The winning side

SPORTING GOODS

Bruce Arena may not care, as he is probably already planning his retirement, so here is my rendition of the Italian-stomping side we should put out on Saturday. Create your own here, and post a link in the comments!

He needs to take some chances (Clint Dempsey), and it's likely that the Italians will overload midfield, so we may want to start with 5 across. At half-time, if that's not working, out comes Reyna or Convey for Eddie Johnson. I don't trust him to start, but his fresh legs for the second half could work.

Eddie Pope, Cherundolo, and DaBeasley all need to see the bench after their performances on Monday. We need to score on Saturday, and Beasley isn't helping us offensively. I'd like to have a stronger pure defender in back if we're going to have someone like Dempsey playing (and Beasley on the bench), so I'll go with Berhalter or Bocanegra over Cherundolo. Pope seriously hurt his hand and did not look good on Saturday, so let's give Jimmy Conrad a shot in the middle.

Perfect? Probably not. But we need something bold to happen. Go USA! Don't miss Saturday's game at 3pm, as their run may not last much longer.