USMNT

This United States Men’s National Team XI isn’t a status quo Starting XI meant to tell people what they want to hear. This is a Starting XI option made up of players with the skill-set and athleticism to play the position listed. Matt Besler, Omar Gonzalez, Landon Donovan, Graham Zusi, Brad Evans, DaMarcus Beasley, and Fabian Johnson aren’t on this list.

The best way forward for the USMNT is to take a Front Six made up of Geoff Cameron, Michael Bradley, Joe Corona, Benny Feilhaber, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore and combine it with a new Back Four made up of DeAndre Yedlin, Andrew Farrell, Shane O’Neill, and Chris Klute.

Sticking to the Status Quo Starting XI won’t work in the 2014 World Cup, and American soccer has been waiting for talents like Corona, Diskerud, Yedlin, Farrell, O’Neill, and Klute to take the United States to the next level in world football.

USMNT XI: 4-2-3-1

GOALKEEPER: Tim HOWARD

Tim Howard is the best American goalkeeper, and he recently showed an improvement in the one weakness in his game: the failure to come off his line enough to clear out or rip down balls played in the air around his six-yard box. Brad Guzan is probably as good as Tim Howard and as deserving of the starting spot, but Howard has a habit of making game-saving stops against tough opponents.

RIGHT BACK: DeAndre YEDLIN

In his rookie season, DeAndre Yedlin (along with Andrew Farrell) showed an ability at right back that probably hasn’t been seen out of an American right back since Steve Cherundolo. Only a real contest between Jonathan Spector, Eric Lichaj, DeAndre Yedlin, Kofi Sarkodie, and Andrew Farrell will show who the best American right back is. Yedlin’s ability to defend, track down, and tackle attackers now equals his technical ability and his skill as an offensive player.

CENTER BACK: Andrew FARRELL

By playing right back for the New England Revolution, Andrew Farrell showed that he had the technical ability to play a position that arguably required more skill on the ball than the center back position. Nevertheless, Farrell is really a center back, and his athleticism, defending, size, and technical ability make for a combination of physical gifts and skills at the center back position that allows the United States to defend better attackers. Skeptics will call Farrell young and inexperienced on the international level.

CENTER BACK: Shane O’NEILL

Shane O’Neill’s performances this season in MLS coupled with Tab Ramos’ opinion of him make O’Neill a legitimate center back option for the United States. Real improvement for the United States will require using better players, and O’Neill is a new talent who is a more complete center back than Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler.

LEFT BACK: Chris KLUTE

Chris Klute is likely the best American left back, and not just because left back is a weakness that the United States Men’s National Team has failed to improve. Klute is an excellent defender and elegant tackler with world-class speed, and he uses both feet interchangeably. Speed kills, and Klute’s combination of attacking skill and defensive ability combined with his agility, height, and electrifying speed makes him a defender that the United States needs to start. Using the new crop of young defenders doesn’t guarantee an absence of mistakes, but it’s a real attempt to field the players with the tools to compete.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER: Geoff CAMERON

Even as the midfield destroyer or the more stay at home defensive midfielder, Geoff Cameron gets to maximize his combination of smooth running, endurance, defensive prowess, and technical ability. Cameron is a skilled passer who performs his best when he has a lot of touches on the ball. Someone with Cameron’s size, technical ability, defensive skills, and athleticism directly in front of the defense not only strengthens the defense but it provides the defense protection when Bradley makes attacking forays. Cameron has the speed and skill to be actively involved in the attack, but a player with his qualities is a great asset patrolling the back of the midfield in front of the Back Four.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER: Michael BRADLEY

Michael Bradley is a defensive midfielder who likes to take advantage of his passing ability and his natural endurance as a runner to make marauding runs forward. Bradley’s speed, defending, and technical ability makes him ideally suited to play as the deepest defensive midfielder, but by playing Cameron as the midfield destroyer, the United States can use two defensive midfielders that are excellent passers and that know how to play as a unit.

RIGHT ATTACKING MIDFIELDER: Joe Benny CORONA

Joe Corona brings better playmaking abilities than Donovan brings, and Corona can also score. If the goal is have the United States passing better and creating more scoring opportunities, then Corona excels at this more than Donovan who is gifted at using his speed and technical ability to run at defenders. Donovan and Corona are different, and Corona’s creative passing and movement off the ball give the United States an attacking midfielder who allows the United States to facilitate more possession than Donovan.

CENTRAL ATTACKING MIDFIELDER: Benny FEILHABER

Benny Feilhaber is the most proven American playmaker, but many people want him to change his style of play to one that doesn’t correspond to his natural position. With one or two defensive midfielders behind him, Feilhaber should be allowed to play his own brand of creative soccer and imaginative playmaking because it’s what Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore need to score. Pushing American playmakers out of the national team has been Jürgen Klinsmann’s default policy, and several wins courtesy of Clint Dempsey or a few headers doesn’t change the fact that the United States still doesn’t pass the ball well enough as a unit. Pretending that Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey are playmakers isn’t fooling anyone.

LEFT ATTACKING MIDFIELDER: Clint DEMPSEY

Ever since the 2006 World Cup and in the qualification leading up to it, Clint Dempsey has been the best American soccer player ever. Dempsey is the most-gifted American player, and his technical ability, his will to win, and his work rate are a key element of the United States Men’s National Team.

STRIKER: Jozy ALTIDORE

Aron Jóhannsson is as good or better than Jozy Altidore, but Altidore’s technical ability combined with his speed and physicality are an excellent weapon to stretch opposing defenses and make them defend a striker who combines skill with size and athleticism. Altidore is a monster of a first striker who now attacks with more aggression, and the only thing holding him back in the past was a gap between his physical gifts and his technical ability. Amidst the debate over whether Altidore or Jóhannsson should start or whether they should start together, Juan Agudelo is lurking with a combination of both players’ best qualities, but with more creativity and trickery.

A United States Men’s National Team 23-man Roster for the 2014 World Cup (December 2013 Edition)

GOALKEEPERS: Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN, Clint IRWIN

CENTER BACKS: Geoff CAMERON, John Anthony BROOKS, Shane O’NEILL, Andrew FARRELL, (Amobi OKUGO)

OUTSIDE BACKS: Chris KLUTE, (Andrew FARRELL), DeAndre YEDLIN, Kofi SARKODIE

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES, Amobi OKUGO, (Geoff CAMERON), (Shane O’NEILL)

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: Clint DEMPSEY, Landon DONOVAN, Benny FEILHABER, Mix DISKERUD, Joe CORONA, Freddy ADU, Benji JOYA

STRIKERS: Jozy ALTIDORE, Juan AGUDELO, Aron JÓHANNSSON

*Player’s listed twice are in parentheses

Roster Explanation:

-The skill-level and the depth of the national teams in the 2014 World Cup is going to be off the charts, and the USMNT will have to shake up its status quo roster and line-ups.

-This roster is a combination of proven veterans like Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan, Benny Feilhaber, Tim Howard, Jozy Altidore, and Geoff Cameron along with new talents being thrown into the deep end due to their skill level and athleticism.

-Geoff Cameron and Shane O’Neill both excel as center backs and as defensive midfielders, and Cameron is also a skilled outside back, which is a position that O’Neill has also shown that he can play.

-The roster features roughly five outside backs: Lichaj, Cameron, Klute, Yedlin, and Farrell.

-There are five center backs: Cameron, Brooks, O’Neill, Farrell, and Okugo. Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones also have all the qualities to play as center backs if for some reason the United States decided that it needed them as center backs to beat some opponent like Brazil.

-The selection of midfielders contains various types of midfielders who can play in various formations. The roster has the personnel to play three playmakers in a line of three, and the roster also has the players to play two defensive midfielders of either variety: the midfield destroyer variety or the box-to-box variety.

-Three first strikers give this roster three complete out-and-out strikers who can score against elite defenders.

-With plenty of center backs, outside backs, defensive midfielders, attacking midfielders, and forwards, this is a balanced roster with skilled and athletic players who can be deployed in various formations.

-Unlike many Jürgen Klinsmann rosters, this roster actually has enough natural outside backs including both left backs and right backs, as well as players who can play on either side.

My Preferred USMNT Starting XI:

HOWARD; YEDLIN, FARRELL, O’NEILL, KLUTE; CAMERON, BRADLEY; DONOVAN, FEILHABER, DEMPSEY; ALTIDORE

Starting XI Rationale:

With Geoff Cameron as a midfield destroyer, Michael Bradley has more freedom to participate in the attacking and passing of the three attacking midfielders, and Cameron can take advantage of his own technical ability, speed, and endurance more so than he can in the defense.

Juan Agudelo, Jozy Altidore, or Aron Jóhannsson up top makes for a Front Six with a balance of skilled defensive midfielders and skilled attacking midfielders who have one of those talented strikers as the focal point of the attack.

Agudelo, Altidore, and Jóhannsson are all excellent strikers who are basically complete in regards to their physical gifts, technical ability, and playing style, but this writer views Agudelo as the the striker with the best combination of technical ability, athleticism, size, and the willingness to attack the goal and take risks. For the time being, Altidore has earned his starting spot, but Jóhannsson and Agudelo deserve heavy minutes.

The Back Four proposed is a hypothetical attempt to improve the American defense with better young players. In addition to Chris Klute (who has been playing as a left back), Farrell and Yedlin are likely the two best American right backs, but Farrell is naturally a center back where he can use his technical ability, speed, and tackling to improve the center of the American defense.

Shane O’Neill is the logical partner for Andrew Farrell if the goal is to improve the overall skill level and effectiveness of the center of the American defense. Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler are many people’s default picks for center back due to Klinsmann’s habit of starting them, but Farrell and O’Neill are more skilled players and better defenders with more athleticism while still being tall and strong.

With the exception of Geoff Cameron, Yedlin, Farrell, O’Neill, and Klute are upgrades to the current USMNT Back Four.

With Jürgen Klinsmann’s January Camp for the United States Men’s National Team approaching, there are a number of American players from Major League Soccer or other leagues that need to be evaluated and incorporated into the national team.

The number of international-caliber American players is increasing, and they need to be added to the USMNT for the United States to continue to improve as a soccer nation.

While a small number of the best United States internationals are quite frankly players who weren’t a product of American soccer, they nevertheless qualify for American citizenship.

In addition to these players, there are a number of American products like Benji Joya, Joe Corona, Juan Agudelo, Shane O’Neill, Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, Kofi Sarkodie, Kellyn Acosta, and Andrew Farrell that need to be added to the roster now.

Here are some of the players who should be considered for the USMNT’s January Camp (including players who will not be available due to their club schedules):

GOALKEEPERS: Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN, Nick RIMANDO, Clint IRWIN, Luis ROBLES, Dan KENNEDY, Tally HALL, Bill HAMID, Sean JOHNSON

CENTER BACKS: Geoff CAMERON, John Anthony BROOKS, Shane O’NEILL, Michael OROZCO, Andrew FARRELL, Gale AGBOSSOUMONDE, Maurice EDU, Omar GONZALEZ, Matt BESLER, Amobi OKUGO, George JOHN

OUTSIDE BACKS: Chris KLUTE, Andrew FARRELL, DeAndre YEDLIN, Eric LICHAJ, Jonathan SPECTOR, Steve CHERUNDOLO, Timothy CHANDLER, Fabian JOHNSON, Edgar CASTILLO, Kofi SARKODIE, Kellyn ACOSTA

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES, Perry KITCHEN, Jared JEFFREY, Amobi OKUGO, Dax MCCARTY, Ricardo CLARK, Maurice EDU, Will TRAPP, Jeremy HALL

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: Clint DEMPSEY, Landon DONOVAN, Benny FEILHABER, Mix DISKERUD, Joe CORONA, Benji JOYA, Freddy ADU, Paul ARRIOLA, Brek SHEA, Junior FLORES, Joe GYAU, Luis GIL, Daniel CUEVAS, Dillon POWERS, Alejandro BEDOYA, Sacha KLJESTAN

FORWARDS: Jozy ALTIDORE, Aron JÓHANNSSON, Juan AGUDELO, Terrence BOYD, Mario RODRIGUEZ, Alonso HERNANDEZ, José VILLARREAL, Herculez GOMEZ, Tony TAYLOR, Gyasi ZARDES, Eddie JOHNSON

The Top USMNT Options By Position:

GOALKEEPERS: HOWARD, GUZAN, IRWIN, ROBLES

CENTER BACKS: CAMERON, BROOKS, O’NEILL, FARRELL, AGBOSSOUMONDE

OUTSIDE BACKS: LICHAJ, KLUTE, YEDLIN, SARKODIE, ACOSTA, SPECTOR

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: BRADLEY, JONES, OKUGO, KITCHEN, JEFFREY, EDU, CLARK

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: DEMPSEY, DONOVAN, FEILHABER, CORONA, DISKERUD, JOYA, ADU, HERNANDEZ, F. JOHNSON, VILLARREAL, SHEA, ARRIOLA

STRIKERS: ALTIDORE, AGUDELO, JÓHANNSSON, BOYD, RODRIGUEZ, ZARDES

The previous article on World Soccer Source focused on how Jürgen Klinsmann can easily make some basic changes to drastically improve the United States Men’s National Team by only using proven USMNT players, but this article focuses on major changes that the United States could make as soon as possible.

The coach of the USMNT is halfway to selecting a 23-man roster where every player is technically-skilled, athletic, and equipped to play his designated position or positions, but Klinsmann’s recent selections to face Scotland and Austria, including his decision to not replace the injured Clint Dempsey or Fabian Johnson, raise further questions about Klinsmann’s ability to select balanced and talented rosters that will be able to compete at the 2014 World Cup.

Many of Klinsmann’s selections are among the best American soccer players, but too many of his roster spots go to players without the gifts and tools to play international soccer.

Likewise, many of the Starting XIs include the best player at many positions, but too many Starting XI spots are occupied by players like Graham Zusi, Brad Evans, DaMarcus Beasley, or Alejandro Bedoya who aren’t quite as talented as other options.

Looking at Klinsmann’s USMNT rosters since about March, many of the regular selections are deserving and talented players who fully-deserve their call-up, but frequently almost half of the roster is occupied by players who aren’t as skilled and athletic as other American options.

Klinsmann’s almost total refusal to select or play Benny Feilhaber, the most proven and arguably the most talented American playmaker, looks personal, and it’s an omission that’s hard to justify, especially for the coach of a national team that isn’t known for its technical ability.

Below is a list of 11 quality players who one could argue have been more or less regulars on Klinsmann’s rosters in recent months, which means that the remaining 12 roster spots could be filled by more talented and athletic players than the players who frequently appear on Klinsmann’s rosters

Here are the good roster choices that Klinsmann has been making:

GOALKEEPERS: Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN

CENTER BACKS: Geoff CAMERON

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: CLINT DEMPSEY, Landon DONOVAN, Mix DISKERUD

STRIKERS: Jozy ALTIDORE, Aron JÓHANNSSON, Terrence BOYD

Looking at the 11 players listed above, the United States Men’s National Team needs to do a better job of filling the remaining 12 roster spots, and World Soccer Source believes the following players would be stronger roster selections than many of the players that Klinsmann has favored:

GOALKEEPERS: Clint IRWIN

CENTER BACKS: John Anthony BROOKS, Shane O’NEILL, Andrew FARRELL

OUTSIDE BACKS: Chris KLUTE, DeAndre YEDLIN

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Amobi OKUGO

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: Benny FEILHABER, Joe CORONA, Benji JOYA, Freddy ADU

STRIKERS: Juan AGUDELO

Taking these two lists into account, here is a more talented roster than a typical Klinsmann USMNT roster:

GOALKEEPERS- Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN, Clint IRWIN

CENTER BACKS- Geoff CAMERON, John Anthony BROOKS, Shane O’NEILL, Andrew FARRELL

OUTSIDE BACKS- Chris KLUTE, DeAndre YEDLIN, (Andrew FARRELL)

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS- Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES, Amobi OKUGO, (Geoff CAMERON)

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS- CLINT DEMPSEY, Landon DONOVAN, Mix DISKERUD, Benny FEILHABER, Joe CORONA, Benji JOYA, Freddy ADU

STRIKERS- Jozy ALTIDORE, Aron JÓHANNSSON, Juan AGUDELO, Terrence BOYD

A close examination of this roster proposal shows that many of Klinsmann’s preferred starters are included, minus the United States’ Back Four, which is quite weak by any real international standard.

The roster above contains three goalkeepers, five center backs (including Amobi Okugo), five outside backs (including Andrew Farrell, Geoff Cameron, and Shane O’Neill), six defensive midfielders (including Geoff Cameron, Shane O’Neill, and Andrew Farrell), seven attacking midfielders, and four first strikers.

These numbers in the explanation in the preceding paragraph add up to more than 23 players because it contains some players who are listed at more than one position.

In short, this roster eliminates Klinsmann regulars like Graham Zusi, Omar Gonzalez, Alejandro Bedoya, Brad Evans, DaMarcus Beasley, and Matt Besler, from the roster for more talented and athletic players who are better equipped to play high-level international soccer, even if they are young and somewhat inexperienced at the international level.

Many people seem to be satisfied with the United States Men’s National Team status quo, but World Soccer Source believes that many of the players used or frequently called up by Klinsmann are talented professionals, albeit not as talented as other options.

The core of the USMNT under Klinsmann is solid enough with players like Howard, Bradley, Jones, Dempsey, and Altidore, but the goal of the United States needs to be to fill the rest of the Starting XI with players who are as skilled and athletic or about as skilled and athletic as the core group of starters.

Fielding a USMNT Starting XI where every player is playing his natural position and every player has the technical ability and the requisite level of athleticism to compete against top national teams is something that Klinsmann hasn’t done.

Starting Graham Zusi over Benny Feilhaber, Joe Corona, and Landon Donovan is inexcusable for an ex-player of Klinsmann’s ability.

Likewise, starting outside backs like Brad Evans and DaMarcus Beasley who aren’t even outside backs over a host of other players that not only are better but that also play outside back at the club level won’t work in the World Cup.

As the 2014 World Cup approaches, Jürgen Klinsmann would be wise to keep selecting players like Howard, Guzan, Cameron, Bradley, Jones, Dempsey, Donovan, Diskerud, Altidore, Jóhannsson, and Boyd, but the rest of the roster needs to be changed and improved.

The USMNT has a strong skeleton of a team, but there are too many weak links and too many players who aren’t international caliber. Klinsmann’s selections have made little sense because many of the better MLS players are being omitted for less skilled MLS players, and many of the best American players plying their trade outside of the United States are being snubbed.

Klinsmann claims that he wants players who can play technical soccer, but he frequently omits many of the most technical American players like Feilhaber, Corona, and Agudelo.

Furthermore, Klinsmann claims that he wants to start the attack from the very back, but the whole crop of better new MLS defenders have been given zero chances to play for the United States even in friendlies.

Finally, Klinsmann claims that he wants players playing in better leagues than MLS, but players like Joe Corona have been kept on the bench or left off the roster by Klinsmann, even when they were excelling and seeing heavy club minutes.

There is a disconnect between what Klinsmann says that he wants and what he actually does. There’s never been any evidence that Klinsmann is capable of fielding a Starting XI made up of technically-skilled and athletic players at every position.

As any American soccer fan knows, Klinsmann has never started Bradley, Donovan, Dempsey, and Altidore at the same time, and he’s never started them with a playmaker.

Ex-USMNT coach, Bob Bradley, quickly recognized the need to start those four players together against top national teams, and he also discovered the benefit of starting a playmaker with them in order to orchestrate the attack and help to facilitate possession and one-to-two touch passing.

Klinsmann seems to have never even learned this much, and he hasn’t raised the quality of play of the USMNT because of his refusal to at least start Bradley, Donovan, Dempsey, and Altidore together.

Klinsmann’s talk of improving the play of the United States seems to have been an empty promise without even an attempt to field enough technically-skilled players together. Starting Howard, Bradley, Jones, Donovan, Dempsey, and Altidore is a great start, but Klinsmann needs to select five more players who can play at those other starters’ level.

If Klinsmann were to start Howard, Farrell, Cameron, Brooks, Klute, Bradley, Jones, Donovan, Diskerud, Dempsey, and Altidore, then he would be well on his way to making real progress.

Jürgen Klinsmann can easily improve the United States Men’s National Team before the 2014 World Cup. It is within his power.

Amidst all the talk of time running out before the World Cup, Klinsmann does have an excellent core group of players, a large amount of video evidence of new talents, reports from scouts, and prior knowledge of the skill-level of several American players that he has either somewhat or totally frozen out of his rosters.

Many improvements wouldn’t require much risk or radical changes, but there is a strong argument to be made that many new American talents have a lot to offer toward the improvement of the United States.

World Soccer Source has been very critical of Jürgen Klinsmann because he was an outstanding German striker with 11 World Cup goals, but he has not taken all of that skill and experience to field balanced and effective starting line-ups that can play one-to-two touch soccer against top national teams or even mediocre national teams.

Klinsmann received a lot of praise for his win record as the coach of the United States, but the quality of the soccer was poor by international standards, which means that Klinsmann’s typical rosters and line-ups won’t do well in the 2014 World Cup because Tim Howard, Geoff Cameron, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Aron Jóhannsson, and Jozy Altidore can’t pick up the slack for the four other players in the Starting XI.

People should expect someone of Klinsmann’s background to not select players without the technical ability or the athleticism to produce quality and effective soccer against strong competition.

If Bob Bradley was able to field line-ups like the ones that performed well in the later rounds of the 2009 Confederations Cup and at the World Cup, then an ex-player of Klinsmann’s level should be even better at fielding players who can play top national teams straight up with the ability to win.

Looking at the players in the American player pool, Klinsmann can improve his rosters and line-ups either by calling in the right combination of players that he has favored using or by selecting new players who in one way or another demonstrated what they are capable of.

For all of the voices claiming that new outside backs in MLS like Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, and Andrew Farrell aren’t ready despite the fact that all three of those players are 20 or older, Eric Lichaj really is an outside back option that Klinsmann has taken too long to call up to the national team.

Even a small change such as starting Eric Lichaj at right back and Fabian Johnson at left back is a big improvement over Brad Evans and DaMarcus Beasley.

Klinsmann’s insistence on claiming that Evans and Beasley are his first-choice outside backs for the World Cup really is quite ridiculous, considering the fact that Klinsmann has natural outside backs that are not only visibly better but that are professionals who are paid to play as outside backs at the club level.

The United States and Klinsmann really do have a very strong core group of starters who would greatly benefit from some real adjustments being made to the starting line-up, and it’s important to look at that core group of players and see which other players can help them to perform their best by being added to the starting line-up.

Therefore, Klinsmann’s work before the 2014 World Cup involves simply starting a balanced starting line-up made up of many of the players that he has already used, and it also involves filling the rest of the roster with capable, if not equally as skilled substitutes.

By examining the core group of essentially world-class (albeit not super elite) players, it becomes clear that the United States has a team build on strong pillars in the defense, in the midfield, and in the attack.

Tim Howard or Brad Guzan, Geoff Cameron, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore, and Aron Jóhannsson do make for a line-up where seven of the eleven starting line-up spots are occupied by players who have proven that they can compete and excel against top national teams.

This reality in and of itself makes for a United States Men’s National Team that is one in which the primary task is to fill the rest of the roster with players at the remaining positions who can perform at a level that is equal to or close enough to the level of the players listed above.

While no one in the pool is going to be better than Clint Dempsey as far as technical ability, the insertion of a playmaker into the Starting XI will allow Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey to play their natural roles.

Simply by inserting Mix Diskerud, Benny Feilhaber, or Joe Corona into the Front Six as a playmaker makes for a balanced and effective Front Six made up of Bradley, Donovan, Feilhaber or Diskerud or Corona, Dempsey, Altidore, and Jóhannsson.

Klinsmann has never even bothered to field something as obvious as that combination of players, which is odd considering how simple it would be to field a Front Six with a defensive midfielder, two free-roaming attacking midfielders out wide, a playmaker in the middle of the park behind the strikers, and two center forwards.

Certainly, one doesn’t need to be a World Cup winner or the scorer of 11 World Cup goals for Germany to field a Front Six where a defensive midfielder plays as an anchor and orchestrator behind three attacking midfielders (including a playmaker) and two first strikers.

Whatever Klinsmann’s excuse is for not fielding the type of line-up that most of the world’s best club and national teams use, it is quite shocking from an ex-player of Klinsmann’s ability.

At times, Klinsmann has been close to fielding a legit Starting XI, but there always appears to be one or two fatal flaws whether they be the failure to start a playmaker to link the defensive midfielders to the attack or the failure to start natural outside backs or the failure to start center backs with not only the speed but the skill to compete against better international attackers.

While the coach of the United States has made a lot of mistakes as far as his player selections or his Starting XIs, drastically improving these problems before the World Cup is something that Klinsmann has within his power to fix.

At the very least, Klinsmann can start Tim Howard or Brad Guzan in goal, Eric Lichaj and Fabian Johnson as outside backs, Geoff Cameron and John Anthony Brooks as center backs, Michael Bradley as a defensive midfielder, Landon Donovan, Mix Diskerud, and Clint Dempsey as a line of three attacking midfielders, and Jozy Altidore and Aron Jóhannsson as center forwards.

Klinsmann can easily do that and improve the performances of the United States, and he can do it without starting any players who he is tossing into the deep end with no experience or proven ability. Neither Lichaj, Brooks, or Diskerud are players without the ability or the experience to play on soccer’s biggest stage.

With the Starting XI above as a first step to improving the United States Men’s National Team before the 2014 World Cup, Klinsmann can proceed to decide who else should be on his rosters and perhaps who else might make for better starters than the players listed above.

Nevertheless, raising the quality of play of the United States quickly is not something that would require any outrageous risks to be taken or any drastic measures to be made, but new or different players should be evaluated and fielded in friendlies as well as camps to truly decide who really has the ability to perform and compete at the international level.

When it truly comes down to fielding a competent Starting XI, Klinsmann could simply start Howard, Lichaj, Cameron, Brooks, Johnson, Bradley, Donovan, Feilhaber, Dempsey, Altidore, and Jóhannsson, and he could be sure that all of those players have the ability and the experience to play quality soccer as a group and produce effective soccer.