U.S.-Netherlands: a big night in Amsterdam awaits

Wednesday’s happenings at the Amsterdam ArenA will be worth watching for about 78 different reasons, but let’s be clear about this much:

It’s pretty late in the game, so to speak, for radical changes in the makeup of Bob Bradley’s United States side. The manager has certainly experimented around the edges over the last 30-or-so months, but he’s been working with the same core formation and same central personnel corps for three years. He’s hardly the sort to start tossing stuff against the wall willy-nilly at this point, hoping against hope that something sticks.

So, if you find yourself thinking about Wednesday's contest (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) against the formidable Oranje, conquer any urge to initiate a sentence with the words, "We should try this ..."

Like I said, it's a little late for that now. Eleventh-hour gambits can only make things worse, believe it.  

On the other hand, adjustments and tweaking can still be done. For instance, if the poor options currently available at forward prove too high a hurdle to overcome, Bradley has a couple of cards to play. The most likely adjustment at this point would be moving Landon Donovan into gap, beneath a target forward. That may be the best tact for getting the optimum amount of talent on the field, with DaMarcus Beasley or Jose Torres finding their way into the match along the left.

Either way, we’ll know more about the personnel as the level of competition moves up a couple of weight classes. The lightweights and middleweights of CONCACAF are safely stowed until the next qualifying cycle. A Netherlands outfit with a full Dutch delight of talent represents a potential hornets’ nest of trouble.

So, about 100 days away from U.S.-England in South Africa, we’ll know a little more about where, exactly, this team stands. We’ll know if Beasley is any closer to being relevant in the World Cup conversation once again. We’ll know if Jonathan Spector has the confidence and requisite maturity in his game to deal with the Dutch treats that lurk – and rest assured, the U.S. rear guard will be tested by a diverse set of heavy-weapon options.  Someone, for instance, will have to deal with winger Arjen Robben.

We’ll know if Donovan can create some gaps in the Dutch defense, even in the absence of qualified support troops. We’ll know if Jozy Altidore, still quite raw at this level, can make runs that are shrewd enough and assertive enough to take advantage of the Dutch central defense. That area is, quite possibly, the only thing resembling a weakness on this Netherlands team.

We’ll see if the United States midfield, which has been about three-quarters settled for a year now but is far from a finished product, can avoided being swamped under a bevy of skill and smarts. The Dutch midfield, with the likes of Nigel de Jong, Wesley Sneijder, Mark van Bommel and Rafael van der Vaart, really does represent world class balance. They’ll come equipped with a full complement of ideas.

Particularly of interest will be whether Maurice Edu, not far back from injury and still fairly green at this high level, is up for the job and able to cope?

We may get to see if Stuart Holden can continue his climb up the player pool pecking order. The former Houston Dynamo man, who has drawn high marks in two consecutive starts at Bolton, has probably done enough at this point to earn a place on the 23-man U.S. roster in South Africa. Right now, he’d been in a reserve role, nearer to the end of the bench than the front of it. A productive night in Amsterdam could further shake up the order, perhaps making Holden relevant in the conversation of who might be off the bench first in South Africa. Heck, a big night could even make Bradley think more seriously about using Clint Dempsey or Donovan in that withdrawn forward role, with Holden perhaps assigned a first-team spot on the outside.

Remember, this is it. There are no more national team gatherings until Bradley musters the troops in mid-May for the important training camp before World Cup departure.

Here’s who I’d like to see start Wednesday:

                                          Howard

Spector                Bocanegra          DeMerit             Bornstein

                                 Bradley               Edu

  Holden                                                                        Donovan     

                                                       Altidore

                                Johnson