The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup is coming! Not quickly, but more so in the way that time inevitably passes and eventually reaches a certain date, this date being over 600 days away. Barring an invitation to the 2019 Copa America, the Gold Cup will serve as the USMNT’s first competitive match after the Trinidad and Tobago disaster. What will the USMNT roster look like come then?
As you probably know, 600 days is a pretty substantial passage of time and fortune is fickle. We really have no clue how particular young talents will mature and grow over that period of time, so this is an entirely reckless exercise. But that’s never stopped us before.
#USMNT's next competitive game is...the 2019 Gold Cup, over 600 days away. pic.twitter.com/VCut3gQHfk
— Paul Carr (@PCarrESPN) October 11, 2017
So here you go, a fresh, hopeful and exuberant starting XI, along with one alternate at each position, to fight tooth and nail with French Guiana at the Alamodome! I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe.
The side will lineup in a 4-4-2 diamond formation because we gained some valuable tactical experience using it at the Ato Boldon Stadium — shame about the wet grass.
Alternate: Ethan Horvath (22, Club Brugge)
Alternate: Brandon Vincent (23, Chicago Fire)
Alternate: Cameron Carter-Vickers (19, Tottenham)
Alternate: Walker Zimmerman (24, FC Dallas)
Alternate: Desevio Payne (21, Excelsior)
Alternate: Tyler Adams (18, New York Red Bulls)
Alternate: Kenny Saief (23, K.A.A. Gent)
Alternate: Paul Arriola (22, DC United)
Alternate: Lynden Gooch (21, Sunderland)
Alternate: Jordan Morris (22, Seattle Sounders)
Alternate: Haji Wright (19, Schalke 04)