From the “international friendlies” leading into the Copa America tournament, US football team manager Klinsmann appears to be faced with a Hamletian dilemma. Should he stay with the “tried and trusted”, or should he gamble on the “up and coming”?
The “tried and trusted” would, of course, be the old guard of Clint Dempsey, Jermain Jones, Kyle Beckerman, Graham Zusi, Tim Howard and Jozy Altidore. For some of them, “old” will also refer to chronological age, in the 30s. The question was put to Klinsmann in the lead up to the first of two games last week.
If Klinsmann’s own words are anything to go by, we already have our answer, albeit with a hedged escape clause. Paraphrasing, Klinsmann said that he is playing the old guard because they are playing well enough to hold on to their positions. Then, he hedged, that it will be up to the younger players to push their way onto the team.
The “up and coming” would, to be fair, be a mix of genuine youngsters and some who are established league players staking a claim for a USMNT jersey. Chronologically, many of the latter are also in their 30s or close to it. They are the kind of people experts spend a few minutes on right after any tournament roster is announced and then move on.
Fortunately, Klinsmann gave us at least a glimpse of all these contenders in the tune-up games against Ecuador and Bolivia. Towards the end of the Bolivia game, he also appeared to tip his hand on the starting places for Copa America – selections that didn’t seem to veer too far from his remarks going into the games.
Interesting picks lie ahead for the national team
The goalkeeping position has transitioned from Tim Howard to Brad Guzan, with Howard still holding on to the No 2 spot. Given the indifferent seasons both had, Guzan being a part of a woeful, last place Villa and Howard being displaced as the No 1 at Everton, this is a huge area of concern.
This is a position that has usually been chock full of contenders, if one thinks back to the likes of Meola, Keller, Friedel, Howard and Guzan in their younger days, Hahnemann … not to mention handy MLS keepers who never made it, like Zack Thornton.
Funny how every team I support seems to suffer from the same malady, a porous central defence. Curiously, the prognosis is more optimistic for the US compared to Arsenal. Cameron seems to be a lock for one of the spots.
The other is still up for grabs between Matt Besler, Omar Gonzales, John Brooks, Steve Birnbaum and Matt Miazga. Gonzales seems to have fallen out of favor after the fiasco in Guatemala; Brooks and Birnbaum are still raw, putting Besler in pole position. Despite Miazga making his debut for Chelsea, very little is being mentioned about him, making one wonder if it is something personal with Klinsmann.
The flanks are in better shape with Fabian Johnson and DeAndre Yedlin in the starting spots. Orozco provides good cover on the right, but Besler appears to be Klinsmann’s backup for the left. Besler put on a “not bad” display in that spot against, admittedly, weak opposition in Bolivia, leaving a question mark there.
The most contentious spots appear to be the midfield. With Cameron in central defence, the best contenders for the midfield defensive midfield spot are Beckerman and Jones, both of whom will be positively geriatric before the next World Cup. One of the most long-standing debates around the USMNT is whether Bradley is more useful in a holding role or whether he should play further front as a No 10. Perhaps the answer may be determined by how much Beckerman and Jones have in the tank in 2018.
The attacking midfield spots are perhaps the ones where we have the most riches to choose from. Bedoya showed remarkable improvement from his stint in France, setting up Zardes with a beautiful spot through the middle and creating quite a few other chances. Bradley and Jones have the versatility to move up front. Zusi has always seemed a bit out of his depth at this level but can set up well with free kicks. However, two youngsters really caught the eye.
Darlington Nagbe and 17-year-old Pulisic came on as subs in the Ecuador game and injected tremendous energy and penetration up front, eventually leading to the lone score in that game. Both impressed with their poise and assurance. Nagbe, moving the ball flawlessly in some tight midfield spots and making some penetrating runs, with Pulisic moving well off the ball – a partnership to look forward to in 2018. It is easy to see why Pulisic has pushed for a spot on a strong Borussia Dortmund roster.
Goal scoring a big problem for the Americans
The other big question mark for the US is, ironically, the same one that plagues the Gunners. Who can score the goals? No matter what their club form may be, Dempsey and Altidore somehow seem to pop up well when it comes to the US. Particularly Dempsey. Altidore’s hamstring has become a major concern --- rather Theo Walcott-like. Dempsey will be 35 in 2018.
The youngsters knocking on the door are Bobby Wood and Zardes. Zardes has the Coby Jones kind of speed which would pose a threat in the counterattacking style that we have to play in most games. Klinsmann plays him on the flank, but his goals have come in the center. There are two areas Zardes needs to improve – hold up with his back to the goal and a good first touch. I have seen him waste at least three gilt-edged chances due to a poor first touch.
Bobby Wood displayed an excellent first touch, particularly plucking the ball out of the air. His movement and striking instincts are good, though he didn’t get many chances to showcase the latter in these two games. Pulisic, Wood and Nagbe seem to have already developed an instinctual understanding which bodes well for the future.
The other avenue for scoring would come from set pieces, where both Birnbaum and Brooks pose a perennial threat. The problem is whether they can merit their spots in central defence. Brooks was bested on quite a few occasions, though not in the air. Birnbaum did well enough in the tackles but had many passes go astray. Fortunately, the more likely candidates for those spots, Cameron and Besler, are also competent there.
Klinsmann appears to have settled on a Copa starting formation of Guzan in goal, Yedlin, Birnbaum, Cameron and Johnson in the back line, Bradley, Jones and Bedoya in the midfield, Zardes, Dempsey and Wood up front – Clint as the middleman. Nagbe and Pulisic seem to be marked as the top subs.
Klinsmann has the difficult task of juggling several priorities. The shortest one is to keep his job and that means at least making it out of the rounds in the Copa, a formidable task that starts with a “containment” game against Columbia, then push for 4 points between Paraguay and Costa Rica and hope for the best.
Just a bit further on, the US must get itself out of the first round World Cup qualifying mess. The sterner tasks are qualifying for the World Cup and showing well in 2018, overcoming our horrible record in World Cups based in Europe.
The Copa would have been a good testing ground for the youngsters. If they can hold their poise against Columbia, we could move up several gears in our ambitions. Even if they failed, he would know the magnitude of the gap ahead. In that sense, it is disappointing that Klinsmann is taking the short term view. However, one must hope that he is making the correct decisions. After all, that is why he gets paid the big bucks.
