Poll results: USMNT lineup vs Uruguay
Poll results: USMNT lineup vs Uruguay
Tonight, the USMNT will face Uruguay in their final Copa América group-stage match, at Arrowhead Stadium, in Kansas City, MO. On Saturday, we published a poll to get readers’ picks for the starting lineup. After receiving 459 responses, let’s look at the results!
Here’s the roster readers were choosing from. Tim Weah is suspended for this game after his red card vs Panama.
GOALKEEPERS (3): Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City), Sean Johnson (Toronto FC), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest)
DEFENDERS (9): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Mark McKenzie (Genk), Shaq Moore (Nashville SC), Tim Ream (Fulham), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Gio Reyna (Nottingham Forest), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven)
FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Haji Wright (Coventry City)
With those players available, here’s the lineup readers selected. There was not much controversy about which 11 players should start, but there are two different ways this team could line up (I’m sure there are more than two, but these two seemed most obvious). There’s Gregg Berhalter’s typical 4-3-3, with an MMA midfield and Reyna pushed to the wing, and alternatively, there’s a 4-4-2 diamond or 4-3-1-2 with Reyna central and Pulisic and Balogun as outlets up top.
Now let’s look at the polling trends over time. Matt Turner sees an 18-point drop after the Panama match. It’s not 100% clear that Turner will be fit enough to play vs Uruguay after coming off injured against Panama, and that probably affected some votes.
The back four continues to be a near-consensus, although Chris Richards has seen a significant drop after a couple below-par outings vs Bolivia and Panama. Miles Robinson was the top alternative, at 34%. Cameron Carter-Vickers drops 23 points after his poor performance off the bench vs Panama. Joe Scally continues to rise in the rankings, this time Tim Weah’s suspension may be a factor there.
Tim Weah’s suspension made the midfield extremely clear-cut, with McKennie, Musah, and Adams all clear choices. Pulisic, Balogun, and Reyna are the clear front three selections. Balogun sees a 36-point boost after his Man of the Match showing vs Panama.
What do you all think? How can we keep improving this format in the future?
What do you think of the results? What lineup do you think we’ll see tonight? Which players are you excited about? Hit the comments to discuss.