The United States starts their preparation for the 2015 Gold Cup on Wednesday, and Jurgen Klinsmann is taking an opportunity to get a look at as many players as possible in the friendlies leading up to next summer's continental championship. He's picked out a very experimental roster for his team's first post-World Cup friendly against the Czech Republic.
USA vs. Czech Republic: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
While the Czech Republic warms up for a tough competitive match against the Netherlands, the United States are just trying new things.
Kevin C. Cox
There are a handful of World Cup veterans on the squad, but it’s an equal mix of those players, very young up-and-comers and fringe veterans who would like to win their way back into Klinsmann’s good graces.
Key player - Jozy Altidore (United States)
USA V. Czech Republic
If Jozy Altidore getting the captain’s armband for this match seemed odd to you, take a look at the squad again. He’s by far the most senior player on this team, with more than double the caps of the next most capped player, Alejandro Bedoya. Between his struggles at Sunderland and his hamstring injury at the World Cup, he’s had a rough time recently, and he needs to start playing well somewhere, at some time, to keep his United States place locked down. This is a good opportunity for Jozy to get his career going in the right direction again.
Key matchup - Tomas Rosicky vs. The USMNT’s DM
It's anyone's guess who gets the nod as the United States' most defensive midfielder -- Kyle Beckerman, Jermaine Jones and Geoff Cameron have all been left off this squad for various reasons -- but whoever occupies that role will have their hands full with Tomas Rosicky. The Arsenal man has been plagued with injuries throughout his career, but has been healthy lately, and is the Czech Republic's best player. He's great at finding the space between midfield and defense, then attacking quickly once he gets the ball, either with a run forward or a through ball.
What to watch for
The U.S. has six uncapped players, plus two more young players with only one cap and 19-year-old Julian Green in this squad. It’s an extremely young team and it’ll be great to see the likes of Emerson Hyndman or Jordan Morris get a run-out, but those players are young and will get more chances. This game is more important for the players in their mid-to-late 20s who are getting what might be a last chance to impress for a long time.
Brek Shea is the only true left winger in the USMNT pool and Klinsmann would like to use him, but he's completely out of favor at Stoke City and looking for somewhere else to go. Joe Corona is in a similar boat, with poor club form having taken him out of the first choice 23 for the United States. Tim Ream was out in the cold for a while, but a great second half of last season at Bolton has him back in the picture. Great performances from these players could go a long way towards getting them back into Klinsmann's plans.
Date/time: Wednesday, September 3; 2:15 p.m. ET
Venue: Generali Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
TV: NBC Sports Network (U.S. - English), UniMas (U.S. - Spanish)
Online: NBC Live Extra
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