This coming Friday, September 2nd, the USMNT plays at St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) (beIN Sports at 3:30pm EDT) . Then on Tuesday, September 6th, they host Trinidad and Tobago (T&t) in Jacksonville, Florida (on Fox Sports 1 at 8pm EDT). So what should we expect to see this next week? Perhaps the best way to get into whats next is to revisit where we just came from.
(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)
COPA America 2016
Back earlier this summer the UWMNT participated in the 100th COPA America, hosted, interestingly enough, in the US even though its run by Conmebol, the South American arm of FIFA. And as you recall the US finished second in their group and advanced to the knockout round. They won their quaterfinal match, defeating Ecuador 2-1, then lost in the semi-final to powerhouse Argentina.
The tournament was open to debate as to how the team did. And I think it boiled down to whether you are a glass half full or half empty type of a person. Simply put we beat the teams we should have and lost to teams that are better than us. But the real discussion went much deeper than merely how did we do. The real question was why did we use the players we did? What did we learn? Many fans wanted the US to take a much more attacking team and a much younger team in order to get the youth some great experience. Key to this side of the argument is that playing competitive games within the Concacaf sector does not give the team much exposure to the higher level of play at the World Cup. There are really only two teams we play, Mexico and Costa Rica, who are consistently good teams. This would have been a good set of tests for the players likely to be critical for WC 2018 in Russia.
The other side of the debate felt that a strong showing was more important and that many of the younger players who indeed may be key in 2018 were simply not ready to be thrust into a competition like that just yet. And couple that with the fact that the USMNT has almost assuredly (should I really say this?) set to move on to the hexagonal round for WC 2018. So the right time to play more of the youth would be the qualifiers coming in September. I happen to have been in this group.
In total, reflecting back on COPA, I think we did see several important things.
1. For maybe the first time ever, or certainly in a long time, the team has a very strong back four and plenty of depth too.
2. Booby Wood is a strong upfront player and can play the target forward position in addition to Jozy Altidore. This is really important as we saw in WC 2014. When Altidore got hurt in the first match we simply did not have the players on the roster to continue to play the same approach upfront. We now have options up top.
That’s the bright side. Now the not so good.
3. For the first time in a long time the US is no longer deep and outstanding at the goalkeeper position. While Brad Cuzan and Tim Howard are still plenty serviceable, they do appear to have regressed a bit. I still expect them to make the saves they should. And there is nothing wrong with that. But I no longer have confidence that they will come up big and make the key save that they are not expected to.
4. It doesn’t appear that Michael Bradley (29) or especially Jermaine Jones (34) are going to be full time stalwarts in the middle of the field come the next WC. I think they will still be valuable players in the mix but not 90 minutes every game time players. Perhaps, if Bradley, plays a more defensive midfield he may still be a full timer. But Lord knows there is just about no player on the planet that covers more ground every game than he does. We can all debate the quality of his play but there is zero debate on his work rate.
Semi-Final Qualifiers
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann has called in 26 players to train for the two upcoming matches. The US is currently in second place in the group with seven points. Three behind T&T and one ahead of Guatemala. There are several scenarios that get the team on to the next round. The best news is that they totally control their own destiny. If they win both matches they advance. The only way the can advance on Friday is to beat SVG and have T&T beat Guatemala. This would be the best scenario in that the game in Jacksonville would be a freebie and allow Klinsmann to play a lot of younger players without the pressure of needing a result.
So just how does the US prepare for these two matches? First and foremost, they are going to rely on the squad from this summer’s COPA. Nineteen of the 23 players on that roster have been called into this camp. And two of the players left out, Clint Dempsey and Gyasi Zardes are out with health/injury concerns. But they are replaced by Jozy Altidore and Jordan Morris, both scoring well for their MLS clubs. The other notable missing piece on Friday will be Bradley who is out with accumulated yellow cards (he will be available for the second the match).
I think the key to these next two matches will be the back four. If the combination of Matt Besler, Fabian Johnson, John Brooks, Steve Birnbaum, Omar Gonzalez, Geoff Cameron, and Deandre Yedlin play like they did in COPA then the team should have little trouble. And its probably a toss up who starts in goal between Howard or Cuzan with a chance that Ethan Horvath gets some time too if the second game turns out to be meaningless.
In the middle of the field I expect to see some combiantion of Darlington Nagbe, Jermaine Jones (although he is nursing an injury too), Cameron, Christian Pulisic, Alejandro Bedoya, and Graham Zusi. I don’t expect to see Kyle Beckerman get a start but you never know with Klinsmann.
In the front I think we will see Bobby Wood (how do you not start him after http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/66/united-states/2016/08/27/26925942/watch-bobby-wood-scores-in-hamburg-debut)? Folks that is a world class goal. He’ll be paired with either Altidore or Morris.
If things work to perfection and the second game is a freebie then expect to see wholesale changes. Unfortunately, the roster called in is missing a couple of players i would have preferred to have in camp, especially if we get the free game next Tuesday. So here is how I see the roster (note that three players will be released prior to the first match (and Jones is likely to be one of those if the trainers can’t work some magic).
Goalkeepers
Okay but I would have replaced Cuzan with Bill Hamid or even David Bingham.
Defenders
Wouldn’t have changed a thing. This is a deep and talented group although I wish Kilnsmann would move Johnson to midfield to better use his attacking skills.
Midfielders
Pretty decent selection. For me its going to boil down more to whom he plays. Its time for him to really give minutes to Ngabe and Pulisic. We need them in 2018. Conversely its time to wean away from Beckerman and Zusi and bring in Perry Kitchen.
Forwards
Best selection he could have made with Dempsey hurt. Although I think the time has come to move on from Chris Wondolowski repalced wih Julian Green.
I fully expect us to win both our two matches and cruise into the hexagonal. I will be in the stands for the game in Jacksonville. Lets go boys, its soccer time!!
Soccer Analyst
Steve is an avid fan of all things soccer and the O’s. Originally from the west, he grew up in the Baltimore area. He returned to the west for college where he earned a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Montana State University and spent 36 years working at the Idaho National Laboratory prior to retiring in 2013. It was during his school years in Baltimore where he learned to play soccer and that developed into a life long passion. He played competitively for over 40 years and was a four year starting goalkeeper at MSU. He also coached and refereed in the Idaho premier soccer and High School programs for many years.