PHILADELPHIA — The US will field a starting lineup comparable to the one slated for South Africa in a final World Cup tune-up on Saturday against Turkey.
With the drama of roster cuts now a thing of the past, head coach Bob Bradley said Friday that expected starters Landon Donovan and Carlos Bocanegra should see substantial time at Lincoln Financial Field against Turkey.
“It’s a game where we certainly will have a team that’s much closer to our regular team," Bradley said. "We have a few decisions to make … but it’s a good opportunity and a game we’re looking forward to.”
Bradley added that any minor decisions he’ll make on the roster will be largely based on the fitness of holdovers from Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Czech Republic, when players like Clarence Goodson, Stuart Holden and Maurice Edu logged the most minutes of any field player.
“We’re pretty set with most of our lineup,” Bradley said. “Those decisions will be based a little bit on wanting to see certain players, and a little bit on fitness coming out of the game the other day.”
Bradley also spoke on the continued recovery of Oguchi Onyewu, who logged roughly 65 minutes in Tuesday’s loss the Czechs, admitting that the defender still faces “little hurdles” as he tries to return to form by the June 12 opener against England.
“The reaction speed is different, where you gotta just make a play without thinking about it,” Bradley said. “I think that if I look back over the time that we’ve been in this camp, including the last game, we’ve seen good progress. So that’s a positive.”
Bradley added that despite recent injuries that limited them with their European clubs this spring, both Carlos Bocanegra and Jay DeMerit are “ready to step on the field.”
That means the oft-questioned 2009 Confederations Cup defensive group of Onyewu, DeMerit and Bocanegra will likely be revisited in some incarnation, but it’s unclear who could potentially anchor the right side.
Jonathan Spector and Steve Cherundolo are the likely options both Saturday and going forward.
“Hopefully with these next few games we can sharpen it up,” Bocanegra said. “Whoever’s back there … we’ve played together quite a bit. These next two games, especially for the back, it’s something we need to get right before we go to South Africa.”
Bradley didn’t touch on any offensive formations he might use against Turkey, but Donovan bristled at the idea that the team has potential scoring woes heading into the World Cup.
The team’s group of forwards—Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle, Herculez Gomez and Robbie Findley—have just 32 caps combined.
“We don’t have any anxiety about scoring,” Donovan said. “Aside from Edson and Herculez, most of us have been around each other a long time, so we know this group is comfortable, and we know what we’re capable of.”
US Soccer said that approximately 50,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday’s game.
