USA/Belgium Recap First, Ill say Im damn proud of our team where US soccer has come. We were completely outclassed from a personnel perspective (obvious exception being Tim Howard), but we had the entirety of Europes eyes glued to the screen, and theres something to be said about that (To be fair, it helped that Belgium cant finish). Heres my breakdown of the game: 1.) Our midfield creates quite a predicament. Ultimately, with the resources we have, when put up against world class competition, Klinsmann is forced to chose whether he wants to attack (4-3-3) or defend (4-5-1). In order to win games, you must do both. To explain: a) Klinsmann made a pretty dramatic shift to the lineup to create a stronger attack, but at this point, Bradley simply doesnt have what it takes to control the midfield on his own. However, if you bring in the wing support that Bradley needs to handle the likes of de Bruyne and Hazard, our attack basically disappears. We left the center channels incredibly exposed in hopes of generating an attack, this is why Belgium had SO many opportunities through the middle. If you have a Zidane, or even a Schweinsteiger in the middle, the course of play would look incredibly different. Had we gone up a goal, Cameron would have been subbed out for Beckerman. Beckerman is by far our strongest defensive midfielder, but his ability to attack is limited. b) Im making zero excuses for Bradley, but our outside midfielders (Zusi and Bedoya) made Bradley look way worse than he actually is, due to creating so few options down the flanks. Yedlins youth created a big question mark for me, but now I see no reason why he shouldnt be starting over Bedoya. Other than one of his first touches on the field being off the graph, he played with incredible composure and pace. I would go as far as saying that he was eating Belgiums left side alive the entire time he was in the game. c) Jermaine Jones is a maniac and had the tournament of his life. However, his game is constantly walking the line between confidence and selfishness. He really excels in a beefed up midfield because he can take the risks that hes created to do. If you play him in a 3 midfielder formation, the midfield will get punished too greatly when he gets pushed up too far. d) I thought Julian Green would get beat up a lot more based on his previous showings, but in hindsight, I would have considered starting him on the other flank. 2.) Dempsey is a poacher, not a poster. He is only as good as a midfield swinging in crosses from the flank, or Bradley sliding him diagonal balls into the box. He doesnt play very well with his back to the goal, he has difficulty bodying people off the ball, and you cant expect much from him in a 30 yard footrace with the last defender. Our lackluster midfield basically made Dempsey a spectator for the majority of the tournament. Understanding we were trying to use him in Jozys role, he simply cant do it, and hes too valuable to have him removed and withdrawn for the majority of the game. Clint isnt Jozy, and it was a mistake to try to fit him into this role. This goes back to Yedlin and Green. Their speed made Clint play much more in the role where he excels, but a day late and a dollar short, unfortunately. 3.) The defense was a HUGE question mark for me the whole tournament, but they grew and gained composure throughout the tournament. Their abilities were limited by the fact that anytime the ball was advanced to the midfield, the midfield would either play a half chance ball down the field, leaving Dempsey chasing, or they would play a ridiculously dangerous ball within the midfield, for it to be given up to world class players on the opposition. The defense made some glaring errors against Portugal, and was shaky at best against Ghana...but our demise against Germany and Belgium rests in the midfield. 4.) The result of this game, and the tournament as a whole, was partially a product of lackluster (albeit uncharacteristic) fitness from the US. Having to use the first of three subs in the first half two out of our four games boils down to fitness, not bad luck. I am certain, that Klinsmann had our fitness in mind when he chose a more attacking formation. We dont really have 90 minutes in us, and we certainly dont have 120. If we didnt win the game in regulation, I knew the result that would follow. We gave a great final 15 minute adrenaline driven push...but that has to be motivated by the fear of not winning, not by the fear of losing. Time and time again, we mount triumphant comeback efforts. We have it in us...just to think what would happen if we did this before we took on a deficit. 2018 will look very different for us, however...the youth coming up the ranks will certainly rattle some cages...the last 20 minutes gave the world a taste of whats to come. Klinsmann cut Donovan with the future beyond this world cup in mind, and I promise you will see results because of it. Within 28 years from now, you will see the US in a World Cup final.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Jul 2014 12:58:53 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015