ESPN's Take on U.S.'s Starting 11

From Jeff Bradley's blog on ESPN.com:

Who's going to start for the U.S. vs. the Czech Republic, and will we see any surprise insertions like DaMarcus Beasley into the lineup?

Obviously, Kasey Keller starts in goal. No brainer there.

Along the backline, you have to believe that these three guys will start. Steve Cherundolo, Eddie Pope and Oguchi Onyewu. Will Eddie Lewis play left back to fill out a four? Will Arena go with three and heap more defensive responsibility on someone like DaMarcus Beasley, who seems to be struggling with his offensive form of late? Beasley had to defend a lot in 2002 and was always up to the challenge. I'll go out on a limb and make that my prediction. Cherundolo, Gooch and Pope in a three.

In the midfield, that leaves the U.S. with five, perhaps six, if Landon Donovan plays in the hybrid role, attacking mid/second forward. So, my guess today is going to be Pablo Mastroeni sitting deep, with Beasley on his left and Clint Dempsey favoring the right. Claudio Reyna in front of Mastroeni, with Donovan and Bobby Convey helping out.

And the one true striker will be Brian McBride.

OK, so sorting it out, it looks like this.

Keller

Cherundolo, Onyewu, Pope

Mastroeni

Dempsey, Reyna, Beasley

Donovan, Convey

McBride

Remember, this is just a guess, but I'm trying to base it a little bit upon what I've seen from Arena in the past. I think Arena likes the idea of having some of the young blood (Convey and Dempsey) on the field, for the fresh naivete they bring to the match. I also think he knows that Beasley is such a good competitor that he'll do just fine in a more-defensive-minded role. Though Donovan is listed as a midfielder in this set, Convey and Dempsey are going to be asked to join the attack, with Dempsey moving inside on occasion and Convey assuming more the role of a traditional left winger.

This lineup gives the U.S. a fair amount of defensive scrappiness (Mastroeni is like a fourth defender), while Dempsey, Beasley and Convey, all kids, should be among the fittest players on the team, which will enable them to apply the type of pressure through midfield that the U.S. is seeking.