USA vs Germany

United States soccer is celebrating their centennial anniversary on Sunday, but with World Cup qualifying looming, they won't be treating their game against Germany with a fun run-out. Jürgen Klinsmann reportedly experimented with an unorthodox lineup in training on Saturday and is expected to field a new-look USMNT squad against the national team he used to coach.

This friendly is an experimental one for the Germans as well. Because of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund's participation in the Champions League final, Joachim Löw did not call in players from those teams, with Sven Bender being the only exception. La Liga players -- specifically, Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil -- were also unavailable due to La Liga extending into June. Because of the absence of those players, there are nine outfield players and 11 total players in the Germany squad who have five caps or fewer.

The U.S. is coming off a poor showing in a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Belgium. However, Klinsmann did not have a number of first choice players available, while he chose to rest others. Expect Fabian Johnson and Michael Bradley to come into the USMNT starting XI after sitting out against Belgium.

Remember, everybody: this game is not about the result. It's barely even about how well we play. This is our birthday party, as the U.S. Soccer Federation celebrates the start of its second hundred years as a thing. And who better - apparently - to play against for such a jubilee than USMNT manager Jurgen Klinsmann's native Germany, who will be missing some key starters from arguably the top national team in the world right now (but will still be really damn good, if a schellacking of FIFA 10th-ranked Ecuador this week is any indication).

If you thought Belgium was "fun" or "enjoyable" or "a rip roaring good time" then you should really enjoy this one. If, however, you saw the four goals allowed by the U.S. defense as something less, you may want to pay more attention to the pomp surrounding today's game and less to what's actually happening on the field. I think the Germans run out 5-1 winners. If you're a pundit looking to write a "USMNT in CRISIS" piece, I'd encourage you to get a head start on it so you can beat the rush. For more predictions, be sure to check out what the staff at SB Nation's USA blog Stars and Stripes FC has to say.