Something unusual will happen Saturday evening when the Philadelphia Union host Toronto FC at Talen Energy Stadium: Of the 22 players chosen to start the game, nearly half will have experience playing for the U.S. National Team. And for once, the Union will actually contribute significantly to that tally.

The Union’s summer dealings can be characterized by many lenses. But one is the acquisition of players in Alejandro Bedoya and Charlie Davies, who’ve represented the U.S. internationally.

And so Saturday, using the Union and Toronto rosters, you can cobble together a fairly cogent starting XI of fully capped American internationals.



There’s some fudging position-wise. Chris Pontius is included, and while he has never appeared for the U.S., he’s twice been invited to camps and traveled internationally without getting in a game, and it’s reasonable to assume that had he not experienced such bad injury luck, he’d have that cap by now. (Consider this the start of the campaign for Pontius to play the role Ethan Finlay did at January camp and beyond last year.) There’s also no capped goalie, but Alex Bono, the former Reading United player, has played for the U.S. Under-18 team, so he’ll do.

The spine of the team is formidable. It features, when healthy, the U.S.’s top striker for the next World Cup cycle (Jozy Altidore), its captain (Michael Bradley) and arguably one of the first two or three names coach Jurgen Klinsmann pencils into the lineup in Bedoya.

That isn’t a bad team, if you could swap a forward for a truer fullback. It’s certainly a darn good one from a marketing standpoint, and it reveals a point about the Union’s direction.
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(Associated Press)

Here's a look at MLS All-Star Game coach Ben Olsen's starting lineup for tonight's match against Chelsea FC at PPL Park:

GK ... Nielsen
DF ... Beitashour, Collin, DeMerit, Morrow
MF ... Alonso, Beckham, De Rosario, Donovan
FW ... Henry, Wondolowski

About the starting XI:

• Off the plane, onto the pitch. Midfielder David Beckham will start tonight's match, despite getting off a plane only a short time ago. Beckham did not train Tuesday. He was in London for the Beyond Sport summit, in advance of the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Olympic Games, at which Beckham will have a role. Kudos to the guy for making the trek back just in time for the game.
• Newcomers to the starting lineup. Forward Eddie Johnson and midfielder Graham Zusi were picked to be in the starting XI by fan vote. But D.C. United coach Ben Olsen instead went with defender Justin Morrow and midfielder Osvaldo Alonso.
• No Union starters. Though it would've been nice to see either of the Union's All-Stars, whether Carlos Valdes or Michael Farfan, in the starting lineup, that didn't happen. Valdes likely will sub on at halftime, and Farfan is expected to play the final 12 minutes of the match as a sparkplug sub.