Friendly games scheduled during international windows can be an annoyance and a distraction to players and clubs, but we happen to love them. For while the U.S. team's recent exhibition matches against Cuba and New Zealand were low-profile, anticlimactic affairs, they also told us quite a bit about where certain players stand under Jurgen Klinsmann's before the U.S. coach settles on his 23-man roster for next month's high pressure World Cup qualifiers against Mexico and Costa Rica.
Those little insights become even more interesting when paired with how particular players are performing for their club teams. Based on what we now know, here's how 11 Americans are trending less than three weeks before Klinsmann selects his squad.