I'm excited to see who might actually help us in the Sept & Oct WCQs, who isn't already a regular with the true first team. Who's that list limited to?
Off the top of my head:
- Dwyer
- Villafana
- Acosta
- Arriola
I assume Morris, Hedges, the goalies etc don't have a realistic path to earning WCQ playtime, so is that the list of people to actually watch during the games?
Definitely add McCarty to the list.
Our DM depth has been non-existent since the decline of Beckerman. Bradley looks likely to stay there, but we need to have a legitimate backup to avoid another Jozy-injured-in-2014 type scenario. I don't think it's likely that McCarty starts over Bradley, but I do think it's very likely that he'll be regularly called up through the WC. It would also be conceivable to start McCarty at DM and Bradley at a box-to-box position or use both in some permutation of a 4-4-2 diamond.
Now that Pulisic seems to be settling into a central role for the US, there is plenty of opportunity on the wings. We have FJ and Nagbe, mostly. (I think Bedoya is useful as a late-game defensive sub, but I don't want to see his role expanded beyond that.) Arriola is an option here, but he hasn't been convincing, so I'd keep an eye on Rowe, too. It's a shame that Saeif got injured.
I don't think Morris is out of the question. Our top three forwards are Altidore, Wood, and Dempsey and it's quite open after that - Morris, Dwyer, Agudelo. Morris has been in poor form in 2017, but when he's hot his speed is awfully useful when you need to counterattack.
Lastly, John Brooks suffers more than his share of minor injuries. The #3 CB on the depth chart may well get playing time in WCQ and that spot is up for grabs among the CBs on the roster, plus Ream and possibly (though much less likely) Zimmerman.