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Guess who’s back? The United States men’s national team is finally back in action after a ridiculously long (maybe just felt that way) break to allow for the European league seasons to conclude. Bruce Arena has called up a strong roster for three matches to kick off this summer of USMNT fun. Before the two World Cup qualifiers take over our lives later next week, a friendly with Venezuela will be used to get everyone back on the same page.
It seems like we’ve been debating USMNT lineups for the past three months now. Perhaps we’ll finally get some answers about what Arena’s preferred best available 11 will look like now. In March, the U.S. were without Bobby Wood and Fabian Johnson. With nearly every important player available for selection for these three matches, it should be quite interesting to see what the final decisions end up being. Will Fabian be put in the midfield? Will Clint Dempsey start? Will Darlington Nagbe be relegated to the bench? So many questions.
La Vinotinto are dead last in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying with just six points in 14 matches. They’ll also be without their pacey goalscoring magician (I might be a little biased), Josef Martinez, who is still recovering from an injury suffered in the last round of qualifiers.
With the Gold Cup coming later and two important qualifiers on the horizon, this summer promises to be a very active and exciting one. This friendly won’t mean much in terms of results, but it would be a nice confidence booster heading into the frenzy of fixtures coming.
United States Lineup:
It's good to be back! Introducing your #USMNT Starting XI for #USAvVEN.
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) June 4, 2017
Lineup notes: https://t.co/eDfYLKIzBq pic.twitter.com/GPheGXQUIV
Venezuela Lineup: TBA
How to Watch
Kickoff Time: 10:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. ET
Available TV: FOX Sports 1, Univision, Univision Deportes
Available Streams: FOX Sports Go, Univision Now, fuboTV (free trial), Sling TV
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