Northern Ireland have lost just two of their last 15 friendly matches (W8 D5), winning their last two, although this is their first since October 2019 vs Czech Republic.
Berhalter has made four changes to his side from their win over Jamaica last time out. Miazga starts in place of John Brooks in the backline, while Robinson replaces Reggie Cannon. Dest switches from the left to the right side of the USA defence. Ream comes into the team in the middle of the park as Lletget drops to the bench. Siebatcheu replaces Sargent through the middle of the line to spearhead the attack.
Only Evans retains his place in the Northern Ireland starting line-up from their 2-0 defeat to Italy last time out. Baraclough rings the changes as Hazard starts ahead of Peacock-Farrell, while McLaughlin, Brown, Ballard and Ferguson start in the back four. Saville joins Evans in the middle of the park with Kennedy and Thompson operating on the wings. Lafferty leads the line alongside Lavery.
USA SUBS: Joshua Sargent, Brenden Aaronson, Luca De La Torre, Owen Otasowie, Chris Richards, Sebatian Lletget, Christian Cappis, Bryan Reynolds, Daryl Dike, Ethan Horvath, Erik Palmer-Brown, Chituru Odunze.
USA (4-3-3): Zack Steffen; Sergino Dest, Aaron Long, Matt Miazga, Antonee Robinson; Yunus Musah, Tim Ream, Kellyn Acosta; Giovanni Reyna, Jordan Siebatcheu, Christian Pulisic.
NORTHERN IRELAND SUBS: Jamal Lewis, Niall McGinn, Dion Charles, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Stuart Dallas, Alastair McCann, Paddy McNair, Gavin Whyte, Michael Smith, Craig Cathcart, Josh Magennis, Liam Hughes.
NORTHERN IRELAND (4-4-2): Conor Hazard; Conor McLaughlin, Ciaron Brown, Danny Ballard, Shane Ferguson; Matthew Kennedy, George Saville, Corry Evans, Jordan Thompson; Shayne Lavery, Kyle Lafferty.
The USA have been in exceptional form of late, winning their last four matches. The Stars and Stripes crushed Jamaica 4-1 in their last outing as goals from Sergino Dest, Brenden Aaronson and a brace from Sebastian Lletget delivered a comfortable victory. Gregg Berhalter’s men are building a solid foundation ahead of an important summer for the USMNT.
Northern Ireland kicked off their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign on a low note, losing 2-0 to Italy on the road. Goals from Domenico Berardi and Ciro Immobile condemned Ian Baraclough’s men to defeat in Parma. Norn Iron now need to find their form against the USA to secure a win to build confidence, having gone 18 months without recording a victory in regulation.
Good afternoon and welcome to the live commentary of the friendly match between Northern Ireland and the USA at Windsor Park.
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