SSFC’s USMNT Lineup Project: The Results

A week ago we released our ballot for the SSFC USMNT Lineup Project in order to determine the community’s preference for where players should play. It started as an “ideal lineup” project, but in reality it’s impossible to narrow that down without factoring in different circumstances. That’s why I picked the 4-2-3-1 as the base formation. To get a look at which players people prefer at each position.

Without any more explaining or deliberating, here’s how our community voted:

GK: Tim Howard

One of the most lopsided results in the bunch, Tim Howard blew away the competition to win the goalkeeper spot. It’s not unexpected, but nearly 85% of all voters picked him in their XI’s. Ethan Horvath came in second with just 4.6% of the vote and Bill Hamid followed very closely with 4%. The surprise here is Brad Guzan coming in fourth. Yeesh, what a fall from grace it’s been for him this past 12 months...

RB: DeAndre Yedlin

While Howard’s win was dominant, right back was a complete laugher and our most convincing result of the 11 positions polled. DeAndre Yedlin is the clear favorite among the SSFC community to be the USMNT’s right back spot. I’m just the guy tabulating the votes, but I think that’s about right.

CB: John Brooks

CB: Geoff Cameron

The percentages are lower on the center back results, but it’s clear that John Brooks and Geoff Cameron are the two defenders the majority want to see paired together at the back. Much like we saw last summer, these two have chemistry together and SSFC knows it.

LB: Jorge Villafana

One of the closer results of the polling is at left back where Jorge Villafana beat out Fabian Johnson. As the Fabian positional debate rages on, the community has spoken and he won’t be playing left back in our imaginary lineup. After two starts, Villafana has won the hearts of 45% of our voters.

CDM: Michael Bradley

Welp. I didn’t pick him. Bruce didn’t pick him. The community did. *shrug*

CDM: Kellyn Acosta

Not surprisingly, the most contested and widely opinionated results come in the second defensive midfield spot. Kellyn Acosta wins out with just 29.1% of the vote. After eliminating Bradley’s percentage, Jermaine Jones comes in second by barely beating out Alfredo Morales by two-tenths of a point.

RW: Christian Pulisic

There was no question about if Christian Pulisic would make the lineup, just a matter of what position. It was a highly contested battle, but in the end, he winds up where he predominantly plays for Borussia Dortmund.

CAM: Clint Dempsey

Pulisic got a ton of votes for the No. 10 spot as well, but that role goes to Clint Dempsey who has enjoyed yet another resurgence to form after a scare with his heart problems. He’s back and scoring goals like he never left. It’s going to be hard to keep him out of any lineup if he continues to do that.

LW: Fabian Johnson

You knew that if he didn’t win the LB vote that he’d end up somewhere else. That position is the one he plays at the club level and many want to see him play for the national team. Unfortunate for someone like Darlington Nagbe who would be relegated to the bench in this scenario.

ST: Bobby Wood

The main reason I wanted to use the 4-2-3-1 is to see who the community preferred at striker. Most likely we’ll see setups with both Wood and Altidore in them, but it’s clear that the community prefers Wood if it’s an either/or situation. Very interesting results.

---

The SSFC Lineup:

This is your lineup. I think the community did a pretty good job. I’d be completely fine with seeing this lineup in June. What say you? Happy with the lineup the polls spit out considering the guidelines?