José Villarreal

Lineup Decisions For the LA Galaxy

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Who should start for the LA Galaxy?

With the arrival of central midfielder Steven Gerrard and attacking midfielder Giovani Dos Santos, who should start for the Los Angeles Galaxy?

There’s no need to change up the Galaxy’s solid defensive unit made up of Jaime Penedo in goal, Dan Gargan at right back, Omar Gonzalez and A.J. DeLaGarza as the center backs, and Robbie Rogers at left back, but there’s not enough room in the Front Six for all of the LA’s deserving players.

Making up the two-man center midfield or defensive midfield pairing, Juninho and Steven Gerrard is a strong and non-controversial pairing.

Juninho is a solid MLS center midfielder with several years of consistently good performances. Gerrard is a legenday center midfielder that can play a box-to-box role or deeper role where he anchors the midfield with his passing, vision, and recovery play.

Both Gerrard and Juninho are intelligent players that know how to adapt their midfield play to what is needed, so there’s no need to designate one as the defensive midfielder and the other one as the box-to-box midfielder. Both players will go forward or drop back depending on what the other one does.

The more attacking roles are where the 50/50 personnel decisions will arise. Whenever Robbie Keane retires or goes elsewhere, there will be one less set-in-stone starting spot, but for now, there are many line-up decisions to be made.

In the four attacking roles, Sebastian Lletget has cemented himself as a starter, and playing as an attacking midfielder right, left, or center likely makes little difference to his positive impact in the lineup.

Lletget can also play as a forward in several tactical setups.

Gyasi Zardes has to be considered the center forward, first striker, or Number 9 for this squad with Keane sitting underneath him as the second striker or withdrawn striker, and this already turns the Galaxy’s formation into a 4-4-2 with Juninho and Gerrard in the center of the midfield.

With the personnel in the roster naturally lending itself to a 4-4-2 formation, this puts Lletget and someone else as the outside midfielders or wings. Along with Lletget, the decision is Dos Santos or José Villarreal, and Dos Santos’ salary is several million dollars.

Dos Santos’ reputation and salary tends to make him be thought of as a starter, but Villarreal offers so much to the squad, not to mention his natural ability as a wing.

Villarreal like Dos Santos is left-footed, which makes him a strong choice to play as a left wing or as an inverted winger on the right wing.

For all of Villarreal’s skill, Dos Santos has to be considered more talented for now, but Villarreal is still on the rise. Villarreal is also a tougher player that runs more, tracks back more on defense, and plays with more physicality.

Comparing Villarreal and Dos Santos, Dos Santos is a more dynamic attacker, but Villarreal is also a skilled, quick, and dynamic attacker that provides more work rate and defending.

For the Los Angles Galaxy, the real lineup toss up will be the Dos Santos or Villarreal decision, and likely circumstances like fitness, injuries, and matchups will dictate who starts.

The Galaxy should be considered arguably the best team in MLS this season with their current roster, and the second half of the season should provide plenty of storylines about players and lineup decisions.

Bruce Arena will have to see what his best lineup really is and if there is more than one best lineup.

5 MLS Players That Can Improve the USMNT

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The U.S. Men’s National Team could stand for an injection of new skill, and here are five MLS players that can improve the Nationa Team in the defense, in the midfield, and in the attack. All of these players are young enough to serve the National Team for many years.

 

1. Dillon Powers – Center Midfielder/Attacking Midfielder

Wanted: Two-Way Center Midfielders. The National Team could use an injection of complete midfielders to give the squad the type of passing, defending, and work rate that higher-level midfield play requires. Dillon Powers is the most promising of the newer center midfielders in MLS, and in his mid-twenties, he’s ready for international play now. The U.S. continues to field players out of position in the midfield, but Powers can excel as a box-to-box midfielder, as a Number 10, or as an attacking midfielder out right or left. Powers is also qualified to play as a defensive midfielder or Number 6.

2.  Sebastian Lletget –Attacking Midfielder/Center Midfielder/Wing

Playmaking and creativity in the midfield is one of the biggest weaknesses of the National Team. Link-up play between the midfield and the attack also continues to be a major weakness of the National Team. In a very short time in MLS, Sebastian Lletget has already demonstrated the qualities that transfer to the international game. His technical ability and work rate are excellent, and he’s fast and quick with a nose for goal. Lletget is a skilled finisher with either foot, and he combines quickly and well with skilled attacking and midfield counterparts. Looking over the American player pool, Lletget is a must for the National Team.

3. Andrew Farrell – Center Back/Right Back

The American defense continues to be a problem against the better national teams. The problem is having center backs that have the defensive abilities, technical skills, and athleticism needed to face off against elite attackers. Andrew Farrell stands out amongst the center backs in MLS. He’s good on the ball, strong defensively in all areas, and really difficult to body off the ball or beat for pace. In short, Farrell is a beast of a center back that defends well, plays well with the ball at his feet, and chases down attackers like a monster.

4. Bradford Jamieson IV – Forward/Wing

It’s no secret that the National Team is missing creative, skilled, and fast attackers that can score goals and create goals out of nothing. Bradford Jamieson IV is an 18-year-old attacking midfielder/forward that can beat defenders with skill, speed, or both at the same time. The LA Galaxy attacker can play anywhere in the attack, and he’s ready to play at the international level. Jamieson is a skill player like Clint Dempsey, but he has a level of speed and quickness that Dempsey never had.

5. José Villarreal –Wing/Forward

Attacking wide and centrally is important for attackers, and José Villarreal is a winger or second striker by trade that can improve the National Team’s ability to have a more dynamic and spontaneous attack. He’s another LA Galaxy player that looks like an upgrade to a dull and ineffective American attack – Clint Dempsey excluded. Villarreal is a lefty that also plays well with his weaker right foot, and he can serve the National Team well on the left, on the right, or paired with a Number 9 up top. Unlike many of the other attackers that have played for the National Team, Villarreal doesn’t need to be told to attack and go for goal. Like Lletget and Jamieson, this is another creative LA Galaxy player.

 

 

Klinsmann’s USMNT Options For October Qualifiers

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Joe Benny Corona. (Photo: MexSport)
Joe Benny Corona. (Photo: MexSport)

 

Despite the possibility of Michael Bradley and John Anthony Brooks still being injured, Jürgen Klinsmann still has a lot of new options for the United States Men’s National Team’s October World Cup qualifiers.

A prudent decision for the future success of the USMNT is for Klinsmann to start many of the proven players who he has chosen to snub in the past, but he should fill the rest of the roster with new players that need to be given experience.

The math on this is simple; Klinsmann has 11 starting line-ups spots that he can reserve for some of the more-experienced American players who he has chosen to not use, and he has 12 roster spots for the new talents in American soccer.

The other alternative is to use the same roster outlined above but start the new players.

If Klinsmann wants to start more-proven players, then this is a topic that can be discussed with specificity.

For example, Klinsmann could start Brad Guzan in goal with Jonathan Spector at right back, Shane O’Neill and Michael Orozco at center back, and Eric Lichaj at left back.

In front of them, Klinsmann can start Geoff Cameron as a defensive midfielder with Joe Benny Corona, Benny Feilhaber, and Mix Diskerud as a line of three attacking midfielders.

Up top, Klinsmann could start Juan Agudelo (if he’s healthy) or Terrence Boyd with Aron Jóhannsson.

The line-up proposed above leaves 11 or 12 roster spots open for Klinsmann, depending on the health of Agudelo.

Starting in the defense, the obvious names are DeAndre Yedlin, Chris Klute, and Andrew Farrell.

This leaves eight or nine roster spots (depending on whether or not Agudelo is healthy) for goalkeepers, midfielders, and forwards.

If there are eight roster spots, calling up Nick Rimando and some other goalkeeper like Clint Irwin, Dan Kennedy, Sean Johnson, Luis Robles, or Tally Hall leaves six more roster spots to fill.

For the final six roster spots, Perry Kitchen as a defensive midfielder, Amobi Okugo as a center back and defensive midfielder, Benji Joya as a midfielder who plays as an attacking midfielder or as a box-to-box midfielder, José Villarreal as a forward or attacking midfielder, Joe Gyau as a winger or forward, and Freddy Adu as midfielder or forward (it’s time for Klinsmann to check in with Adu).

The roster proposed above includes three goalkeepers, four outside backs, four center backs, four forwards, five attacking midfielders, three defensive or box-to-box midfielders (plus Shane O’Neill and Geoff Cameron).

To be clear, the USMNT could start the following fairly-experienced XI below:

Guzan; Spector, O’Neill, Orozco, Lichaj; Cameron; Corona, Feilhaber, Diskerud; Agudelo/Boyd, Jóhannsson.

On the bench, the USMNT would have the following players available:

Rimando, Irwin/Kennedy/Robles/S. Johnson/Hall, Yedlin, Klute, Farrell, Kitchen, Okugo, Joya, Villarreal, Gyau, Adu.

Starting Guzan in goal with Spector, O’Neill, Orozco, and Lichaj forming the Back Four should be a strong enough defense to win or at least they should be strong enough to win.

In front of them, Cameron as a defensive midfielder behind a line of three attacking midfielders (Corona, Feilhaber, Diskerud) should be a midfield with a strong defender and good passer patrolling the back with three creative midfielders helping the United States to maintain possession and set up goals.

Up top, Agudelo or Boyd with Jóhannsson is a potent young strike force who at the very least should cause problems for all but the very best of international defenders.

These forwards still have room to improve, but all three of them are real threats on the international level. There is no reason to think that they aren’t capable of easily scoring against CONCACAF opposition unless they simply don’t receive enough service.

Something similar to the roster and starting line-up proposed in this article combines the best of both worlds for the United States Men’s National Team: more-experienced players that Klinsmann hasn’t favored as starters with new talents who can gain experience and help to strengthen the national team.

On the other hand, if Klinsmann wanted to use mainly new and/or younger players, then he could start the following XI:

Guzan; Yedlin, Farrell, O’Neill, Klute; Cameron, Joya; Adu, Feilhaber, Corona; Agudelo/Boyd/Jóhannsson.

What Jürgen Klinsmann really needs to learn is whether or not he’s been using the best players and if the new talents or some of the out of favor talents can improve the ability of the USMNT to better compete or win at the highest level against better national teams.

The coach of the United States enjoys using the metaphor about tossing players into the cold water, and with the 2014 World Cup approaching next summer, it’s time to see who the best American soccer players are and prepare them for the big stage.

 

 

Depth Chart: USMNT Second Strikers

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Freddy Adu (Source: Esporte Clube Bahia)
Freddy Adu (Source: Esporte Clube Bahia)

 

World Soccer Source considers Juan Agudelo and Aron Jóhannsson to be first strikers also known as number 9s, and for this reason, neither one is listed on the depth chart below.

Depth Chart: USMNT Second Strikers

1.) Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders)

Clint Dempsey plays a similar position to Robinho, Thomas Müller, Jérémy Ménez, or Neymar in that they are attacking midfielders or forwards without being out-and-out strikers like Mario Balotelli or Jozy Altidore. As long as Clint Dempsey isn’t deployed as a lone striker like Spain has done with Cesc Fàbregas, Dempsey’s positional name isn’t as important as him being included in the USMNT Starting XI as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey have developed a nice partnership up top, and seeing both players starting together highlights the difference between a first striker and a second striker. Of all the American players, Dempsey is the player who can best play off a first striker in a supporting role, which not only helps the first striker be less closely marked but also draws defenders away from Clint Dempsey. Given the fact that the Texan is the best American player and given his penchant for scoring goals and disrupting defenses, Clint Dempsey is the best second striker in the American player pool.

 

2.) Freddy Adu (E.C. Bahia)

Freddy Adu is ranked above Landon Donovan as a second striker because Donovan is best used out wide where he can use his speed to run at defenders and cut inside from out wide, but Adu is more adept at playing final balls and setting up goals than Donovan. Obviously, Donovan has a much higher amount of assists for the United States, but he’s played in a lot more games. Donovan excels at using speed to beat defenders and attacking from wide positions, but Adu has a more refined ability to play passes of a higher degree of difficulty that unlock defenses. As far as 1v1 abilities, Adu possesses probably the best ability of any American to beat quality defenders off the dribble, and Adu knows how to put the ball in the back of the net. Adu’s aggressive playing style and skills combined with his ability to take risks forces defenders to leave a first striker like Altidore unmarked as they turn their attention to the penetrating dribbling and quick passing of Adu. Donovan has better stats and accolades to his name, but using Adu as a second striker doesn’t exclude starting Landon Donovan at the same time.

 

3.) Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)

Landon Donovan is more suited to start out wide as a winger or just as an attacking midfielder starting out wide than he is as a second striker because starting out wide allows Donovan to receive the ball and beat defenders with pace down the sideline, quickly combine with his teammates from a deeper position, and use his speed to cut inside towards the penalty box, which causes Dempsey and Altidore to be open when the defenders run over to mark Donovan. Along with Dempsey, Donovan is the best American soccer player, but using Donovan as a second striker doesn’t maximize his speed in the same way that starting him in the midfield does because up top Donovan would be waiting to receive service rather than sprinting at defenders from a deeper and wider position.

 

4.) José Villarreal (LA Galaxy)

José Villarreal is ideally suited to play as a second striker because it allows him to use his technical ability and trickery to support a first striker and draw defenders away from a first striker. Villarreal will continue to improve, but the 20-year-old is a member of a group of young American players who are demonstrating that the United States is producing more technically-skilled players than it used to. Villarreal’s general play for the Los Angeles Galaxy and his goal against Real Madrid make him too talented to not be part of the discussion for inclusion on the United States Men’s National Team. When Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan stop playing in four or five years or more, the USMNT will be in good hands, as long as Villarreal is playing.

 

 

The USMNT Youth Movement

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A strong argument can be made that the best Starting XI for the United States Men’s National Team would look nothing like the ones that Jürgen Klinsmann has been using with the exception of Tim Howard, Geoff Cameron, Fabian Johnson, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Jozy Altidore.

Those players along with Brad Guzan leave Jürgen Klinsmann and the USMNT 15 open roster spots to improve the U.S. national team.

There has been a fantastic youth movement over the last two years in the United States, and Juan Agudelo burst onto the scene a little before that time when he was only 17 years old.

The influx of new and better American players into Major League Soccer and other leagues is what the American soccer community has been waiting for. Making these new players wait to play for the national team is a poor long-term strategy and a poor strategy for the performance of the United States Men’s National Team now.

After the United States plays Mexico on Tuesday, Jürgen Klinsmann either needs to call in Jonathan Spector, Eric Lichaj, and Benny Feilhaber to play in the next World Cup qualifiers to give the United States experienced and proven players or he needs to start filling the roster with the better younger players. To be fair, Feilhaber, Spector, and Lichaj aren’t old players themselves.

The United States needs to shore up its national team all over the field, and the players to do this are currently in the American player pool. Players like Benji Joya, Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, Andrew Farrell, John Anthony Brooks, and Shane O’Neill are the most pressing.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that Juan Agudelo, Joe Benny Corona, and Mix Diskerud are young players who have been included on some of the rosters, but they haven’t played as big of a role as they deserved.

There are also players like José Villarreal who are definitely national team material, but they aren’t as needed with both Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan on the national team.

Gyasi Zardes should be ready for national team play in several months, but he too isn’t as needed with strikers like Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo, Aron Jóhannsson, and Eddie Johnson on the roster. Zardes’ time will come, and the more refined his attacking skills become, the harder it will be to keep him off the national team

Nevertheless, there is a growing list of players who look more than capable of playing international soccer, and some of them are more ready than others.

Of all the players discussed, several fill urgent needs.

Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, and Andrew Farrell are very talented and athletic outside backs, and the United States needs outside backs with the tools to play international soccer.

Farrell is naturally a center back, and athletic and skilled center backs like Farrell who have strong tackling instincts and skills would be beneficial to the national team.

Despite the growing popularity of Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler among the American fan base, there are two younger center backs who are better in almost every area: John Anthony Brooks and Shane O’Neill.

O’Neill can play as a defensive midfielder, as an outside back, and as a center back, and nothing about Gonzalez’s and Besler’s physical gifts or skill-sets suggests that either player is anywhere close to Shane O’Neill in terms of defensive ability, overall skill on the ball, and athleticism.

Not only is O’Neill a superior 1v1 defender and ball-winner, O’Neill does Cruyffs in his own defensive third and can dribble out of the back and play passes on the ground through crowds of people, and Gonzalez and Besler simply can’t do that.

It’s not clear where many people in the American soccer media insist that a 20-year-old Bundesliga center back is somehow less qualified than Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler who have both never played abroad nor have they put in strong performances against elite attackers, but Gonzalez and Besler are certainly skilled defenders who are far better than defenders like Carlos Bocanegra, Clarence Goodson, or Oguchi Onyewu ever were.

Brooks is only 20 years old, but selection to the national team should be based on merit. Brooks is better than both Gonzalez and Besler who will both likely never play club soccer outside of the United States.

While MLS is producing very good players who are international-caliber players, there is no way to argue that Gonzalez’s and Besler’s experience in MLS make them anywhere close to as good as a 20-year-old center back like Brooks who starts for Hertha Berlin.

Brooks proved his abilities against Bosnia and Herzegovina where he was only guilty of losing sight of the ball on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s third goal when Geoff Cameron jumped up to try to get high enough to clear the cross, but the jump obstructed Brooks’ view of the ball.

Therefore, Brooks is a 20-year-old and skilled Bundesliga center back and Shane O’Neill is a 20 year old MLS center back who is more athletic and more skilled than both Gonzalez and Besler. Additionally, both Brooks and O’Neill are tall enough to not be liabilities on crosses or balls played in the air.

World Soccer Source has covered Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, Andrew Farrell, and Benji Joya extensively, and all four of those players fulfill pressing needs for the United States Men’s National Team.

Joya is a technically-skilled central midfielder who can play out wide, and he offers outstanding technical-ability and passing vision with better defense than Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan provide. Joya offers the complete package of technical-ability, defensive skill, athleticism, and a big-game mentality.

While not a true playmaker, Joya brings skills that are different but compatible with Michael Bradley’s, Clint Dempsey’s, and Landon Donovan’s.

Klute, Yedlin, and Farrell are quite simply modern outside backs (and also center backs in Farrell’s case), and they represent an improvement in skill, athleticism, and international-caliber play. Klute and Yedlin pose an attacking threat up the sidelines that the USMNT has never seen before, and Klute has an equally strong defensive-skill set, which is above Yedlin’s steadily improving defensive skills.

When comparing Farrell to Yedlin at right back, Farrell is definitely the better defender without a drop-off in speed or athleticism compared to Yedlin. Farrell’s technical-ability is close to Yedlin’s.

Of all three outside backs, Klute appears to be the fastest, but the important thing is that all three players give the United States more speed and skill at the outside back positions; all three players can play as right backs or as left backs, which is another reason that they should be on the national team.

With the arrival of the three outside backs discussed above, Kofi Sarkodie has been flying under the radar, but Sarkodie continues to be more of an attacking threat, and he too is a legitimate option for the national team; Sarkodie deserves to be included in the national team set-up more, and he should be evaluated closely and monitored.

There are numerous other young American players who are international-caliber players such as strikers like Mario Rodriguez and Alonso Hernandez, and there are defensive midfielders such as Perry Kitchen, Jared Jeffrey, and Will Trapp who are players to monitor closely.

The key to improving the United States Men’s National Team is continuing to use better players, as opposed to using makeshift line-ups that can’t do real damage to better national teams.

It’s time to start incorporating and seasoning Agudelo, Corona, Diskerud, Joya, Klute, O’Neill, Brooks, Yedlin, Farrell, Villarreal, Sarkodie, Rodriguez, Hernandez, Kitchen, Trapp, Jeffrey, and Zardes.

 

Who’s on the USMNT Roster vs. Bosnia?

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Guessing who Jürgen Klinsmann will select for the USMNT roster to face Bosnia-Herzegovina is impossible because there are too many factors that come into play, including his personal opinion of players and what his goals are. World Soccer Source’s guess at a possible Klinsmann USMNT roster can be found at the bottom of the page.

On the other hand, World Soccer Source would like to see a combination of the players from the Gold Cup and World Cup qualifying, in addition to some new players to strengthen the United States Men’s National Team at various positions.

Below is the roster that World Soccer Source would like to see called up to face Bosnia-Herzegovina, and it contains more than 23 players:

WSS USMNT ROSTER PROPOSAL VS. BOSNIA

GOALKEEPERS (3): Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN, Luis ROBLES.

DEFENDERS (8): Shane O’NEILL, Michael OROZCO, Gale AGBOSSOUMONDE, Andrew FARRELL; DeAndre YEDLIN, Chris KLUTE, Kofi SARKODIE, Eric LICHAJ.

MIDFIELDERS (9): Michael BRADLEY, Geoff CAMERON, Jermaine JONES; Benji JOYA, Mix DISKERUD, Clint DEMPSEY, Landon DONOVAN, Joe Benny CORONA, Benny FEILHABER.

FORWARDS (5): Jozy ALTIDORE, Terrence BOYD, Mario RODRIGUEZ, José VILLARREAL, Gyasi ZARDES.

*Injured- Juan AGUDELO

 

Based on World Cup qualifying and the 2013 Gold Cup, World Soccer Source believes this 23-man roster below is close to Jürgen Klinsmann’s first-choice team, with the exception of DeAndre Yedlin and Chris Klute who World Soccer Source believes Jürgen Klinsmann is close to calling up due to a need for outside backs:

 

Jürgen Klinsmann’s Likely USMNT Roster vs. Bosnia

GOALKEEPERS (3): Tim HOWARD, Brad GUZAN, Nick RIMANDO.

DEFENDERS (8): Matt BESLER, Omar GONZALEZ, Michael OROZCO, Clarence GOODSON, Timothy CHANDLER, DeAndre YEDLIN, Fabian JOHNSON, Chris KLUTE.

*It’s unclear whether John Anthony Brooks will be representing the United States.

MIDFIELDERS (8): Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES, Geoff CAMERON, Clint DEMPSEY, Landon DONOVAN, Mix DISKERUD, Joe Benny CORONA, Graham ZUSI.

FORWARDS (4): Jozy ALTIDORE, Terrence BOYD, Eddie JOHNSON, Aron JÓHANNSSON.

 

USMNT: 23 for Brazil (August 2013)

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The World Soccer Source 23-Man USMNT 2014 World Cup Roster Proposal 

(August 2013 Edition)

 

COMMENT:

This 23-man USMNT Roster Proposal is less conservative than other projections and predictions that you will find from other writers and websites.

The purpose of not just going with the current group of Jürgen Klinsmann regulars who are doing a good job at staying on top of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying table is not to purposely propose a group of inexperienced and young players for the sake of creating controversy.

On the contrary, the purpose is that this group of players below represents a sincere attempt to not just survive the group stage but to give young, talented, and athletic players the chance to try and raise the level of play of the USMNT.

For example, Gyasi Zardes and Mario Rodriguez are on the list over Eddie Johnson, which will seem almost comical to many people.

The reason that this writer selected Zardes and Rodriguez, despite the excellent combination of skill and overall athleticism of Johnson, is that this writer believes that these two young and internationally inexperienced players, if they happen to play for whatever reason over starters like Juan Agudelo or Terrence Boyd, will relentlessly attack the goal no matter the opponent more so than Johnson will.

It’s important to remember that Rodriguez is highly-regarded by Tab Ramos, and Rodriguez plays in Germany. Additionally, Zardes is widely-considered an extremely talented striker in MLS circles, and Zardes seemed to have no problem playing against Real Madrid yesterday who were fielding a strong line-up, including Casemiro at the defensive midfielder role.

 

Here is the roster proposal:

 

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad GUZAN, Tim HOWARD, Nick RIMANDO.

CENTER BACKS (4): Gale AGBOSSOUMONDE, Andrew FARRELL, Shane O’NEILL, Michael OROZCO FISCAL.

OUTSIDE BACKS (3): Chris KLUTE, Kofi SARKODIE, DeAndre YEDLIN.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS (3): Michael BRADLEY, Geoff CAMERON, Benji JOYA.

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS (5): Freddy ADU, Joe Benny CORONA, Clint DEMPSEY, Mix DISKERUD, Benny FEILHABER.

FORWARDS (5): Juan AGUDELO, Jozy ALTIDORE, Terrence BOYD, Mario RODRIGUEZ, Gyasi ZARDES.

 

NOTES:

-There are 7 defenders as opposed to 8 because Geoff Cameron plays center back as well as both outside back positions.

-Michael Orozco, Geoff Cameron, Andrew Farrell, Shane O’Neill can all play as outside backs and as defensive midfielders.

-Geoff Cameron is as much of a center back as he is a defensive midfielder.

-Benji Joya is a box-to-box midfielder listed with the defensive midfielders.

-Freddy Adu and Benny Feilhaber are on this roster proposal. Both of these players are highly-valued by World Soccer Source for their proven-ability and record of performing and making a positive impact at the international level regardless of the opponent. Many Americans and non-Americans consider these two players to be inconsistent and lazy playmakers with a poor attitude, but World Soccer Source considers them to be invaluable midfielders for the USMNT due to their ability to bring creative and quality passing and attacking play to a national team that lacks these qualities.

 

USMNT Starting XI Proposal (4-1-2-1-2): Howard; Yedlin, O’Neill, Farrell, Klute; Cameron; Bradley, Joya; Corona; Agudelo, Dempsey.

 

ROSTER ALTERNATES:

FORWARDS: Teal BUNBURY, Alonso HERNANDEZ, Eddie JOHNSON, Tony TAYLOR, José VILLARREAL.

MIDFIELDERS: Landon DONOVAN, Junior FLORES, Luis GIL, Joe GYAU, Jeremy HALL, Perry KITCHEN, Dax MCCARTY, Brek SHEA.

DEFENDERS: Matt BESLER, Omar GONZALEZ, Fabian JOHNSON, Eric LICHAJ, Michael PARKHURST, Jonathan SPECTOR, Caleb STANKO.

GOALKEEPERS: Cody CROPPER, Tally HALL, Bill HAMID, Clint IRWIN, Sean JOHNSON, Dan KENNEDY, Luis ROBLES.

 

 

U-20 World Cup: U.S. improves, ties France

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Daniel Cuevas (20) scored the equalizer and celebrates with Benji Joya (8). (Photo: Jamie McDonald/FIFA/FIFA/Getty Images)
Daniel Cuevas (20) scored the equalizer and celebrates with Benji Joya (8). (Photo: Jamie McDonald/FIFA/FIFA/Getty Images)

 

In the United States’ second U-20 World Cup game, Javan Torre started again at center back and the more highly-rated center back, Caleb Stanko, was benched despite outplaying Torre in the first game, and the United States tied France 1-1.

 

Torre may or not be one of the two best center back options at Ramos’ disposal, but he did fairly well against France.

 

Perhaps if M’Baye Niang were playing as a first striker for France, the combination of Niang and midfield extraordinaire Paul Pogba would have spelled a horror show for the United States’ defense.

 

As it was, Pogba displayed his usual effortless play even with Will Trapp and Benji Joya putting pressure on him.

 

Pogba wasn’t fazed or neutralized, but Joya showed his ability to play against elite players. This was a good barometer to prove to any of Joya’s doubters that he has the ability to play with the United States Men’s National Team.

 

In addition to Pogba, French striker, Yaya Sanogo (amongst others) was a handful for U.S. center back, Shane O’Neill, who was luckily available for this game, unlike the first World Cup match.

 

The U.S. had an equal share of possession against Spain, but against France, the U.S. saw far less possession. Unlike in the game against Spain, Will Trapp did a better job of tackling and playing deeper which is his job playing as somewhat of a midfield destroyer with the number 6 jersey.

 

On the other hand, Joya who was again used as a box-to-box midfielder played as well or better than he played against Spain.

 

Joya and Trapp did a good job of putting pressure on France’s midfield even though all of France’s players were tall, elite athletes who passed effortlessly and seemed to easily enjoy the lion’s share of possession.

 

But, the United States did pass well and combine well with each other, and the U.S. didn’t look outmatched, as the U.S. was able to advance forward with good team passing.

 

One of the most striking aspects of the game was how physically imposing and graceful almost all of the French players were, and despite this, the United States still was able to play with France and attack and defend them.

 

With one loss and one tie so far in the U-20 World Cup, the U.S.’ U-20 team has displayed a good level of soccer that technically looks better than the United States Men’s National Team as a whole, and the quality of play occurred against a fast and technically-skilled Spanish team and a French squad that was equally skilled but athletically far superior to Spain.

 

The size, skill, and athleticism of France was remarkable, but the U.S.’ players like O’Neill and Joya seemed unfazed by it.

 

Frankly, France’s U-20 squad looked unbeatable when the game started.

 

Based on how many goals Spain scored on the U.S., this French squad right after kickoff looked like they were going to dominate the United States, and they did dominate possession.

 

Despite the 59% to 41% possession difference, the U.S.’ front six were able to string passes together playing one-to-two touch soccer and get into the final third, and the defense was able to somewhat contain France.

 

This signals an improvement for American soccer.

 

Looking at the state of American soccer in general, it would appear that many of the U.S.’ U-20 players are ready to play alongside players like Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Tim Howard, Jermaine Jones, Geoff Cameron, Fabian Johnson, Benny Feilhaber, Juan Agudelo, Freddy Adu, Joe Corona, and Jozy Altidore.

 

Some combination of the best players from the U-20 team combined with the USMNT players listed above indicates an improvement in the overall technical ability of the United States.

 

One important thing to remember about the U-20 World Cup is that Brazil and Argentina didn’t qualify for it, which seems to indicate that their players of this age group are already being incorporated into their main national teams.

 

The United States and Jürgen Klinsmann would be wise to incorporate some of these players like DeAndre Yedlin, Benji Joya, Luis Gil, Shane O’Neill, Mario Rodriguez, Alonso Hernandez, and José Villarreal into the USMNT for the Gold Cup or for upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

 

FIFA MATCH REPORT AND RECAP:

http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=259235/match=300232815/report.html

 

U-20 World Cup: Tab Ramos Improves U.S. XI

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Tab Ramos made several line-up changes. (Photo: ISIphotos.com)
Tab Ramos made several line-up changes. (Photo: ISIphotos.com)

 

Unlike Jürgen Klinsmann, the United States’ U-20 coach Tab Ramos’ roster and line-up selections make sense. The criticism from the American soccer media before and after the first U-20 World Cup game for the United States was the exclusion of some Major League Soccer players and the inclusion of Javan Torre in the starting line-up.

 

Ramos’ line-ups have been balanced, and, by and large, strong at every position. Against France, Ramos used four capable defenders playing their natural positions, three different kinds of midfielders, and three strikers up top who brought different qualities.

 

Ramos used two modern outside backs in DeAndre Yedlin and Juan Pablo Ocegueda, which is an improvement over Klinsmann’s use of players out of position at outside back. Ramos also used two center backs who combined speed, skill, and sufficient size to compete against France.

 

Will Trapp was used as a defensive midfielder, but he doesn’t seem to possess anything remotely close to the speed, size, skill, or physicality of Michael Bradley. Trapp did make several key tackles against France, which was an improvement over his performance against Spain, but the line-up was basically without a midfield destroyer.

 

Trapp’s parter along with Luis Gil was Benji Joya, and Joya is the real deal. Joya is underrated by many in the American soccer media who seem to feel that Joya was responsible for covering the same amount of defensive duties as Trapp despite the fact that Joya wears the number 8 jersey for a reason instead of Trapp’s number 6 jersey.

 

Tab Ramos deploys Luis Gil as a playmaker, and this is a position that Klinsmann simply refuses to use on his United States Men’s National Team. Gil is good at playing final balls, helping the U.S. to maintain possession, and scoring goals, and he was used behind a trident of strikers.

 

This trident of strikers was a change in tactics from the formation used against Spain, and using Mario Rodriguez, José Villarreal, and Alonso Hernandez as strikers allowed the U.S. to try to stretch the French backline in addition to pressuring them when France had possession.

 

U-20 World Cup: Without a midfield destroyer, the U.S. loses to Spain

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Spain's attackers were too much for the United States. (Photo: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
Spain’s attackers were too much for the United States. (Photo: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)

 

Despite being on the receiving end of a 4-1 goleada by Spain’s Under -20 national team in its opening game of the U-20 World Cup, in many ways, the United States’ Under-20 national team displayed better passing and overall skill on the ball than the so-called “senior” United States Men’s National Team.

 

The main problem for Tab Ramos’ U-20 American side was the lack of a real defensive midfielder to cut down on the space Spain had in front of the American defense to run at them and break them down with passes and dribbling.

 

Some of Ramos’s roster selections raised eyebrows (Javan Torre, Daniel Garcia, and maybe Alonso Hernandez), and the main scapegoat for the U.S.’ loss was Javan Torre. Nevertheless, Spain’s strikers Gerard Deulofeu and Jesé Rodriguez are extremely talented strikers who attack with speed, technique, and trickery.

 

There were several examples of both of Spain’s strikers being given too much space to score, but Spain’s second goal scored by Deulofeu was probably unstoppable.

 

Javan Torre stayed close to Deulofeu to almost entirely block any clear angle to score, but Deulofeu put so much inside of the foot bend on the ball that he was able to strike the ball wide of Torre and American goalkeeper, Cody Cropper, and still find the back of the net despite Cropper doing a full lay out dive, which had the angle to the far post blocked.

 

American soccer fans might have to accept that particular goal as a moment of individual skill, unlike the first Spanish goal which was a combination of individual skill on the pass and DeAndre Yedlin leaving Jesé Rodríguez with too much space to volley a goal from close range with the inside of his foot.

 

Likely, the real root of the problem lies with the two American center backs being in the position where Spain had space in front of them to either sprint at them or play passes through or over them.

 

However one looks at it, the American defense was too easily beaten on four occasions, but the United States did play an open game with Spain, in which the U.S. showed good team passing and a good display of comfort on the ball.

 

American midfielders Benji Joya and Luis Gil displayed the ability to play on Spain’s level, but Will Trapp had a quiet game, in which he appeared to not provide enough defensive coverage deep in the American midfield. Joya was often dropping deep to receive the ball and then advancing up field, which allowed Spain to have a big hole to exploit in front of the American defense.

 

In the upcoming game against France, the U.S. has the displeasure of having to face off against perhaps the best defensive and box-to-box midfielder in the world: Paul Pogba.

 

Given the fact that Pogba is not only the best player in the entire tournament but one of the best midfielders in the world for any age group, it’s particularly unfortunate that the United States is weak at the defensive midfielder position.

 

Against Pogba, Tab Ramos will have to make an adjustment to his line-up to try to attempt to somewhat neutralize Pogba (which won’t be possible), and this adjustment will likely be starting Shane O’Neill and someone else at center back with Caleb Stanko at the midfield destroyer role.

 

While the passing and skill level of the United States was encouraging and genuinely high quality, the defense delivered by Will Trapp and the American back four was poor. Either the American back four was left helpless by Trapp, or they were guilty of being two easily beaten.

 

Perhaps starting Stanko with a center back besides Torre would have put the United States in the position to better handle Spain’s attacking forays even with the hole deep in the American midfield, or maybe Spain’s strikers were just too good.

 

In the wake of a three-goal loss to Spain, the United States has plenty of strong attacking and midfield options, but these skilled midfielders and forwards need to not be made irrelevant due to a hole deep in the American midfield or a weak center back tandem.

 

The silver lining to the game was an excellent left-footed upper 90 golazo scored by American playmaker Luis Gil after he freed himself to shoot with a Cruyff. Gil’s overall play, near assist for Alonso Hernandez, as well as Gil’s goal provided more evidence that Jürgen Klinsmann has playmaker options for his USMNT.

 

In a way, the area where the USMNT is very strong, defensive midfield, and the area where they are weak, the attacking portion of the midfield, is the opposite of the U-20 U.S. national team.

 

Against France, Tab Ramos needs to play Stanko as a midfield destroyer, so that the U-20’s technical ability and attacking skill aren’t wasted.