Going young (oldest player's 27) to give experience to guys who can play a part for the next 5 years. Candler and Yedlin are, for me, the two most talented fullbacks in the player pool, so find a way to get them both out there. Give CCV and Gonzalez a taste of the senior team to show they're in our plans and stave off potential interest from England and Mexico in the short term. I get playing Pulisic in the middle since it maximizes touches for our best player, but at this stage in his career, I feel like he's still prone to getting out-muscled or taking a touch too many in the middle, so shifting out wide would give him more time on the ball and allow him to run at defenders more (still with license to roam in field, though). I think Nagbe's skill set lends itself better to being the #10 in a 3-man midfield than on the wing or in 2-man midfield like he was used during the last cycle, so I'd like to give him a go there and see how he does because his skill set is unique in our player pool. Brooks is returning to training, so he's in (if not match fit by then, start Miazga). Saief still hasn't played this season with injury, so he's out. Starting Horvath in goal because he's already settled in with his club while Hamid is getting his move sorted out, but I'd be fine with either getting a shot.
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Kyle Dewey
over 6 years
Going young (oldest player's 27) to give experience to guys who can play a part for the next 5 years. Candler and Yedlin are, for me, the two most talented fullbacks in the player pool, so find a way to get them both out there. Give CCV and Gonzalez a taste of the senior team to show they're in our plans and stave off potential interest from England and Mexico in the short term. I get playing Pulisic in the middle since it maximizes touches for our best player, but at this stage in his career, I feel like he's still prone to getting out-muscled or taking a touch too many in the middle, so shifting out wide would give him more time on the ball and allow him to run at defenders more (still with license to roam in field, though). I think Nagbe's skill set lends itself better to being the #10 in a 3-man midfield than on the wing or in 2-man midfield like he was used during the last cycle, so I'd like to give him a go there and see how he does because his skill set is unique in our player pool. Brooks is returning to training, so he's in (if not match fit by then, start Miazga). Saief still hasn't played this season with injury, so he's out. Starting Horvath in goal because he's already settled in with his club while Hamid is getting his move sorted out, but I'd be fine with either getting a shot.