St. Louisans Sargent, Ream join USMNT starting lineup for exhibition at Busch
ST. LOUIS — Josh Sargent and Tim Ream got starts in their hometown of St. Louis as U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter made seven lineup changes for Tuesday night's exhibition against Uruguay.
Sargent, a 19-year-old forward from O'Fallon, Missouri, was in the stands for the previous U.S. match at Busch Stadium, a World Cup qualifier against St. Vincent and the Grenadines in November 2015.
Ream, a 31-year-old from St. Louis, captained the U.S. for just the third time following an exhibition against Ecuador on March 27 and the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal versus Jamaica on July 3.
A day after his 35th birthday, Brad Guzan was in goal for the Americans for the first time since last Nov. 15 at England. Midfielder Sebastian Lletget got his first start since a Lisfranc injury in a World Cup qualifier against Honduras on March 24, 2017.
Reggie Cannon remained at right back, joined by three other holdovers from the lineup that started Friday's 3-0 friendly loss to Mexico at East Rutherford, New Jersey: central defender Aaron Long, 18-year-old left back Sergiño Dest and midfielder Tyler Boyd.
Other newcomers for the 22nd-ranked U.S. included defensive midfielder Jackson Yueill along with more advanced midfielders Christian Roldan and Jordan Morris.
Lletget and Roldan were in front of Yueill, with Boyd on the right wing and Morris on the left flanking Sargent, who replaced Gyasi Zardes heading the attack.
Playing its last match before its CONCACAF Nations League opener against Cuba on Oct. 11, the U.S. was missing many regulars. Central defender John Brooks, right back DeAndre Yedlin and midfielder Tyler Adams are hurt, and star midfielder Christian Pulisic and goalkeeper Zack Steffen returned to their European clubs last weekend.
Uruguay's roster did not include star forwards Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani or midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro. The fifth-ranked La Celeste made three changes from the lineup that began Friday's 2-1 exhibition win at Costa Rica, inserting left back Matías Viña, midfielder Federico Valverde and forward Jonathan Rodríguez.
Holdovers included goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, right back Martín Cáceres, central defenders Sebastián Coates and José Giménez, and midfielders Matías Vecino, Rodrigo Bentancur, Brian Rodríguez and Giorgian De Arrascaeta.
