Jurgen Klinsmann doesn’t have his starting right back available for Thursday night’s Copa America quarterfinal due to suspension, but he’s gone with a different solution than expected. Instead of playing Michael Orozco Fiscal, who entered the game against Paraguay when DeAndre Yedlin was sent off, Klinsmann has turned to Matt Besler to start in the United States back line.
USA vs. Ecuador lineups
USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann has sprung one big surprise.
Besler is not a fullback, however, so this move means Klinsmann has to do some shuffling. Klinsmann has said in the past that he doesn’t like playing two left or right center backs together, instead having defined players for each side. Besler also played 45 minutes at left back in a friendly before Copa America. This suggests that the central defense pairing will stay together, Besler will play left back and Fabian Johnson will switch to right back.
The rest of the lineup is unchanged, though it leaves plenty of questions. The front six picked have lined up in both a 4-3-3 and a 4-4-2 formation at this tournament. We won’t know which it is until kickoff, but they played 4-4-2 to big praise in the last game.
United States starting XI (4-4-2): Brad Guzan; Matt Besler, John Brooks, Geoff Cameron, Fabian Johnson; Gyasi Zardes, Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Alejandro Bedoya; Clint Dempsey, Bobby Wood
Ecuador starting XI (4-3-3): Alexander Dominguez; Walter Ayovi, Frickson Erazo, Juan Carlos Paredes, Arturo Mina; Christian Noboa, Carlos Gruezo, Michael Arroyo; Jefferson Montero, Enner Valencia, Antonio Valencia
The Ecuador lineup will be added when it’s announced. Kickoff is just after 9:30 p.m. ET from CenturyLink Field in Seattle. You can find the game on Fox Sports 1 and Univision.
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