U.S. Men’s Olympic Soccer Team TV Schedule:

Aug. 7 vs. Japan Venue: Tianjin
MSNBC 4:55 a.m. ET
Universal HD 4:55 a.m. ET
NBC Olympic Soccer Channel 5 a.m. ET

Aug. 10 vs. Netherlands Venue: Tianjin
USA Network 7:30 a.m. ET
NBC Olympic Soccer Channel 7:30 a.m. ET

Aug. 13 vs. Nigeria Venue: Beijing (Workers’)
USA Network 5 a.m. ET
NBC Olympic Soccer Channel 5 a.m. ET

Predicted Lineup after the Jump…

——Altidore —– McBride ——

—————- Adu —————-

Holden —– Bradley —– Kljestan

Orozco — Edu — Parkhurst — Wynne

————- Guzan ———–

The only change that I could see Head Coach Peter Nowak making would be to start Robbie Rogers instead of Stuart Holden, not because of form but because of Holden’s ability to play multiple positions in the midfield and his ability to make an instant impact on the match.

My biggest worry though is with a lineup like this, you run the risk of Michael Bradley getting over-run in the center of midfield by himself since Adu would be given more of the offensive responsibilities (I know, I know, Bradley scored loads of goals in the Eredivisie with Heerenveen last season, 15 to be exact but he also had players around him that worked their asses off to afford him the ability to continually get forward in the attack). If Holden (more honest two-way player) / Rogers (not as honest a two-way player) and Kljestan tuck in to add depth and numbers on the inside of the midfield, outside backs Orozco and Wynne will especially need to open up quickly near the sidelines to create passing options through width and attacking outlets when the US recovers possession.

Wynne was brought to run the right channel, while Orozco showed his calmness and passing abilities out of the back (although he was mainly in a center-back role) during the Olympic Qualifiers.

This will hopefully allow them to keep the ball at their feet rather than force play forward through the continual long balls we saw at the ING Cup in Hong Kong. If not, it’s going to be a long, long tournament for McBride and Altidore.PS - 60,000 seats and expecting a sell out.