Michael Bradley (Photo: Garrett Ellwood / Colorado Rapids)
By: COLIN REESE
Almost everyone in world football is using the 4-2-3-1 formation, and for the United States Men’s National Team, Michael Bradley should play as the Number 8 in this formation instead of playing as the Number 10.
Against Mexico, Jürgen Klinsmann used a 4-1-2-1-2 diamond formation on paper, and with Jermaine Jones away in Europe, Kyle Beckerman played the Number 6 or midfield destroyer role; it would have been interesting to have seen Maurice Edu start in place of Beckerman.
As was the case in a World Cup qualifier against Panama where Geoff Cameron partnered with Bradley, the use of a defensive midfielder other than Jones allowed Bradley to be more two-way, as opposed to having to play deep as the Number 6.
The important takeaway from the friendly with Mexico was that the United States possessed the ball better when Bradley had more freedom to attack and drop back as he saw fit.
World Soccer Source ranks The Best American Footballers as of April 2014 factoring in skill, club and international form, and proven performance against top-level competition.
Rankings are always subjective and some players are better than others in terms of their skill-level and proven-performance and some are currently experiencing better form on the club and/or international level.
DeAndre Yedlin has long been regarded as the best right back prospect in the American player pool, and his rookie season in MLS in 2013, in addition to his MLS games this season, have proven him to be the very best American right back.
Although many people have commented on Yedlin’s improved defending, Yedlin’s ability to bomb up and down the sideline was never questioned, and his two-footed technical ability was never questioned.
After seeing Yedlin play very well against Mexico, it has become clear that a right back with his ability to track down attackers, attack himself, pass and dribble out of trouble, force attackers out wide, and tackle has to be considered the starting right back for the United States Men’s National Team.
Diego (left) is another Number 10 option for Brazil. (Photo: AP Photo)
By: COLIN REESE
Oscar of Chelsea – dubbed OSCRAQUE by Neymar – is the starting meia-armador for the Seleção.
Although Neymar has been given the Number 10 jersey for Brazil, Oscar is playing the Number 10 role as the meia-armador, which is the Brazilian Portuguese term for the Number 10 or playmaker role.
In the United States, this position is called the central attacking midfielder, but regardless of the position’s name, there is a silent race going on between Ronaldinho and Kaká to be Oscar’s back-up, but is there another contender?
Maurice Edu (7) and DeAndre Yedlin (2) made strong cases for themselves against Mexico. (Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America)
By: COLIN REESE
Against Mexico, DeAndre Yedlin made his case for the starting right back spot for the USA World Cup team. Yedlin’s touch, passing, recovery speed, and bombing runs down the sideline were too impressive to ignore. A right back with that ability to track attackers and attack himself displaying excellent speed and electric speed is something the United States needs starting in the World Cup.
Maurice Edu showed how his combination of defending, speed, strength, and technical ability often go underappreciated. A player that can defend speedy and tricky attackers as a center back or as a defensive midfielder is something that this USMNT needs in the World Cup.
The rumor is that 30 American soccer players will receive an invitation to the May Try-Out Camp for the 23-Man United States Men’s National Team roster.
After the 2-2 tie with Mexico, World Soccer Source looks at the American player pool and proposes a 30-man May World Cup Try-Out Camp roster for the USMNT.
DeAndre Yedlin, Julian Green, and Maurice Edu emerged as big winners after the 2-2 tie with Mexico.
By default, Michael Orozco’s stock skyrocketed after the play of the American center backs, and this USA side was clearly in need of Geoff Cameron (playing in England) to play as a center back or as a defensive midfielder.
Below is World Soccer Source’s list of 30 footballers who deserve the opportunity to try out for the USMNT’s World Cup roster:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN, Nick RIMANDO
CENTER BACKS (6): Geoff CAMERON, Michael OROZCO, Shane O’NEILL, Amobi OKUGO, Andrew FARRELL, Caleb STANKO
OUTSIDE BACKS (5): DeAndre YEDLIN, Chris KLUTE, Greg GARZA, Kofi SARKODIE, Fabian JOHNSON
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: (4): Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES, Maurice EDU, Perry KITCHEN
ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS (7): Clint DEMPSEY, Landon DONOVAN, Benny FEILHABER, Joe CORONA, Mix DISKERUD, Benji JOYA, Julian GREEN
FORWARDS (5): Jozy ALTIDORE, Aron JÓHANNSSON, Juan AGUDELO, Eddie JOHNSON, Terrence BOYD
Of those 30, World Soccer Source believes the following 23 are the most useful on the USA World Cup roster:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN, Nick RIMANDO
CENTER BACKS (4): Geoff CAMERON, Michael OROZCO, Shane O’NEILL, Andrew FARRELL
Certainly, strikers shouldn’t require all of their goals to be laid on a silver plater for them to score, but their teammates need to be able to maintain possession and provide enough service to the striker or strikers in the final third.
Despite, Sunderland’s poor quality of play, Altidore is still a striker that the United States is lucky to have because the United States didn’t have strikers like him in the past. Altidore is a two-footed, fast, strong, quick, and tall Number 9 that is also good with his head.
For the purposes of the USA national team, Altidore is a striker that can slip behind defenders with his speed and he can finish with both feet, in addition to being a more technical and creative player than he gets credit for, and this technical-skill, creativity, and combination play is more evident when Altidore is partnered with a second striker or when Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey are used as wings with the freedom to float behind him.
If Altidore is deployed up top with attacking midfielders that can keep possession, provide him with finals balls, and combine with him, then he won’t be stranded up top where he sees little of the ball.
Regardless of what happened at Sunderland this past season, the fact hasn’t changed that Altidore is a striker that not only has the physical gifts to stretch defenses and make them run and battle, but Altidore is also a striker with cultivated technical skills that allow him to score from the run of play or with him taking free kicks or being the target of balls played by other free kick and dead ball takers.
Unlike basketball where one player has more of an ability to take over a game due to the smaller size of the playing area, soccer is played on a very large field that demands quality team passing for strikers to really have any chance of getting in scoring positions. A striker can certainly create scoring chances by himself provided that he is within some reasonable distance from the goal, but a striker that doesn’t get enough touches on the ball or receive the ball in the final third is normally doomed to going scoreless.
The bigger problem with the United States Men’s National Team is the poor collective team passing and poor collective technical quality with the exception of about five players.
Altidore has strengthened the areas of his game which needed improvement, which were his technical ability, his movement off the ball, and his willingness to take on defenders and go straight to goal.
It’s the responsibility of Jürgen Klinsmann to field a Starting XI that can keep possession and provide Jozy Altidore with enough service and touches in the final third.
The United States Men’s National Team roster should be based on a first and second choice option for each of the 11 spots in the 4-2-3-1 formation (plus the goalkeeper), but a well-planned World Cup roster with this formation should also have three goalkeepers and three strikers.
One of the keys to the roster proposal below is that several of the center backs double as defensive midfielders and vice versa.
Identifying the clear best players for many of the Starting XI spots is a fairly easy and straight-forward task for a national team like the United States Men’s National Team that lacks the amount of depth of first and second-tier national teams.
Hypothetically, any current USMNT roster should at the very least have Geoff Cameron and Michael Bradley as the defensive midfielders with Landon Donovan, Benny Feilhaber, and Clint Dempsey as the line of three attacking midfielders. Jozy Altidore is the clear first-choice striker.
Beyond this, Tim Howard is the clear first-choice goalkeeper with Brad Guzan as the second-choice, and DeAndre Yedlin is the only plausible starting right back with Michael Orozco being one of the two starting center backs, as Orozco is a more complete and international-caliber center back than Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler.
Below is World Soccer Source’s Preferred 23-man USA World Cup roster with explanations after the roster breakdown:
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil will feature every top soccer nation in the world, and the tournament will be loaded with the deepest talent pool in recent memory.
Below is a list of 10 footballers to watch this summer in the 2014 World Cup, and the players aren’t listed in order of skill-level.
Neymar at 22 years old will be the main player to watch at the 2014 World Cup as his star has been on the rise for years, and now he will attempt to eclipse both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in his native Brazil for the proverbial crown of World’s Best Player.
