Sounders’ Clint Dempsey leads United States into friendly vs Ecuador
May 25, 2016, 11:26 AM
Clint Dempsey and the USMNT have a pair of friendlies ahead of the Copa America, which starts in June. (AP)
(AP)
As we head into what will likely be the most dense soccer schedule of the entire year, I wanted to preview some of the non-Sounders games that fans might be interested in. Starting with the United States men’s national team and Seattle’s Clint Dempsey. Even though Jordan Morris and Brad Evans didn’t make the cut, Sounders fans can still watch Dempsey as he (hopefully) leads the team to Copa America glory.
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Wednesday’s friendly match against Ecuador is the first of two that the USMNT will play prior to their Copa America opening match against Colombia on June 3. The team played a friendly last weekend against Puerto Rico, but it was mainly for Jurgen Klinsmann to get a look at some non-MLS players that he might want to call up for the tournament. Now that he has picked his squad, he hopes to get them confident and playing well together before kicking off in one of the world’s biggest international tournaments.
Players to watch
Aside from Clint Dempsey, USA fans can expect to see at least a chunk of playing time for Bobby Wood, a young Hawaii-born forward that plays for Hamburger SV in the German Bundesliga. He’s another controversial choice for Klinsmann, but Wood has a solid scoring record for his club and notched his fifth international goal in last weekend’s match against Puerto Rico.
For Ecuador, fans should keep an eye out for Enner Valencia for a number of reasons. His top form in the 2014 World Cup led to the forward being transferred to English club West Ham United — coincidentally the team that the Sounders have a friendly scheduled with in early July. If Ecuador doesn’t last long in the tournament, Valencia could make the trip to Seattle with his club. Either way, Valencia is a talented player and one of Ecuador’s most dangerous forwards.
Predicted lineup for the USA
Brad Guzan (GK); DeAndre Yedlin (RB); Geoff Cameron (CB); Matt Besler (CB); Timothy Chandler (LB); Michael Bradley (CM); Darlington Nagbe (CM); Jermaine Jones (CAM); Gyasi Zardes (LW); Clint Dempsey (FW); Bobby Wood (RW).
Score Prediction: USA 2, Ecuador 1.
Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.
