Brad Guzan

The USMNT's goalkeeper rotation is back with Tim Howard, Brad Guzan both set to start

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:42 p.m. ET

Ryan Rosenblatt

The United States is going back to their goalkeeper rotation. Jurgen Klinsmann announced that Brad Guzan would start the Americans' World Cup qualifier against St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday and Tim Howard would get the nod four days later against Trinidad and Tobago.

Howard was the U.S. starter from 2007 through the 2014 World Cup. After the tournament, he decided to take a year off from the national team, during which Guzan became the starter. When Howard returned to the U.S. team in 2015, Klinsmann opted to rotate Howard and Guzan, with the two trading off starts. However, when it came time for Copa America Centenario this summer, Klinsmann thought it was important to designate one starting goalkeeper for the tournament and picked Guzan. With Copa America now over, the U.S. manager has decided to revive the rotation.

It's hard to separate Howard and Guzan right now. Neither has been in particular sterling form for the better part of two years now and both have gone through spells of being benched by their clubs in that time. Both recently moved to new clubs, with Howard joining the Colorado Rapids and playing well so far, while Guzan signed with Middlesbrough and has started their last two matches.

Ethan Horvath is the third goalkeeper on the U.S. roster and doesn't really appear to be in the mix to start. The 21-year-old is extremely talented, but he is more a prospect for the future. Arguably the most capable challenger to Howard and Guzan, and maybe even the Americans' best goalkeeper right now, is Bill Hamid, but he is not on the team for the upcoming qualifiers.

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