Just a few days now, and the questions surrounding the U.S. National Team are down to a few. They're crucial questions, relating to the spine of the team, and in each area of the field.
Attempting to reason out who Bob Bradley might chose to start in these spots seems a fool's errand to me; even with reports out of South Africa giving us a few relevant clues, it's anyones guess which way the tight-lipped coach is leaning. Onyewu's fitness is an issue. There are legitimate reasons to believe any of Buddle, Gomez, or Findley could start. Michael Bradley's potential partner in midfield was down to two, but could now be between three.
At the back, I'm finding it difficult believe that Bradley would start Onyewu. Then again, Gooch continues to say he's ready, and while Bradley takes a risk if he does start his bester central defender who is still obviously rusty, the Americans will need their best team on the field for Saturday. Does Goodson represent enough of a loss in ability and quality to justify starting Onyewu?
I don't think it does, but again, I don't have all of the information. My gut tells Bradley will throw Gooch out there.
In the midfield, solid arguments can be made for any of Clark, Edu, and Torres. JFT is the hot pick of the moment, everyone's favorite candidate because his possession abilities are vastly superior to those of the other two. If Torres can tackle like he did against Turkey two weeks ago, it might make sense to line him up next to Bradley.
Do I think that will happen? Nope. I still think it will be Clark (even though he came off against Australia on Saturday with a muscle tweak).
And we come to the forwards. Altidore is healthy enough to train, apparently. I see no reason to think he won't start. That just leaves determining who his partner up top might be; Buddle is one fire, Gomez can score, and Findley is fast if slightly sketchy (being kind) in front of goal. Buddle's two goals against Australia, combined with Gomez' comfort coming off the bench and Findley's goal-chance failures, pushed everyone to conclude that Bradley might start Jozy and Edson together. Eh...I'm not so sure about that.
I think Findley won the starting job with his performance against Turkey. I think Bob was looking for something - anything - from the kid to prove that he's capable of adding to the U.S. attack. Even coming up empty against Australia wasn't going to get him dropped, particularly because he is still dangerous and must be accounted for because of his speed.
So if I'm guessing, which I most definitely am, Robbie Findley will be a World Cup starter against England on Saturday.
How many days to go?
