playThe best of USMNT in World Cup qualifying so far (1:59)
Check out the top moments of the USMNT redemption tour. (1:45)
4:36 PM ET
After a two-month break, the United States men's national team is back in action with a game against El Salvador. You can stream live on the internet. It is the first of a three match window that includes a trip to Canada on Sunday before returning home to play Honduras on Wednesday.
There is still a lot of work to be done, but the United States is in a good position to qualify for the tournament. The team has 15 points, which is a point behind first-place Canada and a point ahead of Mexico and Panama. The winner of the Oceania Football Federation will play a one-off match against the third place team in the region in June.
The USMNT can qualify for the World Cup this week.
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The United States will have one of the easiest games to play throughout the entire cycle. The US has never lost to El Salvador in World Cup qualification, but they were held to a draw in the first match.
El Salvadoran has one win in eight matches and is seventh out of eight teams. With six points, the team is still in the picture, but a draw is not going to help. In the case the game remains level in the later stages, both teams will be incentivized to chase the winner.
The United States manager said he doesn't have a rotation mapped out for the three-game window and that the team's priority is to get three points against El Salvadoran. The implication was that he would field his best possible starting XI on Thursday, despite the possibility that anything a coach says about his lineup before a game could involve some level of gamesmanship.
With that in mind, here is a look at how the United States could line up against El Salvador.
Jump to: Goalkeeper, Defenders, Midfielders, and forwards.
Goalkeeper.
After allowing three goals in the first five matches of the qualification, Matt Turner was dropped by the New England Revolution and replaced by Zack Steffen for the last three games against Costa Rica, Mexico and Jamaica. It doesn't appear he will have a real choice to make this time around, as Berhalter indicated that his ability to play the ball with his feet led to the decision. As of Wednesday afternoon, he was still with his club, Manchester City.
Turner will be between the posts for the next three games, even though Berhalter said his status was "day to day". Turner played the full 90 minutes for the United States in a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina in December and has not played a match since the Revs were knocked out of the MLS playoffs by New York City FC.
The reason Matt started playing soccer was because of his love for the game.
Defenders.
The center backs without the VfL Wolfsburg man have been quite good throughout the qualification rounds. Chris Richards has been starting for Hoffenheim and Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson have been excellent for the USMNT. Richards/Robinson/Zimmerman will likely be the combination against El Salvador, with the possibility for rotation among those three against Canada and Honduras.
Even though there are no natural left backs on the roster, Antonee Robinson has developed into the unquestioned first-choice left back and could be asked to start all three matches. Robinson said on Monday that he did not think playing three matches in seven days would be a problem. Sergino Dest is the obvious choice despite his struggle for playing time at Barcelona. His creativity in attack could be the key to unlocking defenses as the U.S. heads into three matches where it should have the bulk of possession.
Due to weather issues leaving Turkey, DeAndre Yedlin is not expected to arrive in Columbus until Wednesday, so his availability for the El Salvadoran game is in doubt.
Reggie Cannon should be the next man up if Yedlin is unavailable.
Projected starters vs. El Salvador are: Walker Zimmerman, Miles Robinson, and Sergino Dest.
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Taylor Twellman believes that he can play in cold temperatures.
Midfielders.
The three in the middle are the only ones who pick themselves at this point. When Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah start the team is better than any other combination. There is a wide gap between their talent levels and others on the roster, which is further enhanced by how compatible they are.
The ability of Adams to put out fires in transitional moments allows Musah to focus more on pushing the game forward and linking play with the forwards. This is not complicated. Three of the four games that the team has won are with Adams, McKennie and Musah in the starting lineup.
One of the more intriguing tactical elements against El Salvador will be to see the so-dubbed —MMA— start with Christian Pulisic for the first time.
Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, and Yunus Musah are projected to start.
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The USMNT has a long-term goal of making the World Cup.
Weah missed about a month with a thigh injury, but returned recently for Lille and started and went 66 minutes on Saturday. It isn't ideal for national team purposes, but the most important factor with him is that he's coming into this window healthy.
A number of players who have done just enough to stay relevant without offering a convincing case they should be on the roster or play consistent minutes are included in the debate. Berhalter was labeled biased in favor of MLS players because he called in two out of season MLS players ahead of two other MLS players. There is a conspiracy going on for the 1-plus-1-equals-3 crowd, but it's not true. None of these players have earned their place.
If either Jordan Morris or Paul Arriola were to appear, it would be a substitute role, and ideally to see out a game.
Projected starters vs. El Salvador were Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, and RicardoPepi.
