First things first, everybody admire Shkelzen Gashi's spectacular goal in Colorado's PK victory over the LA Galaxy earlier this afternoon to advance to the conference finals:
Now, let's get to the big news of the USMNT squad for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers against Mexico and Costa Rica.
GoalkeepersTim Howard, Brad Guzan, Ethan Horvath, William Yarbrough
DefendersMatt Besler, Steve Birnbaum, John Brooks, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Timmy Chandler, Omar Gonzalez, Fabian Johnson, Michael Orozco, DeAndre Yedlin
MidfieldersAlejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Lynden Gooch, Julian Green, Jermaine Jones, Sacha Kljestan, Christian Pulisic, Caleb Stanko, Graham Zusi
ForwardsJozy Altidore, Jordan Morris, Aron Johannsson, Bobby Wood
Not a ton of surprises, but a few young guys in the mix I wouldn't have figured on seeing. Cameron Carter-Vickers is the big one, as he's still eligible to play for England, but appearing in either of these games would cap-tie him to the United States forever. He wouldn't be anything more than a late sub specifically to tie him, but it's still interesting that he's there.
The big blow to the USMNT is that Geoff Cameron is injured, leaving us without one of our starting center backs. Klinsmann's got several options to replace him, with Besler and Gonzalez there as seasoned veterans, but don't be shocked if relative newcomer Steve Birnbaum gets the nod there.
If I had to guess a formation, I might go with what's at least on paper a 4-3-3:
Pulisic-Altidore-Wood
Bradley-Jones-Kljestan
Johnson-Brooks-Birnbaum-Yedlin
Klinsmann has already announced that Tim Howard will start in goal against Mexico, no real shock given Howard's strong performance down the stretch with the Colorado Rapids (including two saves in the penalty shootout today) and Brad Guzan's lack of recent playing time.