The hypothetical situation put before each of us was what is the ideal Starting XI, in a must-win, neutral-site game held sometime in the next few months. We each searched our inner Bruce Arena and came up with the following rosters.
I wanted to put the USMNT into a lineup that I thought would be most stable. The decision for me came down to whether I wanted an extra player at striker or in midfield. I went with midfield for a bit more solidity in possession and defense. From there, I valued cohesiveness in my player choice. The obvious omissions are Dempsey and Altidore.