The United States Men’s National Team needs Sebastian Lletget. It’s as simple as that.
After only a handful of games in MLS, Lletget looks like a National Team player already, and he isn’t coming onto the scene out of nowhere.
Lack of creative attacking play and a lack of link-up play between the midfield and the attack are major problems for the United States, and Lletget fixes both of these problems.
The fact that Lletget is also fast and quick with a nose for goal only makes him more of a must-have for the National Team.
The attacking midfielder has displayed an ability to play like a forward and a center midfielder at the same time, and this makes him more desirable to a National Team that needs skilled players that can play a really fluid modern style of play where the line between midfielders and forwards blurs.
In today’s game, only the center forward and defensive midfielder have fixed positions in the Front Six. The other four players must be able to high press, recover possession, keep possession, and break forward on the counter.
The United States really doesn’t use any attacking midfielders, and it shows. The U.S. National Team will continue to be a team lacking in real skill and creativity until more players like Lletget are used.
The LA Galaxy attacking midfielder has been quick to demonstrate how he can set-up goals, score goals, and win back possession, and he’s also athletic with a good engine.
The United States has a bad track record of not letting creative attacking midfielders play, and this holds them back from the success that the best national teams in the world have.
It’s imperative to have a high level of collective skill from the entire squad, but to close the gap with better teams, the special players that create goals or score them are a must.
The United States won’t be a world soccer power until these types of players are allowed to play.
There’s a lot of evidence that the U.S. is now producing better players at every position, but the National Team needs to be more open to the types of risk and change that takes a gamble on letting less experienced but more talented players start in important games.
Lletget should be one of the first players that is quickly incorporated into the National Team as soon as possible, and he should be joined by Juan Agudelo and Rubio Rubin who are surprisingly still fringe players for a national team that could really benefit from their inclusion.
Simply making it a point to make Lletget, Agudelo, and Rubin key figures on the squad is something Klinsmann should do.
After the Gold Cup, the American midfield needs to be comprised of Michael Bradley and Lletget plus a defensive midfielder to anchor the midfield.
Dillon Powers with Bradley and Lletget is another option where Bradley has more of a Javier Mascherano role in the midfield.
While Lletget was hard to call up to the Gold Cup roster when even Benny Feilhaber and Lee Nguyen were left off, there’s no good reason to make Lletget wait to join the National Team once the Gold Cup is over.