How will the USMNT line up against Cuba?

Despite all of the doom and gloom that has headlined the U.S. men's national team's first foray into the Concacaf Nations League, here we are. One win against a completely overmatched Cuba team will do the job. One win and the U.S. erases a historic Canada loss and moves forward towards bigger stakes and bigger games against the region's elite.

Friday's victory over Canada was a statement – one that USMNT groups of past years wouldn't have had to make, but a statement nonetheless. There is at least some fight in this group and, barring a massive upset against Cuba, they'll get a chance for more revenge next year. Canada was first on the list given what happened in Toronto last month, but an opportunity to battle Mexico, and the rest of the Hexagonal's contenders, ahead of World Cup qualifying will certainly be on the USMNT's minds.

But before the Hex and before a potential Nations League semifinal showdown with El Tri, they'll have to navigate Tuesday night. It's an unusual game, a trip to the Cayman Islands to take on a Cuba team they battered 7-0 last time out. On paper, it should be little more than a walkthrough, but the U.S. has been down this road before.

As we do before each USMNT match, Goal has three potential lineups that Gregg Berhalter could deploy:

Most Likely XI

We'll almost certainly see some sort of shuffling with this lineup as the U.S. prepares for its second game in just a matter of days. Given the level of the opponent, Berhalter will likely give a few younger guys a chance to impress heading into 2020. However, there's a balance to strike as the U.S. does, in fact, need to win this game.

Josh Sargent got the nod against Cuba in October and, having sat behind Gyasi Zardes on Friday, he should get the nod on Tuesday. At some point, Sargent will need to play in the bigger games with more on the line, while usurping Zardes in the process, but it appears Berhalter is taking it relatively slow with the Werder Bremen prospect. That's all well and good, but a solid Sargent performance that includes improved hold-up play, good linking with teammates and perhaps even a goal or two would go a long way towards raising his stock.

In the midfield, Berhalter will likely shake things up a bit despite a good performance against Canada. Alfredo Morales earned a cameo in Orlando, but is deserving of a full run-out, especially given the energy and attitude he'll bring to the field. Sebastian Lletget was arguably man of the match against Canada but Cristian Roldan should get the nod in that spot fresh off an MLS Cup triumph. The Seattle Sounders midfielder has now had a full week off without game action, so he should have plenty of energy compared to some of his teammates, who entered USMNT camp fresh off an extended break following MLS elimination.

While some players, like Weston McKennie, should be given a second consecutive start, it's probably asking too much of John Brooks to have him go twice in one break, at least given the scenario. The injury-prone defender was an absolute behemoth against Canada and showed off some real leadership during that match but, given his injury history, it makes sense to let him head back to Wolfsburg healthy and confident. Walker Zimmerman can do well enough in his place while also providing a good target on set pieces.

The big question is Jordan Morris, who is playing the best soccer of his life at the moment. This will be his third match in nine days, but there's something to be said about sticking with the hot hand. Knowing that, it makes sense to at least start Morris and see if he can provide one more goalscoring performance before an extended vacation.

If it ain't broke...

The win over Canada was arguably the USMNT's best performance of the year. Each and every level of the team worked and each and every player on the field showed the energy many accused them of lacking in Toronto the month before.

Berhalter could, then, take this chance to lean on a famous saying: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Morris is in the form of his life, so why would you take him out of the game? Lletget and Jackson Yueill have had plenty of time to rest and recover following MLS elimination, so why shouldn't they be ready to face lowly Cuba just a few days later? Zardes, Tim Ream and Paul Arriola are veterans, so why wouldn't they be able to handle this type of turnaround?

There are plenty of ways to overthink things in this game, but very rarely do you get a chance to keep things simple and let them flow. Berhalter could do just that if he so desires as he has the chance to lean on at least a big chunk of players that put together a very good performance just a few days ago.

... But we've seen this before

However, the mentality listed above has come into play for the USMNT before, and with disastrous circumstances. Days after smashing Panama to put the USMNT one step away from the World Cup, Bruce Arena unveiled an unchanged lineup at Trinidad & Tobago days later. We all know what happened next. The USMNT were slow, lethargic and, ultimately, second best, and their World Cup hopes ended because of it.

That lesson was painful but also a poignant one. It taught everyone that, no matter your talent level and no matter your form, travelling in Concacaf isn't easy. It's not easy to go on long flights to humid climates and it's not easy to win on shoddy pitches against teams determined to play the game of their lives against a continental power.

Still, it should be easy enough that a semi-fresh USMNT should be able to win anyway on Tuesday, but that's not the point. The point is that Berhalter could very well see what happened in Couva two years ago and go in the complete opposite direction.

There's enough talent here to give things a major change-up. There are enough bodies to get what is essentially a whole new lineup in. You have veteran leaders like DeAndre Yedlin who can take command and you have younger players that should be hungry enough to do what needs to be done.

At the end of the day, this Cuba team isn't anywhere near as good as that T&T team was and the stakes are nowhere near as high. But it's probably a good idea to learn from that day while also giving new faces a chance to impress.