USMNT roster gets shaken up ahead of World Cup qualifying

Bruce Arena named his squad to face Honduras and Panama on Wednesday, but there’s reason to believe his plans are now a bit different than they were just two days ago.

Goalkeeper Brad Guzan won’t play, as his wife is expecting a child during the international break. That means Tim Howard is almost certainly going to start both matches for the United States if he’s healthy. Nick Rimando will be his backup, while David Bingham has been called in to be the No. 3 goalkeeper.

Arena could also be without regular starter Fabian Johnson, who picked up an injury during a Europa League game on Thursday. Johnson is listed as a midfielder on the roster, not a defender. It’s a squad short on wingers, while Arena has openly discussed playing Christian Pulisic centrally. So it seems likely that Johnson would have gotten a start out wide. If Johnson can’t play, Arena might have to delay those plans for Pulisic.

Here’s Marcos Rojo eating a banana on the pitch. (r/soccer)

In typical Jose Mourinho fashion, the Manchester United manager isn’t thrilled with people making jokes about this incident. (Mirror)

Mourinho is also pretty upset about fixture congestion. (BBC)

In other USMNT news, Dom Dwyer is now an American citizen. (Stars and Stripes FC)

The Champions League draw was made on Friday, and it gave us four excellent quarterfinals.

The Europa League draw was kind to Manchester United and makes them favorites to win the competition.

Gareth Southgate was pretty upfront about why Wayne Rooney lost his England place and the captaincy. (Guardian)

Inter Milan sounds serious about spending big. But they’re also talking up bidding for Messi and Ronaldo, so maybe they’re BSing? (SI)

David Rudin on why harassment and sexism have a good idea like #ProRelForUSA going nowhere. (Paste)

Ben Cartwright on Stoke City hero and throw-in ace Rory Delap. (In Bed with Maradona)

Giancarlo Rinaldi on the things you learn from going to games with a 10-year-old. (Guardian)

Manchester United snuck by Rostov in the Europa League. (The Busby Babe)

Co-favorites Roma are out, thanks to Lyon. (Chiesa di Totti)

Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund vs. Ingolstadt (3:30 p.m.) — Catch a little Pulisic magic.