USMNT v St. Vincent & Grenadines The Basics Date: Friday, November 13, 2015 11/13/2015 Time: 5:30pm CT Location: Busch Stadium (St. Louis, MO) TV: ESPN2, Unimas Watch with your #AOFamily at one of our 184 chapter bars! The Hype WE GO AGAIN. It seems like yesterday that we were in the midst of another run for the MNT into the knockout stages in the World Cup in Brazil. But it has been 16 months since Belgium broke our hearts in Salvador and sent many USMNT fans into spiral of melancholy, emotion, along with some pride. It is now time to get the wheels turning into the next cycle of qualifying. First test is Caribbean wanderlusts St. Vincent & Grenadines at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. If we do our job, they will certainly feel a long way from home with this raucous home crowd and (hopefully) complete domination on the pitch. St. Vincent & Grenadine has a population of just over 100K, but is a very up-and-coming Caribbean powerhouse. Assistant coach (and former MLS defender) Ezra Hendrickson has said that the majority of the players that will feature against the United States on Friday will be under the age of 24, stamping their intent of growing their program and prepping for longevity. Many did not even expect this team to qualify for the semi-final round altogether. Props to them for getting to this point. Our job is to get three points nonetheless, even if it means crushing Caribbean dreams. JK has stuck with some familiar names whilst giving some new blood a chance in these early qualifiers. Newbies Matt Miazga and Darlington Nagbe could get their first minutes in a MNT jersey on Friday. Here’s the full roster: GK: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Tim Howard (Everton) DEF: Ventura Alvarado (Club America), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana), Tim Ream (Fulham FC), Brek Shea (Orlando City SC) MID: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC), Miguel Ibarra (Club Leon), Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), DeAndre Yedlin (Sunderland) FOR: Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Alan Gordon (LA Galaxy), Jordan Morris (Stanford), Bobby Wood (Union Berlin), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy) Have to feel good about our backline in this one… Guzan/Howard with Beez, Cameron, and FJ? All seem to be playing well for their clubs lately. Hopefully Fabian & Jurgen exchanged a long, meaningful hug when he came back into camp. Familiar midfield group from the past brings some good experience, let’s hope we see some creativity going forward. MB90, Mix, JJ and Beckerman have all received Klinsmann’s trust in the past – will that continue into this cycle? We shall see. Jozy had an up-and-down season with Toronto, let’s hope he gets his scoring boots back on to lead the front line in these qualifiers. Will be interesting to see how Jurgen lines up with Gordon, Wood and Zardes as options. We all know, Jordan Morris scores whenever he wants. AO Family, we have some things we need to talk about… We know you’re sad about the results as of late. We want to turn this ship around and do what we can to help. Our job is to give the boys on the field the endless support they need and deserve. We cannot emphasize enough, the importance of our support, especially in times of need. We need you now. They need us now. Love, happiness, and endless puppies. AO P.S. - It’s important to review our Code of Conduct and our AO Watch Program before each game. If someone is being an ass, help us fix it.