Will the real U.S. National team please stand up? The Americans will need to impose themselves as they take on Guatemala in a huge World Cup qualifying match on Friday.

Jurgen Klinsmann's Reputation on the Line

Jurgen Klinsmann has not been able to get a consistent stream of games from his team, and his job seemingly hangs in the balance after a plethora of failures in recent years. In their last 10 games, the Americans have a record of four wins, four losses and two draws, essentially undoing any good will that the team produced from its early 2015 exploits, which included six straight wins over the likes of Mexico, the Netherlands, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras and Haiti.

In their most recent slide, the U.S. has lost against Jamaica, Brazil, Mexico and Costa Rica, with wins coming against Peru, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Iceland and Canada. With the exception of Iceland, none of those opponents are considered elite competition, drawing concerns about the immediate future of the U.S. team.

Which Goalie Will Start?

The biggest question is about goal tending, with the team entering the qualifying games with four goalies in the ranks. Tim Howard and Brad Guzan are both favored to start, but neither has been consistently good over the last few months, leaving many to wonder if youngsters William Yarbrough or David Bingham could get the call in Guatemala. Yarbrough has two caps for the Americans while Bingham has just one, so experience is certainly a big concern for Klinsmann.

The goal tending question will be huge for the U.S. The team enters the campaign with virtually the same defense that has both helped and harmed it in recent matches. Offensively, the team has also remained the same lately. Klinsmann is clearly showing tremendous faith in the players who have performed in recent matches.

Guatemala poses a huge threat. The Americans drew their last qualifier against the team a few years back and have struggled to win qualifying matches away from home in general. The team actually won twice, drew once and lost twice on the road during the hexagonal stage for the 2014 World Cup. That performance needs to change if this team plans a return to the main event in Russia in two years' time.

Trinidad and Tobago, which is tied with the U.S., is taking on group minnow Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is all but assured a win. If the U.S. loses, it drops to third in the group. That would put it in dire need of points in every single game from here on out.

Prediction: The U.S. eke out a 2-1 win.

Start Time: 10:06 p.m. ET

The game can be viewed on beIN Sports USA or on the fuboTV app.

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