The US Men's National Team didn't exactly get off to a flying start in the Bruce Arena era. The team drew against Serbia in Arena's first match of his second stint as the head coach of the national team, but better is clearly on the horizon. Even though the Yanks are going to be favored once again, it must be remembered that they're playing with a shell of a side with all of the players coming from the MLS. We'll see if they have more in them against Jamaica on Friday in Chattanooga.
Don't miss the soccer action from Finley Stadium at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, February 3, 2016. Catch every moment of the match live on FOX Sports 1.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
USA -257
Jamaica +810
Draw +400
Odds Analysis
It's not just the American team that is going to be underwhelming in terms of its quality on Friday night, and that's showing on the odds at BookMaker.eu. The Yanks are set at -257 on the moneyline and are favored by a goal and a half on the Asian Handicap. Then again, they were pretty darn big favorites as well against Serbia, and we all see how that worked out in a scoreless draw.
Roster Analysis
Jamaica has only called upon four forwards, five midfielders, five defenders and two keepers for this friendly match, and almost all of them are national players. The highlight of the bunch is clearly Kemar Lawrence, the big fullback who plays for the New York Red Bulls in the MLS. He's got 35 Caps; the other 13 outfielder members on the team have combined for just 40 Caps.
There is also some experience in net with Andre Blake, a man who has appeared 22 times for his country. He's attached to the Philadelphia Union of the MLS. It's perhaps a little surprising that we aren't seeing men like Darren Mattocks or Je-Vaughn Watson in the lineup for the Reggae Boyz, knowing that they are currently out of season as well with the MLS, but this is a true friendly in every sense of the word and is really more of a favor to the United States than anything else.
The Americans are still clearly working their way around their new boss. There's still some work to be done figuring out who is going to be in net with Tim Howard out for the foreseeable future thanks to a nasty groin injury he picked up against Mexico, and Brad Guzan might not be the answer after he was benched while wasting away for Middlesbrough. Nick Rimando might be next in line, and he did look good against Serbia.
That said, the real issues are still in the midfield. Jermaine Jones and Sacha Kljestan played in the midfield against the Serbs, but they're both now home from the roster and won't be in the lineup. Michael Bradley has gone from playing an attacking midfield role to a defending midfield role, and that has left some spots out wide for Sebastian Lletget and Darlington Nagbe, two men who were always looked upon as future midfielders for the USMNT.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
Is this a great USA team that is on the pitch right now? Not nearly. Clint Dempsey still isn't a part of the roster and won't be for goodness knows how long, and with all of the regulars who are tied to European teams like Christian Pulisic and DeAndre Yedlin not able to be around for this one, there's definitely some room for improvement.
The Americans didn't look good against Serbia, but that's to be expected after a couple months away from the game and a roster that hasn't had a lot of cohesion together. This though, is another poor Jamaican side, one that probably is just going to be getting used to each other as well. Will the Yanks cover the -1.5? That, we're not so sure about. But will they win this match? We tend to think so.
Soccer Odds: USA 1, Jamaica 0
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