The official starting lineups for the United States vs. Mexico are out. Here are the starting XIs for each team ahead of the 8:30 p.m. ET Sunday kickoff:
USA: Guzan; Ream, Cameron, Gonzalez; Beasley, Bradley, Acosta, Arriola, Yedlin: Pulisic, Wood
Mexico: Ochoa; Salcedo, Reyes, Moreno, Alanis: Herrera, J. dos Santos, Fabian: Vela, Lozano, Hernandez:
Super strong lineup for Mexico, but the same can't be said about the United States. Seven changes for the U.S. from the Trinidad and Tobago game, which is a bit of a shocker. Tim Howard dropped, Clint Dempsey dropped.
USA coach Bruce Arena spoke to Fox Sports before the match and said big changes were coming:
Bruce Arena gives our own @JennyTaft an update on tonight's #USMNT lineup. #USAvMEX pic.twitter.com/1AmGFsTMee
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 11, 2017
"Well, I think you are going to see some changes," Arena said. "As many as seven changes from the game against Trinidad. I think the short window we have between the games against Trinidad and Mexico, plus the travel, plus the altitude, supports the concept that we need to make some changes. I think that's what we are going to do. We are going to pull the trigger, bring seven new faces to the field and hopefully that will help make a difference and perhaps create a level playing field with Mexico."
It seems as if he's opting to roll with players that have experience playing at the hostile grounds of Estadio Azteca. From the team's official website:
- Seven players in the starting XI have previously played at Estadio Azteca for either the U.S. MNT, youth national teams or in club play: Paul Arriola, DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Geoff Cameron, Omar Gonzalez, Brad Guzan and Christian Pulisic.
Level playing field? Hardly. It's a risky lineup for the U.S. Let's see if it pays off.
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