By: COLIN REESE
OPINION:
With the announcement of the 30-man preliminary 2014 United States World Cup roster, there are plenty of undecided roster battles, but the picture of the 23-man World Cup roster and the Starting XI is becoming clearer amidst almost nothing but question marks.
Jürgen Klinsmann appears to have no clear picture of his Back Four or his Front Six, which is the entire Starting XI minus the goalkeeper spot.
This opinion piece isn’t a prediction of what Klinsmann will do because Klinsmann is hard to predict, and frankly this writer disagrees with much of what Klinsmann does, which shows a lot of bias toward German-Americans and players raised abroad.
Klinsmann excluded both Eddie Johnson and Juan Agudelo from the World Cup roster in place of Chris Wondolowski whose limitations are known, but Klinsmann did wisely include two needed creative midfielders such as Mix Diskerud and Joe Corona. Klinsmann deserves credit for the inspired pick of DeAndre Yedlin.
Since Jürgen Klinsmann and the United States Men’s National Team uses a 4-2-3-1 formation, the best way to select a roster is to have a first and second choice option for each of those spots plus an additional goalkeeper.
Based on skill, the following players stick out as the default starters in the 4-2-3-1 formation: Tim Howard; Timothy Chandler, Geoff Cameron, Matt Besler, Fabian Johnson; Jermaine Jones, Michael Bradley; Landon Donovan, Mix Diskerud or Joe Corona, Clint Dempsey; Jozy Altidore.
Although Klinsmann has almost exclusively used Dempsey as a central attacking midfielder, perhaps the United States would be bolstered by using a true playmaker in between Donovan and Dempsey.
US Soccer even tweeted a quote from Mix Diskerud where he said that he liked to play in the middle to set up his teammates.
Only Klinsmann knows who, but seven players will have to be cut from the 30-man roster, and World Soccer Source considers Brad Davis, Brad Evans, Chris Wondolowski, Omar Gonzalez, Kyle Beckerman, DaMarcus Beasley, and Clarence Goodson to be the seven players with the least-impressive combination of technical ability and athleticism amongst the 27 American field players selected to the USA’s preliminary World Cup roster.
The Starting XI discussed above is set up to use two modern outside backs flanking two athletic and technical center backs with two defensive midfielders protecting the Back Four. In more advanced roles, a central attacking midfielder is helping to orchestrate the passing and attack of two wings and a striker.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to guess who will start in the defense, and it’s equally difficult to guess who will play on the wings and who will be pulling the strings behind Altidore. Maybe Klinsmann moves Dempsey out left and starts Diskerud as the central attacking midfielder.
Without further ado, below are the 23 American players that World Soccer Source believes deserve World Cup roster spots followed by explanations:
GOALKEEPERS: Tim HOWARD (Everton), Brad GUZAN (Aston Villa), Nick RIMANDO (Real Salt Lake)
CENTER BACKS: Geoff CAMERON (Stoke City), Matt BESLER (Sporting KC), Michael PARKHURST (Columbus Crew), John BROOKS (Hertha Berlin)
-Maurice Edu, listed as a defensive midfielder, is also possibly one of the best American center backs. Edu is exactly the type of player that would benefit the center of the defense.
OUTSIDE BACKS: Fabian JOHNSON (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Timothy CHANDLER (Nürnberg), DeAndre YEDLIN (Seattle Sounders)
-Both Geoff Cameron and Michael Parkhurst (listed as center backs) play right back and left back as well.
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Michael BRADLEY (Toronto FC), Jermaine JONES (Besiktas), Maurice EDU (Philadelphia Union)
ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: Mix DISKERUD (Rosenborg), Joe CORONA (Tijuana), Alejandro BEDOYA (Nantes), Graham ZUSI (Sporting KC), Julian GREEN (Bayern Münich (II))
FORWARDS: Clint DEMPSEY (Seattle Sounders), Landon DONOVAN (LA Galaxy), Jozy ALTIDORE (Sunderland), Aron JÓHANNSSON (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence BOYD (Rapid Wien)
Rationale
-The USA Back Four is clearly a huge question mark, and the players proposed by World Soccer Source allow room for adjustments based on how the defense performs. Cameron and Parkhurst can play as center backs or outside backs, and Chandler and Johnson can both play as right backs or left backs. Finally, Edu can play as a center back.
-An important aspect of World Soccer Source’s proposal is that Cameron and Edu can both play as defensive midfielders or center backs, and it’s unclear whether Cameron is needed more as a defensive midfielder or as a center back. It’s important to note that Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley will be the two defensive midfielders started by Klinsmann, which makes Cameron more likely to start at center back as opposed to as the more withdrawn defensive midfielder, unless Jones shows that he is unwilling to stay deeper when he needs to.
– Cameron and Besler are the default center back pairing, but the argument can be made that the Edu-Cameron center back pairing, although only used once, showed the most promise under Klinsmann. Cameron might even be of more use as the defensive midfielder to protect the Back Four. Cameron and Bradley as starting defensive midfielders might be necessary to compete against Ghana, Portugal, and Germany.
– For all the attention focused on Parkhurst’s ability to hold his own out of position at right back or left back, Parkhurst is naturally a center back who plays there now at the club level.
– John Brooks is a Bundesliga starter for Hertha Berlin. Brooks has been labeled as mistake-prone, but Gonzalez has been tagged with this label as well, in addition to being slower, less agile, and less technical than Brooks. Goodson is another slow center back that is easier to catch off balance than Brooks. Brooks is younger, more technical, and more athletic than Goodson and Gonzalez.
– DeAndre Yedlin is a wise inclusion for the final 23 to give the USMNT another two-way outside back with the skill and speed to keep up with World Cup attackers. Yedlin’s defending and tackling is much better than advertised.
– Maurice Edu deserves the third defensive midfielder spot over Beckerman because of his superior ability to keep pace with World Cup competition compared to Beckerman; Edu also is a capable center back who has World Cup experience and a better club resume than Beckerman who has only played in MLS.
– Joe Corona and Mix Diskerud are creative midfielders that can help the United States improve the overall skill of the group and help to keep possession. They also complement Bradley, Donovan, Dempsey, and Altidore. Both attacking midfielders offer a creative skill-set that Bradley and Jones don’t bring to the table.
-Diskerud and Corona are not mutually exclusive on the USA roster. Corona is more versatile from a positional since as he plays on either wing or as a central attacking midfielder, which is what makes him even more valuable than he already is based on his skill, quick feet, and club experience.
– The inexperienced Julian Green brings a lot of technical ability, 1v1 skill, and speed, and he shouldn’t be thought of as a player that is competing with Diskerud and Corona because those two are needed for their ability to create and facilitate the passing of the United States. If Green makes the final roster, he might prove to be more effective than even Zusi and Bedoya.
If this 23 listed above were the USMNT’s World Cup roster, then World Soccer Source would start this USA XI:
Howard; Yedlin, Edu, Besler, Johnson; Cameron, Bradley; Corona, Diskerud, Dempsey; Altidore.