Aron Jóhannsson

Four USMNT Strikers For the World Cup

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Terrence Boyd. (Photo: MexSport)
Terrence Boyd. (Photo: MexSport)

Jürgen Klinsmann and the United States Men’s National Team have four complete first strikers going into the 2014 World Cup.

Jozy Altidore is the number one striker option right now, but Aron Jóhannsson is equally as skilled from a technical standpoint, if not more so. Additionally, Juan Agudelo and Terrence Boyd are very technically-gifted, fast, tall, and aggressive first strikers who are ready to face high-caliber international competition at the World Cup.

While Eddie Johnson and Herculez Gomez are quality options who are also international-quality strikers, Altidore, Jóhannsson, Agudelo, and Boyd are the best four American first strikers according to World Soccer Source.

The competition at the World Cup is daunting. Teams like Brazil, Spain, Italy, Germany, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, France (if they qualify), and others are stocked full of world-class players, but the United States can take comfort in the fact that Altidore, Jóhannsson, Agudelo, and Boyd are capable first strikers who can score on elite national teams. Every one of those American strikers is technically-advanced and fast, and every one stands above 6 feet.

The Best USMNT XI has yet to be determined, but taking the four strikers listed above to the World Cup gives the United States the firepower to score, if those strikers receive quality service and final balls.

Four USMNT Strikers for the 2o14 World Cup in Brazil:

Jozy ALTIDORE (Sunderland)

Jozy Altidore is a beast of a first striker who has cultivated a more polished set of technical skills inside of a strong, tall, and athletic physique. Altidore brings two-footed skill, size, speed, and a growing ability to do real damage against better opponents.

Aron JÓHANNSSON (AZ Alkmaar)

Aron Jóhannsson is a textbook for footwork, touch, ball striking techniques, finishing, and movement off the ball. Quick, fast, and aggressive in his pursuit of the back of the net, Jóhannsson is a clinical striker who plays with elegance and imagination.

Juan AGUDELO (New England Revolution/Stoke City)

Of all the American strikers, Juan Agudelo is the most inventive risk taker who doesn’t hesitate to attempt to outfox and best defenders and goalkeepers. The United States cannot leave a striker with his invention and technical ability off the World Cup roster, especially given the fact that he also brings excellent speed and strength inside of a 6’2” frame. Agudelo is known for his creativity and refined technical-ability, but Agudelo is a big and athletic striker who will make World Cup defenders expend a ton of energy containing and marking him. Agudelo is a gifted goal-scorer who doesn’t need any extra motivation to aggressively attack the goal with skill, and Agudelo looks to create space for himself to score, which helps to open up games that have stalemated.

Terrence BOYD (Rapid Wien)

Of all the American strikers, Terrence Boyd is the most aggressive of the bunch, and he plays with no respect for his opponents. Agudelo and Jóhannsson may or may not be more technically-skilled than Boyd, but Boyd is a very technically-skilled striker who is the tallest and fastest of the bunch. Boyd plays with real fire, and the United States will need a complete striker like Boyd if it wants to have strikers who can really compete against top national teams and score on them. Boyd has everything: skill with both feet and his head, good finishing, speed, quickness, a tall frame, and excellent movement off the ball.

Outlook:

When the 2014 World Cup rolls around, Jürgen Klinsmann and the USMNT would be wise to put Altidore, Jóhannsson, Agudelo, and Boyd on the roster as the four strikers. Other names have been tossed around in the American media as the best American strikers, but all four of the strikers listed above are complete strikers who can score against even the best national teams. While none of these strikers is an unstoppable goal machine, each of them is unfazed by elite defenders for the most part.

Other American Strikers to Watch:

Mario RODRIGUEZ

Herculez GOMEZ

Eddie JOHNSON

Gyasi ZARDES

José VILLARREAL (second striker)

Alonso HERNANDEZ (second striker or attacking midfielder)

 

Klinsmann Should Start Altidore and Jóhannsson

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Aron Jóhannsson (Photo: AZ Alkmaar)
Aron Jóhannsson (Photo: AZ Alkmaar)

 

The United States Men’s National Team and Jürgen Klinsmann should go ahead and start Aron Jóhannsson and Jozy Altidore as two center forwards because they give the United States two skilled goal-scorers to disrupt the opposition’s defenses.

Starting Altidore and Jóhannsson shouldn’t just be something that is tried in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, but it should now be something that forces Klinsmann to change his 4-2-3-1 formation.

In a recent article, World Soccer Source discussed how starting just one defensive midfielder opened up a starting spot for Jóhannsson, but that article didn’t focus on why Jóhannsson needed to start.

In addition to having some history and chemistry from playing together for AZ Alkmaar, Altidore and Jóhannsson give the USMNT center forwards who are international-caliber goal-scorers who can score on anyone.

Whereas Altidore took a while to refine his technical ability to a level that matched his athleticism and incredible physique to create a striker that was essentially complete, Jóhannsson has always been the type of striker that is described as clinical in regards to his technical ability.

Standing 6 feet tall with great speed and quickness, Jóhannsson is an aggressive striker who has textbook technical ability with both feet. He doesn’t hesitate to shoot when the opportunity presents itself, and he is an accurate shooter with the full arsenal of ball-striking techniques.

The advantage of using two quality strikers is that it forces the opposition’s defense to mark both strikers closely, as both are threats to score or slip behind the backline. If the United States begins to start Altidore and Jóhannsson plus Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan on a regular basis, then the United States is fielding four players who can combine with one another and force the opposition to keep a close eye on all of them.

Combination play amongst these players can certainly produce lots of chances on goal and many goals, but the insertion of a true playmaker to orchestrate the attack and play final balls to these attacking players would be a major upgrade for the USMNT.

Just as Altidore demonstrated for two years with AZ Alkmaar and against Bosnia and Herzogovina that he was a striker to be taken seriously by elite competition, so too has Jóhannsson demonstrated a visibly aggressive elegance to his game as a striker that results in goals. Jóhannsson also has the goal-scoring rate to back up this description of his play.

The United States has a lot of options at its disposal for starting line-ups in the games leading up to next year’s World Cup, but the use of two strikers of Altidore’s and Jóhannsson’s level plus Dempsey and Donovan floating around behind them in the attack is a way for the United States to use offense as a form of defense. Constant waves of attacks and shots on goals disrupts the ability of the opposition to develop any possession or rhythm to its play.

Four defenders plus a defensive midfielder and obviously a goalkeeper is plenty of players who are tasked with providing most of the defense, but the attack-minded players can play defense in their own way, which is pressuring the opposing defense into making mistakes and giving away possession.

While two defensive midfielders is a common strategy and a logical formation option, the United States should make it a priority to start attacking threats like Altidore, Jóhannsson, Dempsey, and Donovan at the same time.

If Jürgen Klinsmann were to also start a playmaker such as Mix Diskerud, Joe Corona, or Benny Feilhaber to orchestrate the attacking play of the other attackers listed, then the United States would be raising the quality of its play to a new level.

What would a Front Six with two strikers look like? It would look like the Front Six below:

Bradley; Donovan, Feilhaber/Diskerud/Corona, Dempsey; Altidore, Jóhannsson

 

Depth Chart: USMNT First Strikers

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Jozy Altidore scored the game's only goal. (Photo: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
Jozy Altidore. (Photo: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)

Over the past two years, Jozy Altidore has dramatically improved his movement off the ball, and he has refined his technical ability and finishing skills.

Now, Jozy Altidore has blossomed into a first striker whose athleticism and physique are matched by his technical skill and movement off the ball. Altidore has two years playing club soccer in Holland to thank for these improvements, and now Jozy Altidore tops the list of World Soccer Source’s best American strikers.

After Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo and Aron Jóhannsson are tied for second due to the difficulty in trying to scientifically rank all of the various criteria like finishing, club form, the league played in, technical ability, scoring-rate, and athleticism.

 

1.) Jozy Altidore (Sunderland)

Easily the best American striker, Altidore showed just how far he’d come in polishing his technical ability, finishing, and movement off the ball when he scored an outstanding hat trick against Bosnia and Herzegovina after two years with a prolific scoring-rate with AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie. Two months shy of his 24th birthday, Altidore is a complete first striker, and he will continue to improve in all areas of his game as the years go by.

 

2.) Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution / Stoke City)

Juan Agudelo is one of the crown jewels of American soccer, and it will be interesting to see how he compares to Jozy Altidore in a few years or sooner.

It took Altidore several years and the right club situation to become a more finished product who had harnessed his physical gifts and honed his skills, so Agudelo should be allowed the same amount of time to become more polished and deadly.

Whereas Altidore was accused of needing to refine his technical ability several years ago, Agudelo was never criticized for his technical ability. Agudelo has been criticized for trying to do too many tricks, for overcomplicating things, and for taking too many touches, but Agudelo has become more efficient without eliminating the trickery and creativity from his game.

The young American striker has had multiple opportunities to showcase his talent against top national teams playing at full strength, and he has never looked overmatched or fazed by the opposition.

There are too many excellent goals with both feet and his head to not consistently have Juan Agudelo on the United States Men’s National Team, and despite a few injuries, there have been plenty of occasions when Agudelo has been unjustly snubbed by Jürgen Klinsmann and the national team.

 

2.) Aron Jóhannsson (AZ Alkmaar)

Aron Jóhannsson is as good as or better than Juan Agudelo, and Jóhannsson plays for Jozy Altidore’s former club, AZ Alkmaar.

Altidore has backed Jóhannsson due to his time playing with Jóhannsson and seeing him in action, but Jóhannsson’s play last season and this season combined with his excellent play against Bosnia and Herzegovina prove Jóhannsson’s skill and ability to excel against top-level competition.

The AZ Alkmaar striker is fast and clinical with a nose for goal, and he never hesitates to go straight to goal or hit shots the instant the opportunity presents itself.

If started right now for the United States, there’s no reason to think that Jóhannsson couldn’t do as well or better than any other American striker who has played for the USMNT in the past.

He will continue to grow and get stronger, but Jóhannsson is already a tall striker with excellent speed and textbook technical ability.

Jóhannsson’s biggest strength is the combination of his technical ability with his instinct to attack the goal.

 

4.) Terrence Boyd (Rapid Wien)

A year ago, the young Terrence Boyd looked poised to make a run at Jozy Altidore’s starting spot, but with Altidore’s improved international form came less playing time for Boyd.

Nevertheless, Boyd is a direct-to-goal first striker who attacks the goal constantly with his skill and athleticism. Unlike Altidore who took some time to develop more of a ruthless streak, Boyd has always been very aggressive and his ability to score with both feet should serve the United States well.

Boyd has all of the tools to be a starting striker with the USMNT, and it’s time for Klinsmann to start seasoning more of his strikers besides Altidore.

Boyd is a faster and more athletic player than Altidore, Agudelo, and Jóhannsson, and his technical ability is equally good.

A striker with Boyd’s gifts and skills should prove to be a very valuable weapon for the United States. Once Boyd plays more with the United States, it will be easier to compare and contrast him with Jozy Altidore.

Of all the American strikers, Boyd is the most ruthless, and he attacks opponents with pure rage and no respect.

 

Conclusion:

Jozy Altidore leads the pack as the best American striker, but Juan Agudelo, Aron Jóhannsson, and Terrence Boyd deserve more opportunities to gain international experience. Until the other three play more for the United States, it’s unclear how they compare to one another or if one of them partners particularly well with Altidore. There is also the real need to make sure that the United States has four first strikers who are ready to play well in the World Cup.