Bob Bradley is up to his usual tricks, fielding the same old boring USA lineup he always... wait, what? It's the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup and Bradley has finally taken the lineup generator off autopilot, dropping the under-performing talisman Landon Donovan for RC Anderlecht's Sacha Kljestan. Not only that, Bradley has moved away from his favoured 4-4-2, going to a 4-2-3-1 with Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley in a double pivot.
USA Vs. Jamaica, Gold Cup 2011 Quarterfinals: USMNT Lineup Sees Landon Donovan Benched
It’s a bold move from the typically conservative coach, but it might be just the thing to wake up team USA, who’ve looked in worrying form for much of the tournament so far. This system matches up with Jamaica’s 4-3-3 far better than the usual shape, and it’ll be fascinating to see how the USA match up against them now. Expect Donovan to appear at some point - he’ll be royally pissed off and, one suspects, will take that out on the opposition.
United States (4-2-3-1): Tim Howard; Steve Cherundolo, Clarence Goodson, Carlos Bocanegra, Eric Lichaj; Jermaine Jones, Michael Bradley; Alejandro Bedoya, Sacha Kljestan, Clint Dempsey; Jozy Altidore.
Substitutes: Maurice Edu, Juan Agudelo, Landon Donovan, Jonathan Bornstein, Tim Ream, Freddy Adu, Marcus Hahnemann
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