Hurricane winds willing, the United States Men's National Team will play Cuba for the first time in a friendly since 1947 on Friday.
Assuming the game goes ahead, playing Cuba will not be the only element of "newness" to the game; USMNT manager Jurgen Klinsmann has elected to call in a young group of players for the Cuba match and the following friendly against New Zealand on October 11th.
History to be made
While these two played in Havana in World Cup Qualifying in 2008, this is the first friendly played between the two since their resumption of diplomatic relations. Seattle Sounders midfielder Osvaldo Alonso has spoken about how important the game will be for soccer on the island, and it will make headlines all across North America.
Youthful presence throughout USMNT
With an eye to Tim Howard's ongoing club commitments with the Colorado Rapids and the impending tie with Mexico in November's World Cup Qualifier in Columbus, neither Howard nor Middlesbrough's Brad Guzan have been called into the squad. Instead, David Bingham of the San Jose Earthquakes, Ethan Horvath of Molde and William Yarbrough of Club Leon make up Klinsmann's options to play in goal.
That youthful air is present throughout other areas of the squad as well; Jordan Morris, Julian Green, Christian Pulisic, Lynden Gooch and Paul Arriola have all been called as Klinsmann offers young players the chance to earn a place in the squad for Hexagonal qualifying. With regulars like Matt Besler, Darlington Nagbe, Kyle Beckerman and Graham Zusi out of the squad, the young guns will have no better opportunity to do that.
Things to watch for
There are a number of things to watch for, but first and foremost is which goalkeeper stakes their case to be third choice during the Hex. If Guzan and Howard will continue jockeying for the first choice shirt throughout the next several matches, these two friendlies will likely decide who is the third goalkeeper on the roster in Columbus next month. Many see both Yarbrough and Horvath as future USMNT stalwarts while Bingham has been impressive during MLS play this season. Expect each to be given game time at some point against either Cuba or New Zealand.
Beyond that and the emergence of the young players, it will be fascinating to see how the burgeoning partnership between Bobby Wood and Jozy Altidore continues to develop. Wood has been terrific in the last year-plus while playing for the red, white and blue while Altidore has struggled with injuries. Clint Dempsey really carried the load for the United States offensively in the Copa America, but with him shut down for the rest of the season, having Wood and Altidore playing like strike partners will be crucial when Mexico come calling.
Predicted line-up
4-4-2: Horvath; Johnson, Brooks, Cameron, Yedlin; Pulisic, Bradley, Kljestan, Arriola; Wood, Altidore
While Horvath, Yarbrough and Bingham have all been in and around the national team set up recently, the fact that Horvath was the third goalkeeper at the Copa America means he probably comes in as the favorite to make the roster in November. With that in mind, don't be surprised if there's a settled back four in front of him.
The young guns will be given time over these two friendlies to make their case. Although he struggled against Bayer Leverkusen last weekend, Pulisic has been in fantastic form and appears to be developing a relationship with Kljestan in midfield. We may see them both on the field alongside Bradley and Arriola, who has scored in both of his senior caps. There will likely be plenty of experimentation with the substitutes, but Wood and Altidore will likely start up top with Mexico in mind.
Cuba plays the United States on Friday afternoon at 4 PM ET.