USA VS Jamaica Preview: Welcome to the Office

The USMNT traveled a day early to Kingston to get better acquainted with their surroundings in hopes of avoiding another disappointing upset to the Reggae Boyz.  Kickoff is slated for 8:30 pm at Jamaica's home stadium in Kingston, "The Office".  The questions surrounding the game involve whether or not Geoff Cameron might step in for the, currently error-prone, Omar Gonzalez.  Although Omar has been a bit shaky lately I think Klinsman will stick with Gonzalez in the name of continuity.  Also, benching Omar at such a late point in this camp could be quite a confidence blow for such a young player.  Omar appears to be what Klinsmann sees as the future in the back for the yanks and I must agree with him.  The youthful errors will fade as he sees more games.  Hopefully the errors just don't prove too costly in the short term.

USA VS Germany

Today's USA friendly against Germany at 1:30 on ESPN 2 will be a difficult challenge for the Americans.  Coming off a lackluster 4-2 drubbing by the Belgiums the USMNT will need to eliminate the simple defensive errors that Belgium was so easily able to take advantage of.  Look for their to be a few changes in the lineup today.  According to soccerbyives.net the first team practice squad included Fabian Johnson slotting in at left midfield and Brad Evans in at right back.  We will also hopefully see the return of Michael Bradley to the middle of the field now that he has had some time in the camp.  Germany will be fielding a B squad but as the number 2 ranked team in the world that will still be a very formidable squad, including the likes of Klose and Podolski.  Brad Evans at right back concerns me simply due to his lack of playing time there and his technical deficiencies but perhaps he will show the mettle of a good American MLS player and prove to be rather efficient.  I really like the Fabian Johnson-Damarcus Beasley duo on the left side.  If they can manage to defend at all then much of the US attack should come from overlaps and combinations on that flank.  Here's to hoping Jozy gets a little more service and puts a few away today.  Sadly that seems a bit of a pipe dream at this point.