The United States men continue their two-match swing through Europe to close out 2018. First up was England at historic Wembley Stadium for Wayne Rooney’s testimonial match. The USMNT lost 3-0 in a game that might not have actually been that close. Outside of an individual effort by Christian Pulisic that missed early, the USA struggled to pressure the English defense.

Three Big Storylines:

1. 406 days. 58 weeks. One year, one month and 10 days. That’s how long it has been since the USMNT lost 2-1 in Couva, Trinidad and did not qualify for the World Cup in Russia 2018. It was apparent at the final whistle that changes would have to be made. And now, 406 days later, there is still an interim manager. Dave Sarachan is on his 12th game as interim manager and he’s kept his word and made the year focused on the next wave of USMNT players, giving 22 players their first cap over his tenure. On today’s roster, only Romain Gall and Jonathan Klinsmann could add to that list.
2. Weston McKennie was a lone bright spot for the USMNT at Wembley Stadium. He looks to be a potential USMNT Captain someday, showing composure that is rare for a 20 year old. However, McKennie was one of three players that left USMNT camp after the England game. McKennie picked up a left hamstring strain and returned to Schalke to start rehab immediately. Schalke hosts Nurnberg on Saturday, but McKennie will likely be looking ahead to next Wednesday’s match at FC Porto in the Champions League. An away win would set Schalke up to win their group; as it stands they look good to advance to the knockout stage. Luca de la Torre remained at home in London to train with his club, Fulham, and Kenny Saief returned to Anderlecht in Belgium.
3. Not all news out of the Men’s side of the US Soccer program is bad. The US U-20 team is in the CONCACAF U-20 final to be played tomorrow against Mexico. Maybe more importantly, with their convincing 4-0 win on Friday night against Costa Rica, they clinched a berth in next year’s U-20 World Cup that starts on May 23, to be held in Poland. And seven players from this team are age eligible for the 2020 Summer Olympics: Tyler Adams, Reggie Cannon, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jonathan Klinsmann, Christian Pulisic, Josh Sargent and Tim Weah.

Lineups:

USA Roster:

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC; 59/0), 12-Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge/BEL; 2/0), 22-Jonathan Klinsmann (Hertha Berlin/GER; 0/0)

DEFENDERS (9): 6-John Brooks (Wolfsburg/GER; 35/3), 25-Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas; 1/0), 5-Cameron Carter-Vickers (Swansea City/WAL; 6/0), 26-Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 1/0), 3-Matt Miazga (Nantes/FRA; 10/1),18-Shaq Moore (Reus Deportiu/ESP; 3/0), 19-Jorge Villafaña (Portland Timbers; 19/0), 2-DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United/ENG; 56/0), 21-Walker Zimmerman (LAFC; 3/1)

MIDFIELDERS (12): 23-Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 21/2), 4-Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls; 7/1), 9-Marky Delgado (Toronto FC/CAN; 5/0), 27-Romain Gall (Malmö/SWE; 0/0), 16-Julian Green (Greuther Fürth/GER; 14/4), 14-Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 3/1), 10-Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 21/9), 20-Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; 9/0), 11-Tim Weah (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA; 7/1)

FORWARDS (2): 13-Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen/GER; 5/2), 7-Bobby Wood (Hannover 96/GER; 43/13)

ITALY Roster:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Alessio Cragno (Cagliari; 0/0), Gianluigi Donnaurumma (AC Milan; 11/0), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino; 18/0)

DEFENDERS (7): Francesco Acerbi (Lazio; 2/0), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina; 4/1), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus; 84/6), Mattia De Sciglio (Juventus; 36/0), Gianluca Manchini (Atalanta; 0/0), Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea/ENG; 1/0), Daniele Rugani (Juventus; 7/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Nicolò Barella (Cagliari; 3/0), Roberto Gagliardini (Inter Milan; 5/0), Vincenzo Grifo (Hoffenheim/GER; 0/0), Stefano Sensi (Sassuolo; 0/0), Sandro Tonali (Brescia; 0/0), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA; 28/1)

FORWARDS (6): Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo; 4/0), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina; 10/0), Moise Kean (Juventus; 0/0), Kevin Lasagna (Udinese; 2/0), Leonardo Pavoletti (Cagliari; 0/0), Matteo Politano (Inter Milan; 1/0)

How to Watch:

Time: Tuesday November 20, 11:45 AM Pacific

Venue: Luminus Arena — Genk

Available TV: FS1, UniMas, Univision Deportes

Available Streaming: Fox Sports Go, Univision NOW

Join the Discussion

This is your USMNT versus Italy gamethread. Watch and discuss with us.