The US men’s national team's starting XI is out for tonight's (7 pm ET | FS1, UniMás, UDN) pre-Concacaf Gold Cup friendly against Jamaica – and there are several surprises from head coach Gregg Berhalter.
Despite not being on the 40-man Gold Cup roster, San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Jackson Yueill earned the start. Other MLS midfielders in the XI are Cristian Roldan of the Seattle Sounders and Wil Trapp of Columbus Crew SC. In attacking positions, there’s also Chicago Fire youngster Djordje Mihailovic and D.C. United winger Paul Arriola.
Spearheading the attack will be 19-year-old forward Josh Sargent, who currently plays for Bundesliga side Werder Bremen. Sargent is age-eligible for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, though Berhalter deemed him ready for the senior side.
For Berhalter’s fifth match in charge, he’s turned to a familiar face in goal: Zack Steffen. He coached the 24-year-old at the Crew, with Steffen now moving onto Manchester City. Earlier this week, it was reported that he’s heading on loan to Bundesliga side Fortuna Dusseldorf.
On the back line, the jigsaw puzzle wasn’t immediately clear. It features three natural center backs – Matt Miazga, new Toronto FC signing Omar Gonzalez and Tim Ream – and left back Antonee Robinson. Ream, however, is also capable of playing left back. Stu Holden, who is calling the game for FS1, described it as a 3-4-2-1 formation:
This is one of two pre-Gold Cup friendlies for the USMNT, which will also face Venezuela June 9 in Cincinnati, Ohio. They open Group D play June 18 against Guyana.
