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Alexander Abnos
Question for readers
Who are you most interested in seeing tonight, and why? (Would love responses from either team’s fans!)
Let me know! My email/bluesky are above.
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1 min: We are underway!
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After the Australian national anthem and an, uh, interesting rendition of the US counterpart, we are all set to go.
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The teams are heading out on to the field, which provides another reminder that Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado has one of the strangest player entrance paths I’ve seen. The players walk all the way from a separate clubhouse up a bunch of stairs at the far end of the field, and enter the field behind the goal on that side.
Nothing wrong with it, per se! Just weird.
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In case you missed it, the USMNT’s previous time out ended up going pretty well! Mauricio Pochettino stuck to the 3-at-the-back look and was rewarded with probably the best overall performance of his time in charge.
As for Australia, things also went well, as teenage sensation Nestory Irankunda scored to seal a 1-0 win over Canada.
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And if you’re in the mood for some slightly more ridiculous and/or sobering news, US president Donald Trump threatened today that he might move to take away World Cup games from Boston (and the Olympics from LA).
Does he have authority to do that unilaterally? Not really.
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Looking for a quick pregame read?
Might I suggest Mike Tuckerman’s great piece on how several Australians have found a home in Major League Soccer:
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Australia’s starters
And here is Tony Popovic’s starting XI for the game against the US.
Maty Ryan captains the team, with a few changes from the Socceroos’ last game, a 1-0 win over Canada. The goal scorer from that game, Nestory Irankunda, starts on the bench.
Australia lineup graphic Photograph: Football AustraliaShare
Updated at 02.49 CEST
The USMNT Starters
We have the home team’s lineup for the match.
The big news is that Christian Pulisic starts this game after being on the bench last time out against Ecuador. US coach Mauricio Pochettino said Pulisic was dealing with a minor problem in camp, but clearly it’s not enough to keep him out of the XI today.
James Sands and Cristian Roldan are some other interesting additions, bot hof whom figure to occupy more defensive midfield positions behind Pulisic and Weston McKennie further up field.
Haji Wright gets the nod at striker. A good performance from him could give the USMNT something of a striker controversy after so much time waiting for someone – anyone – to perform consistently in that position.
Based on personnel, this will nominally be a 3-4-2-1 but with plenty of flexibility during the match itself:
USMNT XI: Matt Freese; Chris Richards, Miles Robinson; Mark McKenzie; Tim Weah, Cristian Roldan, James Sands, Alex Freeman; Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie; Haji Wright
US lineup graphic Illustration: US SoccerShareAlexander Abnos
Hello all! Alexander Abnos here, ready to take you through … whatever this friendly ends up being. Any score predictions? Send ‘em my way on BlueSky or my email, which is above.
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Alexander will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look at how Major League Soccer is proving a fertile ground for a growing band of Australian players and coaches.
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