With a World Cup looming, Mauricio Pochettino and his squad still have questions - can they answer vs Ecuador?

AUSTIN, Texas - For months, fans have been clamoring for Mauricio Pochettino to deploy the strongest version of the U.S. men's national team. They'll get something close on Friday. There are a few absences, yes, but, by and large, the A-Team has arrived for Friday's clash against Ecuador.

That, in it of itself, is a reason for optimism and excitement.

Yes, it's good to see names like Malik Tillman, Weston McKennie and Antonee Robinson back in the mix, but what matters most is the result. There aren't many must-win friendlies and it would be unfair to classify the Ecuador match as that for the USMNT. A must-perform friendly, then? Yeah, that's more like it.

As the USMNT build towards the World Cup, this is another chance to show progress. The win over Japan last camp was encouraging, and it certainly bought Pochettino and his staff some goodwill with a fanbase that was growing tired of losing and experimenting.

There's little experimentation in this camp, but that doesn't mean there's none. There are still some decisions and moves to be made, and they could be key to the result on Friday, next week against Australia and beyond.

GOAL looks at five keys to the USMNT against Ecuador.