The United States men's national team will begin its 2024 CONMEBOL Copa América campaign on Sunday against Bolivia, the beginning of what will be the Americans' biggest test leading up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil.
Head coach Gregg Berhalter's first order of business will be to find the right combination of players to put on the field. Most USMNT fans can probably guess who Berhalter will start against Bolivia, but with so much riding on his team's success, there might be incentive for him to try something new at this tournament.
Instead of trying to figure out what lineup Berhalter is going to start, we asked FOX Sports soccer analysts Doug McIntyre, Stu Holden, Laken Litman and Alexi Lalas to pick their ideal starting XI for Copa América. Here's what they had to say:
Doug's XI: 4-3-3
GK: Matt Turner
LB: Antonee "Jedi" Robinson
CB: Miles Robinson
CB: Chris Richards
RB: Tim Weah
CM: Tyler Adams
CM: Weston McKennie
CAM: Gio Reyna
LW: Haji Wright
ST: Josh Sargent
RW: Christian Pulisic
Though he didn't rule out a formation switch, I think Berhalter prefers four defenders to three, and that he favors Miles Robinson alongside Chris Richards more than any other centerback pairing. Versatile winger Tim Weah is a better like-for-like replacement for injured fullback Sergino Dest than dedicated defenders Joe Scally or Shaq Moore. Reyna's Nations League heroics keep him in the lineup over Yunus Musah. Up top, Pulisic slides from the left side to the right, the position he manned during his career-first season at AC Milan. Berhalter says he sees Haji Wright wide left. That leaves the striker spot for Josh Sargent, the most efficient goalscorer in the U.S. player pool in 2024. — McIntyre
Laken's XI: 4-3-3
GK: Matt Turner
LB: Antonee "Jedi" Robinson
CB: Tim Ream
CB: Chris Richards
RB: Joe Scally
CM: Yunus Musah
CM: Weston McKennie
CAM: Gio Reyna
LW: Christian Pulisic
ST: Folarin Balogun
RW: Tim Weah
Obviously, the most glaring issue when creating this lineup is what to do about the vacated spot at right back with Sergiño Dest out with an ACL injury. In recent tuneup matches against Colombia and Brazil, USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter opted for Joe Scally. While there's been talk about Tim Weah or even Weston McKennie taking on that role, there's a sense that Berhalter will roll out more of a familiar back line. That's not to say we won't see a guy like Weah there for other matches, but Scally feels comfortable for the first game of the tournament, especially given his performance against Vinícius Jr.
Tyler Adams is building minutes – he played 15 against Brazil – so seeing him in the starting lineup against Bolivia immediately feels rushed. Plus, Yunus Musah looked poised and confident in last week's 1-1 draw. Regarding striker, Josh Sargent is a capable goalscorer, but he's coming off a foot injury that sidelined him for recent friendlies. Going with Folarin Balogun to start the opening match. — Litman
Alexi's XI: 4-3-3
GK: Matt Turner
LB: Antonee "Jedi" Robinson
CB: Cameron Carter-Vickers
CB: Chris Richards
RB: Tim Weah
CDM: Tyler Adams
CM: Weston McKennie
CM: Yunus Musah
LW: Christian Pulisic
ST: Josh Sargent
RW: Gio Reyna
I have Matt Turner in goal. He hasn't progressed or evolved in the way that I would have liked or that a lot of people thought, but he's still the incumbent, and I'm still confident that, even with his club situation and the problems that he's had there, that this is a guy that's going to make the saves and be able to play out of the back. There might be others who come up and challenge him, but until then, I'm good to go with Matt Turner. Then I'm going with a back four with Tim Weah at right back. We've seen this happen, he can certainly do the job, but this is me trying to get all of the good players on the field. There have been times over the last couple of years when Tim Weah has been the most consistent attacking player. I'm selling to Tim Weah as: you're not being demoted; yes, it's a change of position, but you've still got that whole right side with Gio Reyna playing more central. — Lalas
Stu's XI: 5-2-1-2
GK: Matt Turner
LWB: Antonee "Jedi" Robinson
CB: Cameron Carter-Vickers
CB: Chris Richards
CB: Tim Ream
RWB: Tim Weah
CM: Tyler Adams
CM: Weston McKennie
CAM: Gio Reyna
ST: Folarin Balogun
ST: Christian Pulisic
When I look at the U.S.'s pool right now and what I feel is the strongest lineup, the thing that stands out to me is that we have five center backs and four forwards who can play as wingers too, and with Sergiño Dest out, I was thinking of the most effective way to have the best attacking group on the field because defensively, I think we can still be solid with three or five at the back.
I think about the wingbacks that we could play with and the profiles that I like in Tim Weah and Antonee Robinson, two great athletes who are also good on the ball and can give us possession and give us width. The biggest bonus in having three center backs is that we can get Gio, Weston, Tyler, Christian, Balogun and maybe another forward on the field. Gregg Berhalter has played a lot of 4-3-3 but if you can shift that dynamic now and be better at creating chances and scoring goals, I think that's the next evolution of this team and what they're lacking to be winning games against high-level teams. — Holden
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