What's in store for U.S.-Poland in Chicago

Bob Bradley likes his soccer the way most of us like mama’s home cookin’: predictable … just the way we’ve always had it and liked it.

Or does he?

Might there be some tactical tweaking in the offing this weekend as the next World Cup cycle starts in earnest? (That friendly back in August against Brazil was more of a punctuation mark on the last cycle than a launch for this one. So, it really does begin tomorrow in the Windy City.)

As for personnel, there are clearly two ways to go Saturday when the United States meets Poland in Chicago. Bradley could lean into the “W,” which means relying on more of the old guard. (Bradley could start 11 players Saturday who played in the World Cup, in fact.) Or does he begin integrating more new faces, which might lead to a more disheveled match, but probably provides greater benefit in the long run?

(FYI, here’s a great factoid about Saturday’s match: the 18-man roster is entirely made up of players based abroad, something that has never happened. I write more about that in my SI.com advance, which you can read here.)

My guess is that he might try to exploit the team’s strength at the moment, which is the midfield. It’s about to get a little better as Jermaine Jones gets his first cap, something almost sure to happen Saturday.

Here’s what I’d personally like to see:

In goal: I don’t see Bradley dragging Tim Howard all the way over from England to sit behind Brad Guzan for two matches. So it seems pretty logical that each of the two goalkeepers in camp will get a game, either Saturday against Poland or Wednesday in Philadelphia against Colombia. My guess (and preference): Howard will be in goal in Chicago, then have an easier week before rejoining Everton for the weekend EPL contest. Besides, Howard in goal could provide some stability to a young back line, which leads to my preferences over the next part of the field …

Defense:  I have a feeling we might see Oguchi Onyewu on Saturday.  Just a hunch based on absolutely nothing, to be honest.  But doesn’t that violate an important tenet of the U.S. program over the last 10 years, that players need to be getting significant minutes with their club sides in order to be considered for the national team? So personally I’d like to see Clarence Goodson and Michael Parkhurst in the middle of the back line.

Carlos Bocanegra along the left would provide further stability and direction, even though it’s a little harder to shepherd the group from the outside.

In my opinion, Steve Cherundolo remains the top right back in the pool. But we know what Cherundolo brings. So I’d love to see the new face Eric Lichaj, the right back now making his way up the Aston Villa reserve chain.

Midfield: We all know what this team looks like with Michael Bradley running the show centrally. He’s obviously a talented, central figure of this group and that won’t change, but I’d like to see the next two matches be more about something new there. Maybe it’s a look at the team without Bradley, or maybe it’s Bradley in a slightly different role.

Given that Bradley, Jones and Maurice Edu are all adept holding midfielders, I’d like to see a slight tactical modification, something that looks a little closer to a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-1-1. Jones is a quality player in a quality league, so I’d like to see what the team can get from him.  Edu or Bradley alongside would make for a fairly rugged and effective two-man screen.

If Bradley sticks with his tried-and-true 4-4-2, I’d love to see Jones partnered with Stuart Holden, who is playing centrally for Bolton these days. Then, on Wednesday, perhaps we can take a look at a Jones-Bradley partnership – perhaps even with Holden on the outside, where he has always played for the national team. (Personally, I like Holden along the outside. But since he’s playing centrally in the English Premier League he probably deserves a shot in the middle internationally.)

For Saturday, my preference would be to see Alejandro Bedoya or Holden along the right and Benny Feilhaber on the left (but tucked inside, the way the U.S. always uses its wide midfielders), the role that he has played most often recently for the United States.

Forward:  As there are only three forwards on the roster, there aren’t many options here. And we’ll probably see all three Villarreal’s Jozy Altidore and Fulham’s Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson. So, I’d love to see Dempsey playing a withdrawn role underneath Altidore, with Johnson off the bench.

So, in review, I’d like to see this set-up for Saturday.

(4-2-3-1) Tim Howard; Eric Lichaj, Michael Parkhurst, Clarence Goodson, Carlos Bocanegra; Jermaine Jones, Maurice Adu; Stuart Holden, Clint Dempsey, Benny Feilhaber; Jozy Altidore.

Here is the entire roster for Saturday’s match:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton)

DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Étienne), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers), Jermaine Jones (FC Schalke)

FORWARDS (3): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Eddie Johnson (Fulham)