• Four things to watch versus Belgium

  • By Doug McIntyre | May 29, 2013 9:41:08 AM PDT

The U.S. men's national team takes on a powerful Belgian squad in a friendly match in Cleveland on Wednesday night (8 p.m. ET, ESPN, WatchESPN). It is the first of five games -- including thee pivotal World Cup qualifiers -- the American squad will play over the next three weeks.

With several regulars still filtering into camp, U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann will have the chance to experiment with players and formations before another friendly on Sunday against Germany in Washington and the three qualifiers that follow next month: at Jamaica (June 7) and at home versus Panama (June 11) and Honduras (June 18).

With 10 Premier League players on its roster, Belgium will provide a stiff opening test. Here are four things to watch for when the game kicks off:

Beasley's big night
There's little doubt that veteran DaMarcus Beasley will earn his 100th cap tonight -- the question is where? With club commitments ruling out Fabian Johnson and Edgar Castillo against Belgium, Beasley figures to start at left back. But since the Yanks haven't been able to generate chances from the wings, there's a chance Klinsmann could deploy Beasley in his natural spot on the left wing and start Michael Parkhurst on defense. Or Beasley could move up the field later in the match.


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