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International Friendly: United States vs. Austria - Lineups and Live Thread

It's the final USMNT game of 2013 and Jurgen Klinsmann want to end the year with a win. A lot of regulars are still in the lineup and Jozy Altidore and Aron Johannsson are both in the lineup to start.

By Jake Catanese
Mark Runnacles

Jurgen Klinsmann has made a few changes to his United States starting lineup against Austria following a 0-0 draw at Scotland last week.

USA LINEUP (4-2-3-1): Tim Howard; Geoff Cameron, Omar Gonzalez, John Anthony Brooks, DaMarcus Beasley; Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones; Alejandro Bedoya, Aron Johannsson, Brek Shea; Jozy Altidore

AUSTRIA LINEUP (4-2-3-1): Robert Almer; Gyorgy Carics, Alexsandar Dragovic, Martin Hinteregger, Christian Fuchs; Christoph Leitgeb, David Alaba; Martin Harnik, Lukas Hinterseer, Marko Arnautovic; Marc Janko.

Most notably is the inclusion of Brooks at center back and shifting Cameron out wide, relegating Eric Lichaj to the bench. Lichaj came in for the injured Brad Evans during the Scotland game and many, including myself, were thinking he would be inline for a rare USMNT start. Tim Howard will man the American goal meaning it's unlikely Bill Hamid or Sean Johnson will make an appearance on this trip.

Cameron at right back again means that Klinsmann still thinks he's a viable option for the starting spot for Brazil, and he's probably not wrong. But Cameron's value to this US team is his versatility, and I think giving Lichaj a chance to start would be more beneficial to the US at this point. We've seen Cameron at several of this positions and fans know what we're getting with him. Lichaj is also a natural right back, something almost unheard of for the USMNT in 2013, who've gone with a variety of utility players at the position so far this year.

After an ineffective offensive game in Scotland, Klinsmann as opted to pair Johannsson and Altidore up front, with Johannsson occupying the withdrawn role at least initially. The rest of the midfield with Shea and Bedoya on the flanks and Bradley and Jones in the center seems to be a solid option should Klinsmann opt to switch to a 4-4-2.The Jozy-Iceman pairing will be interesting, but I think they're better suited as partners, rather than one sitting back. If the US struggles early, I'd like to see a switch to a 4-4-2 and see how that works.

Kickoff is scheduled for 245 PM EDT on NBCSN.

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