Running Diary: The good vibes continue as US show the gap vs. Chile

The US men's national team took a scrappy, back-and-forth 4-2 win over Chile on Tuesday night. Neither the result nor the scrappiness were unexpected:

1. Chile are bad.
2. This US lineup was an experiment (six guys making their first-ever USMNT start) built upon an experiment (as you know, this roster, overall, is young and highly experimental) reflecting a past experiment (Gio Reyna – the veritable Ironman that is Gio Reyna – was the only holdover starter from the 4-1 win over Peru).

So it was choppy. But it was also fun and full of information, and that's what friendlies at this point in the cycle are generally used for. And so in that spirit, I am going to give you a running diary of the game – scattered observations that occurred to me in the moment – rather than trying to tie together a whole, cohesive column.

Ok, in we go:

• As mentioned, the US have six guys on the field who've never started before: Chris Brady in goal, the right side of the Union defense in Frankie Westfield (RB) and Neil Pierre (RCB), Brooklyn Raines and Adri Mehmeti in the double pivot, and Julian Hall up top.

• It's a 4231, with Gio as the 10, Seb Berhalter on the left and Sergiño Dest on the right. But they are for sure going to swap places a lot. I'm expecting a lot of movement in the midfield.