Who should start for Tim Weah in USA's crucial Copa América match vs. Uruguay?
Tim Weah's early red card in the United States' Copa América match against Panama on Thursday not only changed the momentum of the match, which Panama won 2-1 over the CONCACAF heavyweights — who played with 10 men for most of the game after Weah's departure.
But Weah's mandatory one-match suspension also means that head coach Gregg Berhalter will face a massive lineup decision in the United States' crucial Group C finale Monday against CONMEBOL powerhouse and group favorite Uruguay.
The U.S. will likely have to produce at least a draw if not a win over Uruguay if it hopes to advance to the Copa América quarterfinals as was widely expected of the host nation — and if the U.S. is eliminated Monday, Berhalter's job will likely be on the line.
With that in mind, a "FOX Soccer Now" debate between USMNT players Jimmy Conrad and Maurice Edu took on the pressing issue of who should start in Weah's place on the right wing alongside tournament standouts Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun in the U.S. attack.
Conrad and Edu initially differed in the debate, which was moderated by co-hosts Melissa Ortiz and Wes Morgan. Conrad thought that Berhalter should insert midfielder Yunus Musah into the group's starting lineup.
"What I would like to see is Gio Reyna to move from his central role and go out wide right where I know he's comfortable," Conrad said. "He might not like that position, but I know that he can do it. He did it for his club Borussia Dortmund, when he used to play for Borussia Dortmund. If he goes wide, that will leave room centrally, and I think you bring in Yunus Musah, and that is how you solve the problem. That will allow [right back] Joe Scally, or potentially anybody else that wants to, get up the line — it could not be Joe Scalley, but I think it will be."
The lineup shuffle would reunite the midfield trio of Musah, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams that drew rave reviews for their performance during the 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup, where the U.S. got out of the group stage and reached the Round of 16 before losing to the Netherlands. That trio has not shared the field thus far in Copa América, however.
While McKennie has remained an integral part of the U.S. lineup, Adams has only played the first half in each of the national team's first two games in the tournament after missing most of the past club season due to multiple injuries. Musah replaced Adams at halftime of the first game, a 2-0 win over Bolivia on Sunday, but did not see the pitch in the loss to Panama as Berhalter went with a more defensive-minded lineup for the undermanned side.
Conrad thinks that has to change.
"We gotta roll out Tyler Adams more than 45 minutes," he said. "This is a must-win game. No more joking around with his time management. Let's get him going, playing all 90. I think that'll make a big difference, too."
Edu, however, offered another course of action — keeping Reyna in the midfield and starting one of the U.S.'s backup strikers in place of Weah alongside Pulisic and Balogun, even thought it would force that player out of his natural positon.
"Have we not seen the best of Gio Reyna from a central position?" Edu said. "Let's just go ahead and ruffle so many different positions just to replace one? … Haji Wright — we've yet to see him [in this tournament]. So why not roll the dice a little bit? Bring in a player who is having a decent spell with his club team. Maybe it's not his preferred position, but he brings some pace. It gives us an outlet and some transition moments.
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You asked about our approach against bigger teams. … Let's take them head on. What does Tim Weah bring to this team? Tim Weah brings us dynamism. He brings us a unique skill set. He likes to get on the ball, attack in space. He puts good service into the box. And you get to get that with Haji Wright."
Edu did ultimately agree with Conrad that bringing Musah back into the starting lineup and reuniting him with McKennie and Adams was probably the right move.
It remains a mystery, however, which route Berhalter will take. Either way, the lineup he does roll out against Uruguay in Kansas City on Monday (9 p.m. ET on FS1 and the FOX Sports App) will likely go a long way into determining his future as manager of the the United States men's national team.
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