Besides Brazil, France produces the best footballers.
It took a 3-0 victory over Ukraine to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, but France is easily one of the best national teams on the planet with young prodigies in the defense, in the midfield, and in the attack. These three freaks of nature are of course Raphaël Varane in the defense, Paul Pogba in the midfield, and the currently outside of the fold M’Baye Niang in the attack.
World Football is seeing an influx of extremely tall and graceful athletes with incredible technical ability and speed. The three French prodigies plus Mario Balotelli are soccer players with essentially the physique and athleticism of NBA players, and they are starting to raise the bar for all footballers in terms of skill, size, and speed.
While these three French players have been highlighted because of their youth and their phenomenal combination of masterful technical ability and off the charts athleticism, Les Bleus also feature Franck Ribéry (currently up for the Ballon d’Or), Blaise Matuidi, Samir Nasri, Mathieu Valbuena, and Karim Benzema.
To this list, one should add Yann M’Vila, Jérémy Ménez, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Yohan Cabaye, Gaël Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Patrice Evra, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Adil Rami, Christophe Jallet, and a whole host of other players.
France has truly elite players at almost every position, and Varane and Pogba in particular are 20 year olds who are essentially the best players in the world at their positions. Thiago Silva is the world’s best center back, but Varane is somewhat at his level.
The 18-year-old AC Milan striker, M’Baye Niang, is serving a ridiculous ban from the French Football Federation until the end of the calendar year, but Niang is a striker who has the technical ability, size, and untouchable athleticism of Mario Balotelli.
Anyone who has watched Niang play can see that the two-footed magic, the trickery, the speed, the passing ability, the work rate, and the aggressive attacking play are a nightmare for any defender to handle. Niang is a complete first striker with no weaknesses.
In the midst of having Ribéry as one of the favorites for the Ballon d’Or, France’s very young prodigies in addition to slightly older players like Matuidi, Benzema, Valbuena, and Ménez make Les Bleus a national side that no one will want to face in the 2014 World Cup.
With a defense anchored by a center back like Varane who is perfect technically and defensively and essentially unbeatable in a foot race and a midfield built around a totally complete midfielder in Pogba, the addition of Niang would make France a team with total masters in the defense, in the midfield, and in the attack.
Although Italy won the 2006 World Cup, France was the best team in that World Cup, and the France squad for the 2014 World Cup has yet to prove that it’s anywhere close to the same level as the 2006 team, which was almost entirely comprised of legends and masters.
The foundation of this France side is very, very strong, and it will be interesting to see which players prove to be the best options for France at the positions not occupied by Varane, Pogba, Matuidi, Ríbery, and Benzema.
Will France make its teenage prodigy, M’Baye Niang, the focal point of the attack? Only time will tell. Unleashing the AC Milan striker on defenders in the 2014 World Cup would be a wise decision for a national team with Varane and Pogba bossing the defense and the midfield.
France had a roller coaster of a World Cup qualifying campaign, but several of the best footballers on the planet such as Varane and Pogba are young French players who are already superstars.
The Brazilian prodigy, Neymar, will be the best player and the main attraction of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but don’t sleep on France when next summer comes around because French football is back.
Given France’s problems during World Cup qualification, World Soccer Source would be interested to see France slightly modify their line-up by fielding the following Starting XI:
Freddy Adu’s time with Bahia may be coming to a close, but the United States could still use him. (Photo: E.C. Bahia)
One of the weak areas for the United States Men’s National Team is the absence of quality passing and significant possession against quality opponents.
Given Michael Bradley’s ability to help to orchestrate passing from the defensive midfielder position, starting three playmakers in a line of three with a second striker and first striker in front of them would be an excellent way to improve the quality of the United States’ passing.
If the United States were to employ this system, it would mean that Michael Bradley would sit directly in front of the Back Four with Joe Corona, Benny Feilhaber, and Mix Diskerud in front of him. Bradley, Corona, Feilhaber, and Diskerud all display lots of movement off the ball, and starting them together would foster a style of fluid passing, which is something that the United States has never displayed unless Freddy Adu or Benny Feilhaber are playing.
Despite the lack of club playing time with Bahia, Freddy Adu is another playmaker who could play in a line of three attacking midfielders at any of the three positions. Adu is controversial due to his lack of club playing time and the amount of clubs that he has played for, but Adu has always performed at the international level for the United States.
Looking more closely at this concept of using a line of three attacking midfielders, starting only one defensive midfielder in front of four defenders is a perfectly acceptable formation that has plenty of defensive-minded players in the line-up. By only using one defensive midfielder, the United States would elevate its play to a superior brand of soccer that produces more scoring chances and more goals.
Based on the teams that have qualified for the 2014 World Cup, the United States will have to look to improve the level of its play in any way that it can in order to keep up with an enormous list of incredibly talented and deep national teams.
With Corona, Feilhaber, and Diskerud playing behind Altidore and Dempsey, the USMNT can make a real attempt to field most of its most talented attacking players without being too weak on the defensive front.
The key to starting three 10s in a line of three is that the players listed as right or left midfielders on paper aren’t wingers or players who are confined to one side of the field; the system is based on the constant movement of all three 10s all over the field with Bradley being heavily involved in the passing of the United States while playing deep to provide the defensive coverage that is needed in front of the Back Four.
Another key to this system is Clint Dempsey’s freedom to go wherever he wants as opposed to just floating around Jozy Altidore. Altidore is a first striker, and his job is to constantly make runs into space and to look to get into scoring positions.
With three playmakers and Dempsey, Altidore doesn’t need to concern himself with dropping deep to receive the ball where his back would be to goal. Altidore should be the focal point of the attack without having to waste his time and energy by shielding defenders off him with his back to goal.
Not many defenders are going to be able to outrun or outmuscle Altidore, and these qualities should be directed toward the goal instead of having Altidore post defenders up like a center or power forward in basketball.
No top national team has their strikers playing with their back to goal except for the rare times that a striker receives a pass with his back to goal and takes the defender off the turn.
Strikers playing with their backs to goal is a very English and long ball style of play that always gets destroyed by elite national teams on the international level. The purpose of using multiple creative midfielders who are playmakers is to set the striker free to hunt with his eyes toward the goal.
The attacking midfielders are there for possession, creativity, and quick ball movement. Altidore is there to put the ball in the back of the net, and he has shown that his finishing has become more clinical and more deadly.
Players like Bradley, Dempsey, Corona, Feilhaber, and Diskerud don’t need any charts or strategy explained to them, they just need to be allowed to play the way they want to play: one-to-two touch soccer with constant movement off the ball.
Starting a line of three number 10s makes this style of play possible without being tactically unsound.
Joe Benny Corona is important to the United States Men’s National Team not only because of his abilities as an attacking midfielder but also for his ability to play out right, out left, and in the center as a central attacking midfielder.
Corona is also the logical substitute for Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey as Corona has the ability to bring lots of technical ability, creativity, and quickness to their roles, which have largely been described as irreplaceable.
Given the choice of selecting Joe Corona, Alejandro Bedoya, or Graham Zusi to replace an injured or suspended Donovan or Dempsey, Corona has to be the logical choice due to his ability to fill the roles of Donovan or Dempsey, which requires a combination of quickness and a very high-level of technical ability.
Bedoya’s style of play is more based on cutting to the inside of the field at pace, and Zusi’s style of play is largely based on playing lots of crosses into the penalty box. On the other hand, Corona’s style of play is more based on a combination of quick passing, movement off the ball, and actively looking to score.
In short, Corona can fill Dempsey’s and Donovan’s roles better than Bedoya and Zusi who are each one-dimensional in their own ways. Corona is the obvious substitute for Dempsey and Donovan, and Corona is also a player who can actually play as a central attacking midfielder in between Donovan and Dempsey.
Both Dempsey and Donovan were pioneers for American soccer because of their combination of 1v1 skills, scoring ability, and a fluid style of play that was in lines with elite soccer seen outside of the United States.
Jürgen Klinsmann and the United States Men’s National Team cannot afford to leave Joe Corona off the roster in favor of Graham Zusi or Alejandro Bedoya because they don’t offer the same complete package of attacking midfielder skills that can be used all over the attack.
Mix Diskerud has begun to win Klinsmann’s approval, and it’s time that Klinsmann realizes that he also needs Corona not only for his skill-set and smooth and fluid style of play but also for Corona’s ability to replace Dempsey or Donovan without exposing the United States Men’s National Team to a huge drop in skill out left or out right.
Playmakers are rare, and American playmakers are more so. Joe Corona is a natural playmaker that can also play in wide positions without being a one-dimensional winger who hugs the sideline, dribbles into crowds, or plays blind crosses one after another.
Joe Corona has earned his national team spot, and it’s time that Klinsmann made him a fixture on the USMNT for the good of American soccer.
Chris Klute, the Best American Left Back. (Photo: Garrett Ellwood / Colorado Rapids)
Using your best defenders regardless of age or international experience within reason is a customary and logical tactical game plan for competing in a World Cup.
Every national team in the world uses its best defenders either based on club performance, international performance, or skill-level regardless of their youth or lack of youth.
If the best American defenders are young players with plenty of club experience but not a wealth of international experience, then so be it. Soccer is a skill sport, and international experience doesn’t guarantee that defenders won’t make mistakes in a World Cup.
There are no guarantees in soccer; the best thing a national team can do is to play its best players.
Eight defenders is the traditional number of defenders for a national team roster, but seven defenders would suffice if some players double as center backs and as defensive midfielders.
This is precisely the case with Geoff Cameron and Shane O’Neill, the latter of whom really demonstrated throughout an entire season in Major League Soccer plus the U-20 World Cup that he was just as good if not better than Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler.
The United States Men’s National Team likely has defenders who are good enough to hold their own and even excel at the 2014 World Cup.
While Neymar and the like are essentially unplayable, which means incapable of being marked, players below that level can be well-defended and marked by the USMNT with team defense.
Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones or some other defensive midfielder in front of center backs like Geoff Cameron, John Anthony Brooks, or Michael Orozco should really be equipped to mostly contain much of the World Cup competition unless elite attackers really turn up the intensity and the style points, which almost no defender can contain anyway.
Whether it’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mario Balotelli, Thomas Müller, or Neymar, players of that level are capable of victimizing and embarrassing any defender, so the best thing the United States can do is field the defenders with the defensive instincts and fundamentals, the athleticism, and the technical ability to perform well on the international level.
Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez have done well as center backs under Jürgen Klinsmann, but Geoff Cameron, John Anthony Brooks, and Michael Orozco are likely better.
That would be five center backs on the roster unless one takes the view that Cameron and Orozco are doubling as outside backs. Furthermore, Shane O’Neill is an excellent center back, but he was listed as a defensive midfielder in World Soccer Source’s previous article on midfielders.
At this point, Brad Evans and DaMarcus Beasley have shown that they can do well enough as outside backs in a pinch, but starting them over natural outside backs or converted outside backs like Cameron is misguided.
Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, and Andrew Farrell proved this season in MLS that they are likely the best outside backs available to the United States in addition to Eric Lichaj, Jonathan Spector, and Steve Cherundolo.
Fabian Johnson is also a capable outside back, but his defending and recovery defense seems outmatched by Farrell, Yedlin, and Klute. Johnson is an excellent player who attacks with speed and two-footed skill, but from a defensive standpoint, Farrell, Yedlin, and Klute are better defenders.
Farrell and Klute looked better than Yedlin from a defensive standpoint for most of the MLS season, but over the last few months of the season, Yedlin has evolved into an effective defender who has improved his ability to tackle and dispossess attackers.
Klute, Yedlin, and Farrell would be new to the United States Men’s National Team set-up, but that’s not a good enough reason to exclude them for players that are not only not as good but that are also being played out of position.
If the United States selects seven defenders with either Cameron or O’Neill listed as midfielders, then Brooks, Cameron, and Orozco add up to three defenders, and Yedlin, Farrell, and Klute make six defenders. The final spot should go to Eric Lichaj who is an experienced, young, and talented outside back that can play as a right or left back, and he has the club and international experience to be considered by and large a proven performer.
Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler, Brad Evans, and DaMarcus Beasley didn’t make World Soccer Source’s list of preferred defenders for the World Cup, but Cameron, Brooks, and Orozco are all more complete center backs who aren’t a liability in terms of defending, speed, or technical ability.
Gonzalez isn’t quite as fast or as skilled defensively as any of those three, and Besler falls just slightly below Cameron, Brooks, and Orozco in terms of his overall package as a center back. Besler is certainly an upgrade from Carlos Bocanegra or Clarence Goodson, but anything that Besler can do, Cameron, Brooks, and Orozco can do better.
Shane O’Neill and Andrew Farrell are also better center backs than Gonzalez and Besler because there’s no weak area for O’Neill and Farrell as defenders. Both are tall, strong, fast, quick, and technically-skilled, and both are outstanding defenders who aggressively tackle without fouling.
Youth and international inexperience shouldn’t be qualities that disqualify Farrell, O’Neill, Yedlin, and Klute from the USMNT. All of these players were starters for their club teams for the entire season, and the international experience of Gonzalez, Besler, Beasley, and Evans as defenders was mostly against fairly weak competition.
The argument that many observers use for supporting Evans, Gonzalez, Besler, and Beasley as the starting Back Four is that they played for the United States during a nice winning streak, but the performance of all four of those players went down as the competition went up.
World Soccer Source would rather see USMNT defenders with the physical gifts and the tools to succeed against better competition, then just sticking with the status quo that looked shaky when the quality of the opposition went up.
With Shane O’Neill listed as a midfielder, Geoff Cameron, John Anthony Brooks, Michael Orozco, Andrew Farrell, Eric Lichaj, DeAndre Yedlin, and Chris Klute are the seven or really eight defenders that World Soccer Source believes have what it takes to perform at the 2014 World Cup.
Additionally, Gale Agbossoumonde is a center back prospect who is too promising to not be evaluated and seriously considered before the World Cup. Hypothetically, Agbossoumonde has everything one could ask for in a center back: excellent defensive instincts and fundamentals, refined technical ability with both feet, calmness, and great athleticism in a tall, strong physique.
As American soccer has continued to improve, it’s quite logical that newer American defenders are better than ones in the past. Major League Soccer has never seen a crop of defenders like O’Neill, Farrell, Yedlin, and Klute, and making them wait years for another World Cup is a waste of good talent that can help the United States to improve.
Starting a Back Four made up of DeAndre Yedlin, Shane O’Neill, Andrew Farrell, and Chris Klute with Geoff Cameron and Michael Bradley as the defensive midfielders is one of the boldest and best options for the United States in the 2014 World Cup, and another viable option would be to start Farrell, Cameron, Brooks, and Klute as the Back Four.
These are new Back Fours, but they are made up of better players than the Standard Klinsmann Back Four comprised of Evans, Gonzalez, Besler, and Beasley.
Finally, a Back Four comprised of Lichaj, Orozco, Brooks, and Klute with Cameron and Bradley as a two-man defensive midfield would be another option where basically everyone except Klute was experienced and by and large proven at the international level or at the high level of the Bundesliga in Brooks’ case.
Eight American Defenders Who Can Compete in the World Cup:
CENTER BACKS/DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Geoff CAMERON, Shane O’NEILL
CENTER BACKS: John Anthony BROOKS, Michael OROZCO, Andrew FARRELL.
OUTSIDE BACKS: Eric LICHAJ, DeAndre YEDLIN, Chris KLUTE, (Andrew FARRELL)
While the American defense has been a problem for the United States Men’s National Team, the midfield has also been an enormous problem because the U.S. hasn’t showcased quality passing and combination play at a level that’s good enough for a deep World Cup run.
Setting the defense to the side for the moment, the American midfield is something that can be examined with some basic math.
Normally, a World Cup roster would have eight or perhaps nine midfielders, with three or four of those players being defensive midfielders. If one accepts that Bradley, Jones, Donovan, Diskerud, and Dempsey should all be on the USMNT roster, then three midfield spots are open.
Any honest evaluation of the United States Men’s National Team’s player pool in the midfield reveals Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Landon Donovan, and Clint Dempsey to be players that are probably just too talented and way too capable of playing well against strong competition to leave off the roster.
Therefore, if one looks to add another defensive midfielder to that list, a player like Kyle Beckerman is too big of a liability from an athletic standpoint to put on a World Cup roster.
Beckerman isn’t just a player who isn’t quite quick enough or fast enough to put on a World Cup roster, but he is a player that is totally overmatched in terms of speed, quickness, and agility to really compete outside of MLS and CONCACAF.
Given this reality, the United States needs an additional defensive midfielder on the roster, and the only options are Maurice Edu, Amobi Okugo, Ricardo Clark, Perry Kitchen, Jared Jeffrey, Will Trapp, or Jeremy Hall.
Of course, Geoff Cameron, who has been listed as a defender, can play the midfield destroyer probably better than any American except Bradley, and Cameron has the defensive skills, the technical ability, and the athleticism to perform at the World Cup.
Additionally, another option would be to list Shane O’Neill as a midfielder, in which case he could play as a defensive midfielder, as a center back, or as an outside back.
O’Neill is probably a better defensive midfielder than all of the options listed above with the exception of Cameron, but selecting Beckerman to represent the United States in a World Cup would be a very unrealistic expectation of his ability to really keep up with the speed of international play.
With this information in mind, selecting Shane O’Neill to be the third defensive midfielder along with Bradley and Jones would likely be the wisest course of action, even if many people view it as a risky or crazy selection. O’Neill proved his worth not only in MLS but also for Tab Ramos’s U-20 side.
Turning to the attacking midfielders, by selecting Dempsey and Donovan, the United States is left with two to three roster spots for attacking midfielders, and Mix Diskerud, Joe Corona, and Benny Feilhaber stand out as players who have clearly shown that they have the tools to play at the international level with players like Bradley, Dempsey, and Donovan.
Whether one looks at Brad Davis, Graham Zusi, or Alejandro Bedoya, any realistic examination of the touch, vision, passing ability, and general playing style and technical ability reveals them to be quite a few levels below Diskerud, Corona, and Feilhaber in terms of their ability to receive and release the ball quickly enough to not be overrun by better national teams.
Based on the number of roster spots in the midfield, by selecting Bradley, Jones, O’Neill, Dempsey, Donovan, Feilhaber, Corona, and Diskerud, the USMNT has eight players who fulfill needed roles.
Players like Bradley, Jones, and O’Neill provide defensive coverage in the midfield and serve as passing outlets for the defenders, and they also are key elements to the midfielders’ ability to pass well and keep possession.
With these players providing quality defending and excellent technical ability directly in front of the defense, the need is then to have attacking midfielders who can foster quality passing that leads to possession and the creation of goal-scoring opportunities.
Dempsey, Donovan, and Corona are all attacking midfielders who can play centrally, out right, or out left, but Donovan and Dempsey are really better suited to line up out wide with lots of freedom to roam or as second strikers with the same freedom.
On the other hand, Corona is also a true playmaker like Diskerud and Feilhaber, and the inclusion of Dempsey, Donovan, Corona, Diskerud, and Feilhaber on the roster gives the USMNT many line-up options in the midfield in front of the defensive midfielders.
Even Feilhaber and Diskerud are capable of playing on the right or on the left because their style of play is predicated on showing for the ball and moving into space wherever they are needed.
Any brand of soccer based on confining attacking midfielders to a specific side of the attacking half or the attacking third eliminates any fluidity or quality to the passing play of the team.
Diskerud, Corona, and Feilhaber are players who allow the United States to field a Front Six where players with excellent technical ability, creativity, and agility can play in front of defensive midfielders like Jones and Bradley who provide a combination of defensive ability, running endurance, and passing ability that the attacking midfielders don’t have.
When it comes time to select midfielders for the USMNT’s World Cup roster, players like O’Neill, Diskerud, Corona, and Feilhaber are needed both as support and as substitutes for players like Bradley, Jones, Dempsey, and Donovan.
Diskerud’s international play in recent months seems to have convinced the American soccer media and the American fan base of his importance as a playmaker, and the play of Feilhaber and Corona for club and country greatly overshadows anything Brad Davis, Graham Zusi, or Alejandro Bedoya have ever done.
Stuart Holden showed just how important a complete midfielder can be for the United States, and young or not, Benji Joya is the only other midfielder in the American player pool who brings Holden’s combination of attacking and defending to the midfield.
While Michael Bradley is often described as a box-to-box midfielder, his attacking ability and creativity aren’t on par with Holden’s or Joya’s, and this is why Joya would be an inspired and needed selection for the 2014 World Cup.
Like it or not, there’s no room for Zusi, Davis, Bedoya, or Kljestan on the USMNT’s World Cup roster because they can’t outplay Diskerud, Corona, Feilhaber, Joya, and O’Neill.
Jozy Altidore, Aron Jóhannsson, and Juan Agudelo will need attacking midfielders and playmakers who can provide them with the service they need to score in the World Cup, and the likes of Davis, Zusi, and Bedoya just don’t match up to the U.S.’ better attacking midfielders that have proven that they can perform at a higher level.
To explain this gap in skill more clearly for the purpose of avoiding any misunderstanding, consider the following:
If Bradley, Dempsey, or Donovan are injured or suspended, the United States will need players like Shane O’Neill, Joe Corona, Mix Diskerud, Benny Feilhaber, and Benji Joya to compete against quality opposition.
On the off chance that Bradley, Dempsey, and Donovan couldn’t play, the U.S. could field a Front Six made up of O’Neill, Joya, Corona, Diskerud, Feilhaber, and Altidore and still be competitive, but the same thing couldn’t be said of fielding Jones, Kljestan, Bedoya, Zusi, Davis, and Altidore.
The collective thinking of the American soccer media and the American fan base is largely a parroting of Jürgen Klinsmann’s own opinions, and the reason that this is so is because many people feel that Klinsmann’s playing resume makes his coaching decisions infallible.
This refusal to question Klinsmann’s selections or to evaluate players based on their physical gifts and skills is probably the root of the problem of the United States’ tendency to underperform as far as the quality of the soccer goes.
Many people use Klinsmann’s win/loss record as evidence of the success of his methods and of his player selections, but consistent winning against better national teams requires improving the United States’ quality of play, and the steady improvement of Bradley, Dempsey, and Altidore has nothing to do with Klinsmann.
The collective skill-level of the players on the national team is directly related to the ability of the United States to begin to consistently challenge and beat better national teams.
If you were to ask a cross section of American soccer journalists who they thought should be the midfielders on the roster, you would likely find that the responses were consistent with whichever players Klinsmann had most recently called up to the national team.
Therefore, the collective thinking is probably that Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Kyle Beckerman, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Graham Zusi, Mix Diskerud, and Fabian Johnson should be the USMNT’s midfielders, but Beckerman and Zusi can be immediately removed from the roster in favor of Corona and O’Neill, Okugo, Kitchen, or Edu.
The problem with the collective thinking is that if Bradley, Donovan, or Dempsey is unavailable for a game, then the national team is without viable substitutes.
By putting Feilhaber, Corona, and Diskerud on the roster, you ensure that those three players are available to allow the United States to pass well and create scoring chances.
While the collective thinking is that Bradley, Jones, Beckerman, Dempsey, Donovan, Zusi, Diskerud, and F. Johnson should be the USMNT’s midfielders, World Soccer Source believes that Bradley, Jones, O’Neill, Joya, Dempsey, Donovan, Corona, Feilhaber, and Diskerud represent a group of players who have the tools necessary to compete in the World Cup.
The decision is yours, but there isn’t any real evidence that Zusi and Beckerman can outperform talented and proven players like Corona, Feilhaber, Joya, or O’Neill against higher-level competition.
Then, there’s always Freddy Adu who has shown the ability to open up games and create scoring chances against top competition. Not a bad option to put on the roster given the lack of technical ability and creativity on the United States Men’s National Team.
Can Graham Zusi and Alejandro Bedoya really outplay Freddy Adu? The evidence says they can’t.
The good thing about Adu is that he can be listed as a forward in place of Terrence Boyd, which gives the USMNT four forwards: Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo, Aron Jóhannsson, and Freddy Adu.
This group of players leaves 10 rosters spots open for seven defenders and three goalkeepers, and O’Neill and Cameron triple as center backs, as defensive midfielders, and as outside backs.
Using a 3-5-2 formation would give Jürgen Klinsmann and the United States Men’s National Team the ability to improve the American defense by taking advantage of the skill-set of new MLS defenders like Andrew Farrell, Chris Klute, and DeAndre Yedlin.
Due to the fact that Andrew Farrell is a center back or defensive midfielder playing as a right back, he is the perfect type of defender to use in a line of three center backs along with Geoff Cameron and Michael Orozco. In this system, Yedlin and Klute would play as the right and left wingbacks.
This formation not only improves the United States’ defense, but it also improves the potency of the American attack as the defense would be the offense and the offense would be the defense.
Cameron, Farrell, and Orozco are all valued for their quickness, skill on the ball, and their defending, and those three center backs with Michael Bradley playing in front of them as a defensive midfielder would make for a defense that’s difficult to penetrate with speed or skill and also a defense that facilitates American ball possession.
A defensive set-up compromised of three or five defenders depending on how one wishes to look at it often leads people to classify it as being overly-defensive, but Cameron, Farrell, Orozco, Yedlin, and Klute are all known for their technical ability and speed.
Starting all five of these defenders fosters a playing style based on not only working the ball out of the back with passing and some dribbling, but it also fosters a playing style where the passing is quick and incisive, as opposed to simply working the ball around in the back without penetrating the pressing of the opposition.
The key to using three center backs and two wingbacks is making sure that the rest of the line-up contains players who can keep possession, attack the opposition, create scoring opportunities, and have players who can put the ball in the back of the net.
With Bradley lining up in front of the three center backs and with Joe Corona and Benny Feilhaber also playing in the center of the midfield, the USMNT would have the players on the field to pass and attack well.
Excluding Tim Howard who would obviously be in goal, the final two pieces of this set-up are Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey, who would provide a focal point to the attack and cold-blooded goal-scorers.
Altidore and Dempsey are obviously quite different in how they play and what positions they play, but a second striker paired with a first striker is a great recipe for attacking strength and goal-scoring ability, especially with midfielders like Bradley, Corona, and Feilhaber behind them who can all keep possession, provide quick passing and creativity, and play final balls.
It also shouldn’t be lost on American soccer fans that both Corona and Feilhaber have demonstrated their willingness to look to score and the ability to score difficult and exciting goals.
The 3-5-2 discussed in this article would be a new look for the USMNT and perhaps too much of a change for some people, but tactically it’s a sound concept using skilled and athletic players based on using a system that isn’t new to world football. The system combines attacking based on possession plus width, and the system also deploys a balance of defending and attacking.
With a 3-5-2, the defense is the offense, and the offense is the defense; the reason why this is true is because the defenders absorb pressure from the opposition and counter-attack, and the attackers unsettle the opposition’s defenders with quick technical play and urgency to recover possession when it’s lost.
For a national team like the USMNT that so many people consider to be a team based on running and will power, a line-up with technically-skilled and fast defenders playing with skilled attacking players would be a way to change the culture of the United States Men’s National Team.
In short, this Starting XI is comprised of a goalkeeper, three center backs, two wing backs, a defensive midfielder, two attacker midfielders who are playmakers, a second striker/attacking midfielder, and a first striker. The Starting XI has strong, technically-skilled center backs and a defensive midfielder down the middle, two electric wing backs who are quality defenders, three attacking midfielders with excellent creativity and skill on the ball, and a first striker that combines freakish athleticism and size with refined technical ability and lethal finishing.
With Jürgen Klinsmann’s January Camp for the United States Men’s National Team approaching, there are a number of American players from Major League Soccer or other leagues that need to be evaluated and incorporated into the national team.
The number of international-caliber American players is increasing, and they need to be added to the USMNT for the United States to continue to improve as a soccer nation.
While a small number of the best United States internationals are quite frankly players who weren’t a product of American soccer, they nevertheless qualify for American citizenship.
In addition to these players, there are a number of American products like Benji Joya, Joe Corona, Juan Agudelo, Shane O’Neill, Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, Kofi Sarkodie, Kellyn Acosta, and Andrew Farrell that need to be added to the roster now.
Here are some of the players who should be considered for the USMNT’s January Camp (including players who will not be available due to their club schedules):
GOALKEEPERS: Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN, Nick RIMANDO, Clint IRWIN, Luis ROBLES, Dan KENNEDY, Tally HALL, Bill HAMID, Sean JOHNSON
CENTER BACKS: Geoff CAMERON, John Anthony BROOKS, Shane O’NEILL, Michael OROZCO, Andrew FARRELL, Gale AGBOSSOUMONDE, Maurice EDU, Omar GONZALEZ, Matt BESLER, Amobi OKUGO, George JOHN
OUTSIDE BACKS: Chris KLUTE, Andrew FARRELL, DeAndre YEDLIN, Eric LICHAJ, Jonathan SPECTOR, Steve CHERUNDOLO, Timothy CHANDLER, Fabian JOHNSON, Edgar CASTILLO, Kofi SARKODIE, Kellyn ACOSTA
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES, Perry KITCHEN, Jared JEFFREY, Amobi OKUGO, Dax MCCARTY, Ricardo CLARK, Maurice EDU, Will TRAPP, Jeremy HALL
ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: Clint DEMPSEY, Landon DONOVAN, Benny FEILHABER, Mix DISKERUD, Joe CORONA, Benji JOYA, Freddy ADU, Paul ARRIOLA, Brek SHEA, Junior FLORES, Joe GYAU, Luis GIL, Daniel CUEVAS, Dillon POWERS, Alejandro BEDOYA, Sacha KLJESTAN
FORWARDS: Jozy ALTIDORE, Aron JÓHANNSSON, Juan AGUDELO, Terrence BOYD, Mario RODRIGUEZ, Alonso HERNANDEZ, José VILLARREAL, Herculez GOMEZ, Tony TAYLOR, Gyasi ZARDES, Eddie JOHNSON
The Top USMNT Options By Position:
GOALKEEPERS: HOWARD, GUZAN, IRWIN, ROBLES
CENTER BACKS: CAMERON, BROOKS, O’NEILL, FARRELL, AGBOSSOUMONDE
The previous article on World Soccer Source focused on how Jürgen Klinsmann can easily make some basic changes to drastically improve the United States Men’s National Team by only using proven USMNT players, but this article focuses on major changes that the United States could make as soon as possible.
The coach of the USMNT is halfway to selecting a 23-man roster where every player is technically-skilled, athletic, and equipped to play his designated position or positions, but Klinsmann’s recent selections to face Scotland and Austria, including his decision to not replace the injured Clint Dempsey or Fabian Johnson, raise further questions about Klinsmann’s ability to select balanced and talented rosters that will be able to compete at the 2014 World Cup.
Many of Klinsmann’s selections are among the best American soccer players, but too many of his roster spots go to players without the gifts and tools to play international soccer.
Likewise, many of the Starting XIs include the best player at many positions, but too many Starting XI spots are occupied by players like Graham Zusi, Brad Evans, DaMarcus Beasley, or Alejandro Bedoya who aren’t quite as talented as other options.
Looking at Klinsmann’s USMNT rosters since about March, many of the regular selections are deserving and talented players who fully-deserve their call-up, but frequently almost half of the roster is occupied by players who aren’t as skilled and athletic as other American options.
Klinsmann’s almost total refusal to select or play Benny Feilhaber, the most proven and arguably the most talented American playmaker, looks personal, and it’s an omission that’s hard to justify, especially for the coach of a national team that isn’t known for its technical ability.
Below is a list of 11 quality players who one could argue have been more or less regulars on Klinsmann’s rosters in recent months, which means that the remaining 12 roster spots could be filled by more talented and athletic players than the players who frequently appear on Klinsmann’s rosters
Here are the good roster choices that Klinsmann has been making:
GOALKEEPERS: Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN
CENTER BACKS: Geoff CAMERON
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES
Looking at the 11 players listed above, the United States Men’s National Team needs to do a better job of filling the remaining 12 roster spots, and World Soccer Source believes the following players would be stronger roster selections than many of the players that Klinsmann has favored:
GOALKEEPERS: Clint IRWIN
CENTER BACKS: John Anthony BROOKS, Shane O’NEILL, Andrew FARRELL
OUTSIDE BACKS: Chris KLUTE, DeAndre YEDLIN
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS: Amobi OKUGO
ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: Benny FEILHABER, Joe CORONA, Benji JOYA, Freddy ADU
STRIKERS: Juan AGUDELO
Taking these two lists into account, here is a more talented roster than a typical Klinsmann USMNT roster:
GOALKEEPERS- Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN, Clint IRWIN
CENTER BACKS- Geoff CAMERON, John Anthony BROOKS, Shane O’NEILL, Andrew FARRELL
OUTSIDE BACKS- Chris KLUTE, DeAndre YEDLIN, (Andrew FARRELL)
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS- Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES, Amobi OKUGO, (Geoff CAMERON)
STRIKERS- Jozy ALTIDORE, Aron JÓHANNSSON, Juan AGUDELO, Terrence BOYD
A close examination of this roster proposal shows that many of Klinsmann’s preferred starters are included, minus the United States’ Back Four, which is quite weak by any real international standard.
The roster above contains three goalkeepers, five center backs (including Amobi Okugo), five outside backs (including Andrew Farrell, Geoff Cameron, and Shane O’Neill), six defensive midfielders (including Geoff Cameron, Shane O’Neill, and Andrew Farrell), seven attacking midfielders, and four first strikers.
These numbers in the explanation in the preceding paragraph add up to more than 23 players because it contains some players who are listed at more than one position.
In short, this roster eliminates Klinsmann regulars like Graham Zusi, Omar Gonzalez, Alejandro Bedoya, Brad Evans, DaMarcus Beasley, and Matt Besler, from the roster for more talented and athletic players who are better equipped to play high-level international soccer, even if they are young and somewhat inexperienced at the international level.
Many people seem to be satisfied with the United States Men’s National Team status quo, but World Soccer Source believes that many of the players used or frequently called up by Klinsmann are talented professionals, albeit not as talented as other options.
The core of the USMNT under Klinsmann is solid enough with players like Howard, Bradley, Jones, Dempsey, and Altidore, but the goal of the United States needs to be to fill the rest of the Starting XI with players who are as skilled and athletic or about as skilled and athletic as the core group of starters.
Fielding a USMNT Starting XI where every player is playing his natural position and every player has the technical ability and the requisite level of athleticism to compete against top national teams is something that Klinsmann hasn’t done.
Starting Graham Zusi over Benny Feilhaber, Joe Corona, and Landon Donovan is inexcusable for an ex-player of Klinsmann’s ability.
Likewise, starting outside backs like Brad Evans and DaMarcus Beasley who aren’t even outside backs over a host of other players that not only are better but that also play outside back at the club level won’t work in the World Cup.
As the 2014 World Cup approaches, Jürgen Klinsmann would be wise to keep selecting players like Howard, Guzan, Cameron, Bradley, Jones, Dempsey, Donovan, Diskerud, Altidore, Jóhannsson, and Boyd, but the rest of the roster needs to be changed and improved.
The USMNT has a strong skeleton of a team, but there are too many weak links and too many players who aren’t international caliber. Klinsmann’s selections have made little sense because many of the better MLS players are being omitted for less skilled MLS players, and many of the best American players plying their trade outside of the United States are being snubbed.
Klinsmann claims that he wants players who can play technical soccer, but he frequently omits many of the most technical American players like Feilhaber, Corona, and Agudelo.
Furthermore, Klinsmann claims that he wants to start the attack from the very back, but the whole crop of better new MLS defenders have been given zero chances to play for the United States even in friendlies.
Finally, Klinsmann claims that he wants players playing in better leagues than MLS, but players like Joe Corona have been kept on the bench or left off the roster by Klinsmann, even when they were excelling and seeing heavy club minutes.
There is a disconnect between what Klinsmann says that he wants and what he actually does. There’s never been any evidence that Klinsmann is capable of fielding a Starting XI made up of technically-skilled and athletic players at every position.
As any American soccer fan knows, Klinsmann has never started Bradley, Donovan, Dempsey, and Altidore at the same time, and he’s never started them with a playmaker.
Ex-USMNT coach, Bob Bradley, quickly recognized the need to start those four players together against top national teams, and he also discovered the benefit of starting a playmaker with them in order to orchestrate the attack and help to facilitate possession and one-to-two touch passing.
Klinsmann seems to have never even learned this much, and he hasn’t raised the quality of play of the USMNT because of his refusal to at least start Bradley, Donovan, Dempsey, and Altidore together.
Klinsmann’s talk of improving the play of the United States seems to have been an empty promise without even an attempt to field enough technically-skilled players together. Starting Howard, Bradley, Jones, Donovan, Dempsey, and Altidore is a great start, but Klinsmann needs to select five more players who can play at those other starters’ level.
If Klinsmann were to start Howard, Farrell, Cameron, Brooks, Klute, Bradley, Jones, Donovan, Diskerud, Dempsey, and Altidore, then he would be well on his way to making real progress.
Jürgen Klinsmann can easily improve the United States Men’s National Team before the 2014 World Cup. It is within his power.
Amidst all the talk of time running out before the World Cup, Klinsmann does have an excellent core group of players, a large amount of video evidence of new talents, reports from scouts, and prior knowledge of the skill-level of several American players that he has either somewhat or totally frozen out of his rosters.
Many improvements wouldn’t require much risk or radical changes, but there is a strong argument to be made that many new American talents have a lot to offer toward the improvement of the United States.
World Soccer Source has been very critical of Jürgen Klinsmann because he was an outstanding German striker with 11 World Cup goals, but he has not taken all of that skill and experience to field balanced and effective starting line-ups that can play one-to-two touch soccer against top national teams or even mediocre national teams.
Klinsmann received a lot of praise for his win record as the coach of the United States, but the quality of the soccer was poor by international standards, which means that Klinsmann’s typical rosters and line-ups won’t do well in the 2014 World Cup because Tim Howard, Geoff Cameron, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Aron Jóhannsson, and Jozy Altidore can’t pick up the slack for the four other players in the Starting XI.
People should expect someone of Klinsmann’s background to not select players without the technical ability or the athleticism to produce quality and effective soccer against strong competition.
If Bob Bradley was able to field line-ups like the ones that performed well in the later rounds of the 2009 Confederations Cup and at the World Cup, then an ex-player of Klinsmann’s level should be even better at fielding players who can play top national teams straight up with the ability to win.
Looking at the players in the American player pool, Klinsmann can improve his rosters and line-ups either by calling in the right combination of players that he has favored using or by selecting new players who in one way or another demonstrated what they are capable of.
For all of the voices claiming that new outside backs in MLS like Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, and Andrew Farrell aren’t ready despite the fact that all three of those players are 20 or older, Eric Lichaj really is an outside back option that Klinsmann has taken too long to call up to the national team.
Even a small change such as starting Eric Lichaj at right back and Fabian Johnson at left back is a big improvement over Brad Evans and DaMarcus Beasley.
Klinsmann’s insistence on claiming that Evans and Beasley are his first-choice outside backs for the World Cup really is quite ridiculous, considering the fact that Klinsmann has natural outside backs that are not only visibly better but that are professionals who are paid to play as outside backs at the club level.
The United States and Klinsmann really do have a very strong core group of starters who would greatly benefit from some real adjustments being made to the starting line-up, and it’s important to look at that core group of players and see which other players can help them to perform their best by being added to the starting line-up.
Therefore, Klinsmann’s work before the 2014 World Cup involves simply starting a balanced starting line-up made up of many of the players that he has already used, and it also involves filling the rest of the roster with capable, if not equally as skilled substitutes.
By examining the core group of essentially world-class (albeit not super elite) players, it becomes clear that the United States has a team build on strong pillars in the defense, in the midfield, and in the attack.
Tim Howard or Brad Guzan, Geoff Cameron, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore, and Aron Jóhannsson do make for a line-up where seven of the eleven starting line-up spots are occupied by players who have proven that they can compete and excel against top national teams.
This reality in and of itself makes for a United States Men’s National Team that is one in which the primary task is to fill the rest of the roster with players at the remaining positions who can perform at a level that is equal to or close enough to the level of the players listed above.
While no one in the pool is going to be better than Clint Dempsey as far as technical ability, the insertion of a playmaker into the Starting XI will allow Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey to play their natural roles.
Simply by inserting Mix Diskerud, Benny Feilhaber, or Joe Corona into the Front Six as a playmaker makes for a balanced and effective Front Six made up of Bradley, Donovan, Feilhaber or Diskerud or Corona, Dempsey, Altidore, and Jóhannsson.
Klinsmann has never even bothered to field something as obvious as that combination of players, which is odd considering how simple it would be to field a Front Six with a defensive midfielder, two free-roaming attacking midfielders out wide, a playmaker in the middle of the park behind the strikers, and two center forwards.
Certainly, one doesn’t need to be a World Cup winner or the scorer of 11 World Cup goals for Germany to field a Front Six where a defensive midfielder plays as an anchor and orchestrator behind three attacking midfielders (including a playmaker) and two first strikers.
Whatever Klinsmann’s excuse is for not fielding the type of line-up that most of the world’s best club and national teams use, it is quite shocking from an ex-player of Klinsmann’s ability.
At times, Klinsmann has been close to fielding a legit Starting XI, but there always appears to be one or two fatal flaws whether they be the failure to start a playmaker to link the defensive midfielders to the attack or the failure to start natural outside backs or the failure to start center backs with not only the speed but the skill to compete against better international attackers.
While the coach of the United States has made a lot of mistakes as far as his player selections or his Starting XIs, drastically improving these problems before the World Cup is something that Klinsmann has within his power to fix.
At the very least, Klinsmann can start Tim Howard or Brad Guzan in goal, Eric Lichaj and Fabian Johnson as outside backs, Geoff Cameron and John Anthony Brooks as center backs, Michael Bradley as a defensive midfielder, Landon Donovan, Mix Diskerud, and Clint Dempsey as a line of three attacking midfielders, and Jozy Altidore and Aron Jóhannsson as center forwards.
Klinsmann can easily do that and improve the performances of the United States, and he can do it without starting any players who he is tossing into the deep end with no experience or proven ability. Neither Lichaj, Brooks, or Diskerud are players without the ability or the experience to play on soccer’s biggest stage.
With the Starting XI above as a first step to improving the United States Men’s National Team before the 2014 World Cup, Klinsmann can proceed to decide who else should be on his rosters and perhaps who else might make for better starters than the players listed above.
Nevertheless, raising the quality of play of the United States quickly is not something that would require any outrageous risks to be taken or any drastic measures to be made, but new or different players should be evaluated and fielded in friendlies as well as camps to truly decide who really has the ability to perform and compete at the international level.
When it truly comes down to fielding a competent Starting XI, Klinsmann could simply start Howard, Lichaj, Cameron, Brooks, Johnson, Bradley, Donovan, Feilhaber, Dempsey, Altidore, and Jóhannsson, and he could be sure that all of those players have the ability and the experience to play quality soccer as a group and produce effective soccer.
When the United States Men’s National Team faces off against Scotland later this week, there is a possibility that Eric Lichaj, an American outcast under Jürgen Klinsmann, will be given the start at right back, even though Brad Evans has been the favored right back under Klinsmann.
Conventional wisdom would seem to indicate that Tim Howard will start in goal, but there is a very remote possibility that Sean Johnson or Bill Hamid could start in goal.
Looking over the center back options, Geoff Cameron and John Anthony Brooks will likely start together, but it’s possible that Omar Gonzalez will pair with one or the other instead.
Given the fact that Fabian Johnson is listed as a midfielder on the USMNT roster, it’s unclear whether or not DaMarcus Beasley or Fabian Johnson will start at left back. Beasley has been the preferred choice under Klinsmann in recent months, but maybe Klinsmann would like to get another look at Johnson at left back with Brooks and Cameron at center back.
Therefore, a possible starting Back Four against Scotland could be Lichaj (right back), Cameron (center back), Brooks (center back), and Johnson (left back).
Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones are Klinsmann’s preferred two-man defensive midfielder partnership, but perhaps Klinsmann will just start Bradley as the lone defensive midfielder to make room for both Jozy Altidore and Aron Jóhannsson to start at striker.
The most likely scenario would be for both Bradley and Jones to start as defensive midfielders with Jóhannsson being placed somewhere in the line of three attacking midfielders in front of the two-man defensive midfield.
Clint Dempsey is likely a lock in the starting line-up, as he should be, but where Dempsey will be deployed in the midfield is unclear. Dempsey could start out left, out right, or in the center.
As the line of three attacking midfielders (assuming Klinsmann uses this formation), Clint Dempsey, Mix Diskerud, and Alejandro Bedoya or Brek Shea is a possible option.
Unless Klinsmann wants to give another striker the start, Jozy Altidore will likely be starting as the lone striker.
Taking all of this into account, it’s possibly that the following USMNT Starting XI will take the field against Scotland:
Tim HOWARD; Eric LICHAJ, Geoff CAMERON, John Anthony BROOKS, Fabian JOHNSON; Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES; Aron JÓHANNSSON, Mix DISKERUD, Clint DEMPSEY; Jozy ALTIDORE.
Predicting the Starting XI that Jürgen Klinsmann will select is difficult to do, but World Soccer Source would like to see the following Starting XI:
Tim HOWARD; Eric LICHAJ, Geoff CAMERON, John Anthony BROOKS, Fabian JOHNSON; Michael BRADLEY; Brek SHEA, Mix DISKERUD, Clint DEMPSEY; Jozy ALTIDORE, Aron JÓHANNSSON.
The World Soccer Source USMNT Starting XI uses only one defensive midfielder (Bradley), in order to have both Altidore and Jóhannsson starting as center forwards, and the World Soccer Source Starting XI includes Shea, in order to deploy an aggressive winger who has a history of attacking opposing defenses with gusto.
This writer’s proposed Starting XI includes two-way outside backs, complete central midfielders, a defensive midfielder with excellent technical ability, a line of three attacking midfielders including a playmaker, and two first strikers who are excellent goal-scorers.
