By: COLIN REESE
Given the fact that Jürgen Klinsmann, as well as club teams and national teams all over the world, are continuing to switch over to a 4-3-3 formation, the USMNT’s midfield should be thought of as a three-man set-up.
There are about three tactical options with a three-man midfield.
First, there is the option of using two defensive midfielders or at least two box-to-box midfielders with an attacking midfielder playing in a more advanced role.
Second, there is the option of using a defensive midfielder deep in the middle protecting the Back Four with two attacking midfielders playing in more advanced roles that involve lots of movement all over the midfield.
Third, a midfield trio can consist of a box-to-box midfielder, a defensive midfielder, and an attacking midfielder.
Specifically for the USMNT, the first option would involve starting Jermaine Jones or Maurice Edu with Michael Bradley as the defensive midfielders with Mix Diskerud, Joe Corona, or Benny Feilhaber starting in the more advanced attacking midfielder role.
In this set-up, there is also the obvious option of starting Geoff Cameron with Bradley with one of the attacking midfielders playing the more advanced role.
This system gives the national team strong defending combined with quality passing from two defensive midfielders with a third attacking midfielder being free to create more and play a playmaking and link-up role.
The second option would entail using Diskerud and Corona in front of Bradley who would be playing the defensive midfielder role that was missing from the recent victory over the Czech Republic.
This midfield trio would be based on Diskerud and Corona passing and moving in a creative capacity in addition to high pressing with Bradley providing the defensive safety net and cultured passing behind them in front of the defense.
Diskerud and Corona would not only be a constant passing outlet for Bradley, but they would also be tasked with keeping possession, setting the tempo, linking up with the attack, and setting up goals.
The third option utilizes the common practice of starting a defensive midfielder, a box-to-box midfielder that provides lots of two way play, and an attacking midfielder/playmaker, so this option gives the midfield the three types of midfielders that allow for a midfield to neither be more defensive nor more attack-minded.
In this third option, someone like Cameron or Edu would play the defensive midfielder role with Bradley playing the box-to-box midfielder role with Corona or Diskerud playing the attacking midfielder or playmaker role.
What the United States needs is a roster capable of deploying either of the three options depending on the opposition, or the United States could chose to not alter its tactics based on its opposition, but rather look to set the pace of the game.
Looking at the American player pool, Bradley, Jones, and Edu are obviously the names that come to mind as roster locks as far as defensive midfielders and/or box-to-box midfielders go; Cameron is normally listed as a defender.
But now, Perry Kitchen is also making his case to be deserving of a roster spot as one of the USMNT defensive midfielders, and unlike the other three players, Kitchen plays strictly as a defensive midfielder or midfield destroyer; Kitchen can also play as a center back.
If Kitchen is listed as a defensive midfielder, it’s possible that Edu could be listed as a defender as Cameron is. Edu has been excelling as a center back, and Edu has performed well there for the United States in the past.
The main attacking midfielder options are Diskerud and Corona, and Klinsmann likely has no intention of calling up World Cup veteran and seasoned playmaker, Benny Feilhaber, who is an undeniable top option to play the playmaker role for the United States.
Even with Feilhaber’s vastly improved two-way play and level of fitness over the last two seasons, Klinsmann has given no indication that he plans on calling up or using the best American playmaker: Feilhaber.
In the wake of the United States’ impressive victory over the Czech Republic in an international friendly, even without an American defensive midfielder in the Starting XI, Klinsmann will reinsert Bradley into the line-up with maybe Corona and Diskerud flanking him on paper.
Not to be lost in the shuffle is Alejandro Bedoya who offers more speed but less creativity than Diskerud or Corona. For now, Bedoya is likely needed on the roster as a back-up for either Diskerud or Corona, but players like Joe Gyau and Julian Green might make Bedoya surplus to requirements.
Nevertheless, Bedoya’s speed and wide play makes him a starting right attacker option for Klinsmann in the attacking three lining up in front of the midfield trio, but Green or Gyau on the right with Clint Dempsey on the left are likely Klinsmann’s first choice outside attacking options.
At this point, Gyau’s speed and dribbling is an important x-factor to open up space for the likes of Dempsey and Altidore to be more open in the final third to score.
Below are several USMNT midfield trios that Klinsmann has available to him (excluding Feilhaber whom Klinsmann has no intention of using):
ATTACK-MINDED: CORONA BRADLEY DISKERUD
DEFENSIVE-MINDED: JONES/EDU DISKERUD/CORONA BRADLEY
Also below are three USMNT Front Six options for Klinsmann:
Corona, Bradley, Diskerud; Gyau, Altidore/Agudelo, Dempsey.
Edu, Diskerud, Bradley; Corona*, Altidore/Agudelo, Dempsey.
* Corona is listed as a right attacker because of his ability to play in a more advanced pseudo-forward role with Dempsey behind Altidore. Fitting Corona into the Front Six to provide Diskerud with more creative support seems necessary given the defensive nature of this second Front Six.
Corona, Bradley, Diskerud; Agudelo, Altidore, Dempsey.