The Basics
USMNT v Paraguay
Date: Tuesday, March 27th
Time: 7:30 ET
Location: WakeMed Soccer Park - Cary, N.C.
TV: FS1, UniMas, UDN
Watch with your #AOFamily at one of 196 chapter bars!
THE HYPE
That empty feeling hasn’t subsided. That #fomo that you get when you’re little brother gets to eat ice cream for dessert while your cavity-ridden mouth only gets you green beans for a mid-day snack. You begrudgingly stare through your brother’s eyes, into his soul while he slowly devours his cookies and cream with cool whip on top, with each bite you die a little more inside. In this scenario, Mexico is your little brother and his sundae is the World Cup. And Omar Gonzalez’s own goal last October is your cavity.
But, no more time to gloat. We are now #hereforthefuture.
The USMNT carries on with no World Cup ahead, but still with the future on the brain. This week’s test brings Paraguay to North Carolina with both teams looking to rebuild after massive World Cup qualifying disappointments. Last time the USMNT faced Paraguay was in the 2016 Copa America, with Clint Dempsey giving the hosts a 1-0 win in their last group stage match; which eventually lead to a semi-final appearance. The USMNT is 3-2-2 all time against the South Americans and both teams could use confidence boost heading into a long summer of watching the Russian festivities from home.
No surprise that interim head coach Dave Sarachan names a largely youth-based team heading into Tuesday’s camp. In fact the average roster age is just above 23, with 5 guys receiving their first call-ups.
Here is the full roster:
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (3): Alex Bono (Toronto FC/CAN; 0/0), Bill Hamid (Midtjylland/DEN; 5/0), Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew SC; 1/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Ipswich Town/ENG; 1/0), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 14/1), Matt Miazga (Vitesse/NED; 4/1), Shaq Moore (Levante/ESP; 0/0), Erik Palmer-Brown (Kortrijk/BEL; 0/0), Antonee Robinson (Bolton Wanderers/ENG; 0/0), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna/MEX; 15/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United/ENG; 49/0)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls; 2/0), Marky Delgado (Toronto FC/CAN; 0/0), Kekuta Manneh (Pachuca/MEX; 0/0)*, Weston McKennie (Schalke/GER; 1/1), Darlington Nagbe (Atlanta United FC; 24/1), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 2/0), Kenny Saief (Anderlecht/BEL; 1/0), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; 3/0), Tim Weah (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA; 0/0)
FORWARDS (3): Andrija Novakovich (Telstar/NED; 0/0), Rubio Rubin (Club Tijuana/MEX; 4/0), Bobby Wood (Hamburg/GER; 36/10)
Dive a little deeper into the freshness of the roster with our post on the MNT youth revolution.
As mentioned, Paraguay heads to the states with a similar mindset of the U.S., which is that a new chapter is on the horizon. The Paraguayans also missed Russia on the last day of qualifying, conceding an 84th minute goal to Venezuela which knocked them out of contention for the playoff. Here’s their full roster:
GK: Roberto Fernandez (Botafogo/BRA; 0/0), Alfredo Aguilar (Olimpia; 0/0)
DEF: Junior Alonso (Lille/FRA; 16/1), Fabian Balbuena (Corinthians/BRA; 5/0), Luis de la Cruz (Guarani; 0/0), Gustavo Gomez (AC Milan/ITA; 27/2), Juan Patiño (Olimpia; 3/0), Bruno Valdez (Club America/MEX; 20/1)
MID: Miguel Almiron (Atlanta United FC/USA; 12/0), Nestor Camacho (Olimpia; 8/1), Cecilio Dominguez (Club America/MEX; 9/0), Derlis Gonzalez (Dinamo Kiev/UKR; 28/4), Richard Ortiz (Olimpia; 29/5), Hernan Perez (Deportivo Alaves/ESP; 29/1), Cristian Riveros (Libertad; 101/16), Juan Rodrigo Rojas (Cerro Porteño; 15/0), Oscar Romero (Shanghai Shenhua/CHN; 34/2), Richard Sanchez (Olimpia; 0/0)
FOR:Roberto Ovelar (Millonarios/COL; 0/0), Angel Romero (Corinthians/BRA; 12/2), Federico Santander (FC Copenhagen/DEN; 14/1)
So, get to your local chapter bars to watch some of these young guys showcase their skills. With next summer’s Gold Cup and rumors of the 2019 Copa America heating up, AO members have a lot to look forward to for the USMNT.
We need you on board.
We love ya,
AO