The first two-plus years of a World Cup cycle afford a national team coach the time and flexibility to run through the player pool in order to identify fresh contributors and phase out others.
For U.S. boss Jurgen Klinsmann, the meticulous exercise since the 2014 tournament has brought him to this point: 26 players summoned for the first two matches of the final qualifying round leading to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Injuries left him without four regulars, including starter Geoff Cameron, and players will continue to come and go over the 11-month campaign. But for the most part, Sunday’s selections sent notice of the key figures for the consequential matches.