The USMNT heads to Europe in a short ten days to take on two solid European sides as preparations for next year's World Cup begin in earnest. For many fans, the quest to fill crucial spots in both the back line and at striker will be top of mind, and rightly so; but Bob Bradley's hands are tied in many ways. Putting out a first choice team while inserting players at center back and striker will be near impossible, thanks mainly to Major League Soccer's playoffs overlapping the friendlies.
As US Soccer Daily outlined, more than a few players that would likely be called into Bradley's team for the Slovakia and Denmark games might be unavailable; included in that group is Landon Donovan, Chad Marshall, Stuart Holden, Ricardo Clark, and the newest striker-we'd-like-to-see du jour, Robbie Findley.
Even if some of the MLSers are available to Bradley, the US teams that take the pitch in Aalborg and Bratislava will be somewhat experimental. Bradley can use these early friendlies to test the depth of his player pool, perhaps bringing in names that have faded from the picture in recent months. Sacha Kljestan comes to mind, and while the Chivas USA man might not be ready for international prime-time, giving him a run in this month's squad might be worth a shot. Again, however, Kljestan's availability depends on his club's fortunes in the playoffs. If Chivas gets past LA on Sunday, Kljestan will be among those needed at home.
It makes me wonder how much we'll actually learn from these friendlies. They're important to play and represent strong tests away from home, but they're relative weight could be mitigated by missing players and injury concerns. Predicting a lineup is impossible. Bradley will likely do his best to put as many first choice players on the field as is possible while mixing in others to fill in; that might leave the US with a B+ team at best.
I continue to tell myself that there is plenty of time for the US to settle things before the World Cup; even with Onyewu and Davies out, there's no reason to panic. But seven months is not an eternity in international soccer where short stints together put a premium on every camp and every match. Working out his best squad, then putting that squad on the field together as often as he can is Bradley's number one task. Finding replacements for Davies and Onyewu, as well as potentially working in newcomers Castillo, Jones and the returning Edu makes that task much more difficult.
I'd like to see the Americans show well in Europe this month. I would like to see solid progress as a footballing nations that can put forth a strong effort and get victories even when faced with significant absences. I'd like to think that Bradley will play to win no matter the players he has available, and that the teams he puts out will be capable of doing so.
Slovakia and Denmark (who will be missing Nicholas Bendtner by the way) will be test of Bob Bradley's managerial abilities, the depth of the US at several keys positions. Under those circumstances, I won't be overly concerned with results, just with the quality of their play and the performances of those players who need to step up for the Americans to have a shot of advancing in next year's tournament.
