gauge of USA’s readiness for the World Cup.