USMNT lose protests of Jermaine Jones, Bobby Wood suspensions, both out vs. Argentina
The United States will not have Jermaine Jones and Bobby Wood for their Copa America Centenario semifinal clash against Argentina (Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET, FS1). The national team's protest of the duo's suspensions has been dismissed and they will have to sit out the upcoming match.
Jones was red-carded in the United States' 2-1 quarterfinal win over Ecuador, which earned him an automatic one-match suspension. Wood was yellow-carded in the same match and because he was also cautioned earlier in the tournament, he was suspended for the semifinal under Copa America's yellow card accumulation rules.
U.S. Soccer filed protests of the suspensions after the match, hoping that at least one of them would be cleared to play, but that won't be the case.
Jones' red card was for hitting Michael Arroyo in the face during a skirmish after Ecuador's Antonio Valencia was sent off for kicking out.
Wood's offense wasn't as serious, as evidenced by his only getting a yellow card, but he'll have to watch the semifinal with Jones anyway. Alejandro Bedoya is also suspended for the match because of yellow card accumulation as well.
The U.S. already had a tall task ahead of them because they are playing Argentina, who are unquestionably the top team in the tournament and maybe the entire world. Lionel Messi is getting fit again after injuring his back in a pre-tournament friendly so the Albicelester only figure to get better and they have out-scored opponents 14-2 in the competition, so they're plenty good to begin with.
Now with Jones, Wood and Bedoya out, all of whom started in each of the Americans' four matches so far, Jurgen Klinsmann has some big decisions to make. He's lost half of his starting midfield and the striker that has emerged as a well-rounded option in place of the injured Jozy Altidore. DeAndre Yedlin is returning from suspension so Klinsmann could put him at right back and push Fabian Johnson to the midfield, but that would only fill one of three holes. Klinsmann has several options at each spot, but none of them are great and the absences will be especially hurtful to a team that has thrived in part because of its lineup consistency and familiarity from match to match.
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