Atlanta United’s starters for NYCFC not yet known because of call-ups

Atlanta United manager Ronny Deila has a starting 11 he hopes to play against NYCFC on Thursday, but that desire may be tempered by the conditions of the 12 players when they return from international duty.

The team (4-8-5) had 12 players, including 10 first-teamers, called up by their respective national teams for matches that started as early as June 5. The break ends with matches played Tuesday.

Most of Atlanta United’s players won’t rejoin the team until Thursday.

“We have to see how much they play … and then we’ll see minutes they played and how they feel, and then we have to make decisions,” Deila said.

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First-team players called up included striker Emmanuel Latte Lath (Ivory Coast), attacking midfielder Miguel Almiron (Paraguay), wingers Saba Lobjanidze (Georgia) and Luke Brennan (U.S. Under-20s), midfielder Bartosz Slisz (Poland) and Jay Fortune (Trinidad & Tobago) and centerbacks Luis Abram (Peru), Noah Cobb (U.S. Under-20s) and Efrain Morales (Bolivia).

Peru, Paraguay, the U.S. Under-20s, Trinidad & Tobago, Ivory Coast, Poland and Bolivia had games Tuesday.

NYCFC (7-6-4) starters called up to their national teams included striker and leading scorer Alonso Martinez (Costa Rica) and goalkeeper Matt Freese (U.S.).

In addition to the unknown conditions of the call-ups once they return, the team selection will be affected by the absences of centerback Stian Gregersen (quadriceps), who could be seen running around one of the practice pitches Monday, midfielder Tristan Muyumba (knee), winger Edwin Mosquera (adductor), striker Cayman Togashi (knee) and goalkeeper Josh Cohen (forearm).

The team is so depleted that it had only one circle of players doing rondo drills Tuesday, instead of the usual three.

The team still has several players who have started at least one match this season available, including goalkeeper Brad Guzan, striker Jamal Thiare, attacking midfielder Alexey Miranchuk, midfielders Mateusz Klich and Will Reilly, centerbacks Derrick Williams and Matthew Edwards and fullbacks Brooks Lennon and Pedro Amador.

“We need to put up our team in the best shape as possible with what is available,” Deila said. “And the good thing that we get other players now to get opportunities. And last time we had that, they did really well against Cincinnati (2-2 draw). So we have a good experience from that in the last break.”

Deila said there likely will be at least two short-term call-ups from Atlanta United 2.

“Many of them are with national team as well,” Deila said. “The play generally, it’s about age and it’s about nationality. It’s about many things to get it to fit, but we have a couple of options.”

A positive from having so few regular starters is that those available got more reps and more one-on-one instruction. Edwards said he focused on scanning the field and making better decisions with positioning and spacing.

“I think each coach has taken a role with each individual player,” Edwards said. “We have a big coaching staff, and they all do different tasks when it comes to helping us get better. And I think this week, obviously, with the small group, it’s easier for them to do for sure, so they’ve really honed in on that.”

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