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.
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.
In a new series, World Soccer Source will propose a hypothetical United States Men’s National Team Starting XI that could possible improve the play of the United States.
Additionally, World Soccer Source will propose a Starting XI that is likely the first-choice of the U.S. national team coach.
For August 2013, World Soccer Source proposes the following Starting XI in a 4-1-2-1-2 Formation:
GOALKEEPER: Tim HOWARD
RIGHT BACK: DeAndre YEDLIN
CENTER BACK: Andrew FARRELL
CENTER BACK: Shane O’NEILL
LEFT BACK: Chris KLUTE
MIDFIELD DESTROYER: Geoff CAMERON
BOX-TO-BOX MIDFIELDER: Michael BRADLEY
BOX-TO-BOX MIDFIELDER: Benji JOYA
CENTRAL ATTACKING MIDFIELDER: Joe Benny CORONA
SECOND STRIKER: Clint DEMPSEY
FIRST STRIKER: Jozy ALTIDORE
The Starting USMNT Starting XI Formation above would line up as follows:
Jürgen Klinsmann has repeatedly expressed his desire to play proactive, one-to-two touch soccer where the attack starts from the back. This Starting XI aims to do just that.
DeAndre Yedlin and Chris Klute as the right back and left back bring electrifying speed and excellent technical ability on the ball. Both players look to get forward and both players have the defensive skills in addition to the speed to strengthen the USMNT’s ability to defend out wide.
Andrew Farrell is naturally a center back who has been playing as a right back. His comfort on the ball and his willingness to pass and go forward have been seen by everyone watching MLS closely, and this combination of athleticism and the ability to pass and dribble out of the final third, not to mention his keen defensive instincts and defensive fundamentals, make him a legitimate option at center back.
Farrell’s center back partner should be Shane O’Neill. O’Neill has received widespread praise for his overall skill-set and his defensive positioning and abilities. Like Farrell, O’Neill can play more than one defensive position, and Tab Ramos has praised O’Neill as the type of center back that the USMNT needs to be using.
The Front Six requires less explaining.
Geoff Cameron’s athleticism, passing, tackling, and overall technical ability are well-known, and there was a general consensus that he was more willing to hang back deeper to play the midfield destroyer role than Jermaine Jones.
Michael Bradley has developed into more of a box-to-box midfielder than in years past, and pairing Bradley with another box-to-box midfielder like Benji Joya could bring a nice balance of better attacking and playmaker abilities (Joya) and tireless running combined with strong defensive abilities and excellent passing skills (Bradley).
To be clear, while both Joya and Bradley attack and defend, Joya is better at playing final balls and setting up goals than Bradley, and Bradley is better at covering more territory to maintain ball possession than Joya.
The combination of two box-to-box midfielders who excel at different things and who both have a midfield destroyer behind them will help the United States to win the battle of the midfield.
Joe Benny Corona has proven to Klinsmann that he is a viable goal-scoring playmaker that can bring playmaking abilities that Dempsey and Donovan don’t have. Corona is a necessary and vital link between players like Bradley and players like Dempsey and Altidore.
Klinsmann’s Possible USMNT XI:
Tim HOWARD; Timothy CHANDLER, Michael OROZCO, Matt BESLER, Fabian JOHNSON; Geoff CAMERON; Michael BRADLEY, Jermaine JONES; Clint DEMPSEY; Jozy ALTIDORE, Landon DONOVAN.
Despite a Gold Cup Final that did contain a lot of long balls and not a great deal of excitement, Jürgen Klinsmann likely has come closer to playing the style of proactive, one-to-two touch soccer where the attack starts from the defenders.
Without going into too many of the players who haven’t played in any friendlies with the full national team, the USMNT now is in a better position that it was before the start of the Gold Cup.
Why?
The Gold Cup displayed how Joe Benny Corona and Mix Diskerud brought a certain creative and more advanced style of passing that was somewhat missing from the United States Men’s National Team as a whole before the Gold Cup.
While certainly Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey can play creative and quick-passing soccer that is more often seen outside of the United States, there was a missing piece to a midfield that was built around Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones or Geoff Cameron playing as a defensive midfield tandem with Clint Dempsey playing as a second striker without any player to connect the three.
Joe Benny Corona and Mix Diskerud provide this missing link, and Klinsmann now realizes that Landon Donovan is too good to exclude from his rosters and line-ups.
Any discussion of a Best USMNT XI requires one to draw a distinction between who based on their participation in full national team games should be in the starting line-up and who needs to be incorporated.
The way to include the best of the proven players and the best of the newer players is to start the more proven players and use several roster spots for players who have given strong indications based on their skill level and performances at the club or youth levels that they have something to contribute to the success of the national team.
This writer wrote an article entitled, “A Better USMNT Front Six Emerges,” and that article outlined which players should start in front of the defensive back four. That article can be found by clicking here.
That article advocated for using a 4-2-3-1 formation with the Front Six being Geoff Cameron and Michael Bradley behind (from right to left) Landon Donovan, Joe Benny Corona, and Clint Dempsey with Jozy Altidore as the lone striker.
An argument could be made that Mix Diskerud should also be used at the central attacking midfielder role, and he is also a good choice to fill that role. Obviously, anyone who follows American soccer closely knows that someone like Benny Feilhaber has proved effective in this role, but based on their play in the Gold Cup, Corona and Diskerud are excellent choices to play a playmaking role in between Dempsey and Donovan and behind Altidore.
The real question is the defensive back four. Who should Jürgen Klinsmann use there? There are many indicators that at right back and left back that DeAndre Yedlin and Chris Klute are needed now, but at center back Klinsmann does have several options.
Matt Besler continues to surpass this writer’s expectations. While some of the younger MLS center backs like Shane O’Neill or Andrew Farrell (who has been used out of position at right back by the New England Revolution) might prove to be better, using Besler as the left center back is a reasonable and wise choice, particularly because he brings speed and good technical ability to the center of the defense, and he continues to use his weaker right foot more and more.
Klinsmann appears to be sold on Matt Besler, but Klinsmann also appears to be trying to decide who his center back partner should be. Remember that this is assuming that Klinsmann will only use center backs that have been playing for the national team (as opposed to some of the promising younger options), but this writer believes that Klinsmann might be a little more open to trying other outside backs, excluding DaMarcus Beasley who is performing well at left back.
Incorporating Chris Klute into the USMNT at left back will require first that Klute is selected to participate in a friendly or in a camp before World Cup qualifying, so Beasley is likely the prudent choice from Klinsmann’s perspective among the people who have actually been playing for the United States.
Right Back is a different situation because Michael Parkhurst has done well there, but he doesn’t make as many attacking forays on the right side as Beasley does on the left side.
Since Parkhurst appeared to possess enough speed and quickness to do well as a right back, using Parkhurst at his natural position of center back might give Besler a faster and more technically-skilled partner than Clarence Goodson who is not quite quick enough and prone to hitting way too many 50 yard long balls just in the general vicinity of the U.S.’ striker.
Another center back option or even a right back option is Michael Orozco Fiscal who brings technical skill, speed, quickness, strong heading ability, and good defensive instincts and skills.
Looking at all of these positions, a first step for Jürgen Klinsmann and the USMNT could be to start this XI below:
Tim HOWARD; Michael OROZCO, Michael PARKHURST, Matt BESLER, DaMarcus BEASLEY; Geoff CAMERON, Michael BRADLEY, Landon DONOVAN, Joe Benny CORONA, Clint DEMPSEY; Jozy ALTIDORE.
There is another option, which some might describe as a more risky or experimental starting line-up, but it includes almost all of the same players as those above. This more adventurous Starting XI advocates using two young two-way outside backs from MLS: Chris Klute at left back and DeAndre Yedlin at right back. Below is the Starting XI that attempts to give the USMNT better defending and attacking out wide:
Tim HOWARD; DeAndre YEDLIN, Michael OROZCO, Matt BESLER, Chris KLUTE; Geoff CAMERON, Michael BRADLEY; Landon DONOVAN, Joe Benny CORONA, Clint DEMPSEY; Jozy ALTIDORE.
This second starting line-up would be the first step in using the players who have shown a real ability to perform on the international level with two outside backs who have the ability to improve the effectiveness of the United States out wide from a defensive and from an attacking standpoint.
JOE BENNY CORONA (6). (Photo: Steve Conner/Icon SMI)
Stuart Holden did not play a single minute of the USMNT’s goleada over El Salvador, which was presumably due to the fact that the previous match was the first time he played the full 90 minutes in several years.
With the Gold Cup semifinal against Honduras on the horizon, one would think that United States Men’s National Team coach, Jürgen Klinsmann, would start or at least play Holden in that game.
Whether or not Klinsmann starts both Holden and Diskerud is anyone’s guess.
As Kyle Beckerman is a Klinsmann favorite and the only defensive midfielder on the roster, the presumption is that Klinsmann will start Beckerman again. It will be interesting to see what Klinsmann decides to do with Mix Diskerud, Stuart Holden, Joe Benny Corona, José Torres, and Brek Shea vying for three spots.
It would be shocking if Klinsmann didn’t start Kyle Beckerman, Landon Donovan, Joe Benny Corona, and Eddie Johnson as four of his Front Six. That leaves two spots open that likely would go to Diskerud and Holden as Donovan and Corona can both line up on the left or right with presumably Holden lining up next to Beckerman with Diskerud in a more advanced role.
Brek Shea might be somewhat unlikely to start due to his continued return to full health and fitness, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Torres start again, which would likely force Klinsmann to pick either Holden or Diskerud for the bench.
The semifinal against Honduras marks the addition of Omar Gonzalez to the roster presumably as a starting center back partner for Matt Besler, but then again, Eddie Johnson didn’t start against El Salvador at striker, despite being called away from his club team in order to represent the United States. Therefore, maybe Klinsmann doesn’t start Gonzalez.
The most likely back four that the coach of the United States will field for the start of the semifinal against Honduras is Michael Parkhurst at right back, Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler at center back, and DaMarcus Beasley at left back.
With all of this in mind, who will Jürgen Klinsmann likely start?
Klinsmann could likely start this XI below (but perhaps with José Torres taking either Holden’s or Diskerud’s spot):
Nick RIMANDO; Michael PARKHURST, Omar GONZALEZ, Matt BESLER, DaMarcus BEASLEY; Kyle BECKERMAN; Stuart HOLDEN, Mix DISKERUD; Joe Benny CORONA; Eddie JOHNSON, Landon DONOVAN.
The USMNT XI that Klinsmann will use is certainly a tactically sound and reasonable line-up with three small caveats: 1.) Michael Orozco might just be a better center back than both Gonzalez and Besler; 2.) Orozco could likely fulfill Beckerman’s midfield destroyer role better than Beckerman; 3.) Starting Brek Shea might put Honduras on their heels from the beginning of the game.
The concern with Beckerman is of course speed, agility, quickness, the ability to not mistime tackles, and of course the fact that Gonzalez and Besler have always been protected by some two-man combination of Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Geoff Cameron, and Maurice Edu.
Beckerman cannot protect the gap between Besler and Gonzalez like those four defensive midfielders can.
Therefore, starting Michael Orozco allows the U.S. to have a player who alternates between playing as a midfield destroyer and a third center back for the entire game.
As a coach Jürgen Klinsmann has progressed in the balance and tactical acumen of his formations, but his player selection and ability to judge talent soon enough is still lacking.
During the Gold Cup, Klinsmann has improved as a coach because he’s been using balanced line-ups that balance defensive coverage with attacking ability.
The line-up proposed above as something that Klinsmann might use against Honduras is balanced and essentially uses almost all of the best options that Klinsmann has on his roster at every position, however flawed that roster itself is.
It will be interesting to see if Klinsmann goes with Stuart Holden and Mix Diskerud in place of Kyle Beckerman, or if he plays some combination of the three.
If Klinsmann starts Clarence Goodson instead of Omar Gonzalez and Michael Orozco, then there can be a legitimate critique that Klinsmann didn’t select the best partner for Matt Besler.
Then again, Gonzalez and Orozco as the center back tandem might prove to pay dividends.
There are three major foreseeable problems for the USMNT against Honduras.
First, Beckerman might be exposed as too slow to keep up with Honduras. Secondly, Klinsmann could start Chris Wondolowski over Eddie Johnson at striker. Thirdly, Michael Orozco might start on the bench as opposed to bringing speed and skill to either the center of the defense or to the midfield destroyer role.
Looking just at the players who the United States Men’s National Team has to choose from on the Gold Cup roster, the U.S. just might be at full strength without Chris Wondolowski, Kyle Beckerman, or Clarence Goodson starting.
If Orozco is quick, strong on defense, and passes the ball well with both feet, then why does Beckerman need to start as the midfield destroyer, if Klinsmann could start Orozco just behind Holden and Diskerud?
Despite what Klinsmann might decide to do, World Soccer Source believes a strong starting line-up would be the following one below:
Nick RIMANDO; Michael PARKHURST, Omar GONZALEZ, Matt BESLER, DaMarcus BEASLEY; Michael OROZCO; Stuart HOLDEN, Mix DISKERUD; Joe Benny CORONA; Eddie JOHNSON, Landon DONOVAN.
Joe Benny Corona (Photo: Evan Habeeb/USA TODAY Sports)
The Starting XI will be greatly affected by the four new players added to the United States Men’s National Team’s roster.
Jürgen Klinsmann added four new players to the USMNT’s Gold Cup roster off the preliminary 35-man roster, and he sent four players back to their club teams.
Per the rules of the tournament, at the conclusion of the group stage, Klinsmann was allowed to add up to four players off his preliminary roster to his 23-man roster, if he removed four players from the current roster.
The USMNT added Eddie Johnson, Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler, and Alan Gordon to the roster, so Klinsmann chose to select two strikers and two center backs. Klinsmann sent Herculez Gomez, Jack McInerney, Corey Ashe, and Oguchi Onyewu back to their club teams.
Gomez and Onyewu were dropped from the roster due to injuries, whereas McInerney and Ashe were dropped presumably due to the fact that they didn’t impress Klinsmann (Ashe had a minor injury before the Gold Cup).
Both McInerney and Ashe are an example of Klinsmann filling up roster spots with players he has no intention of using. One has to wonder why two players who he was more likely to use weren’t put on the preliminary roster or the final Gold Cup roster.
Klinsmann didn’t add Benny Feilhaber or Graham Zusi as midfielders, but Stuart Holden, Joe Corona, Landon Donovan, Mix Diskerud, and even José Torres give Klinsmann good options in the midfield.
The area where the U.S. needed to strengthen its roster was at defensive midfielder, center back, and right back, but the preliminary roster didn’t offer Klinsmann these options (except at center back), which is an example of his continued inability to call up balanced rosters.
Of the four players added to the roster, it seems likely that Klinsmann would definitely start Eddie Johnson at first-striker with Besler at center back, as it has been reported that Gonzalez will not join the U.S. until the semifinal game, if the U.S. beats El Salvador.
Michael Orozco has been playing well in the Gold Cup, and the argument can be made that Orozco is simply a better soccer player than both Besler and Gonzalez.
Besler is less one-footed than he used to be but still favors his left foot and Gonzalez isn’t as quick, fast, or as skilled as Orozco.
Orozco also seems less prone to falling asleep on defense compared to Gonzalez.
Based on these new additions Klinsmann’s likely Starting XI just might be:
Nick Rimando; Michael Parkhurst, Michael Orozco, Matt Besler, DaMarcus Beasley; Kyle Beckerman; Stuart Holden, Mix Diskerud; Joe Corona; Eddie Johnson, Landon Donovan.
In all fairness to Klinsmann, this is a fairly solid line-up, even if Klinsmann’s 35-man and 23-man rosters omitted a number of very promising and even proven players.
It’s possible that Klinsmann might elect to chose either Holden or Diskerud to start, thus opening up a Starting XI spot for José Torres, who really did have a strong game against Costa Rica, but Klinsmann might start Beckerman, Holden, and Diskerud at the same time.
Diskerud and Holden aren’t anything close to defensive midfielders, whether one is referring to midfield destroyers or more box-to-box midfielders, but the two did a good job when they shared the defensive workload in the midfield.
Beckerman’s actual skill-level is good, but his lack of athleticism makes him a liability in the midfield because when he gets beaten off the dribble or with passes, he tends to go into reckless tackles as a result of the inability to run fast enough or move quickly enough to get into position to make clean tackles.
World Soccer Source supports using the Starting XI option below:
World Soccer Source obviously prefers the Starting XI option presented above, but Klinsmann is more likely to use the option presented as Klinsmann’s likely Starting XI. Klinsmann could possibly decide that Beckerman might not have the athleticism to keep up with El Salvador and use World Soccer Source’s preferred Starting XI, which is surely an option that Klinsmann himself has been considering for days.
Whoever the USMNT elects to start, it seems likely that Holden, Diskerud, Corona, Donovan, and Johnson will all be starting, and this collection of midfielders and attackers is a solid group that would do well for the USMNT’s A Team as well.
Johnson should bring the speed, movement off the ball, and skill to allow all of the players above an excellent target to whom they can play final balls, and that target has world-class speed for any level of international soccer.
Hopefully Klinsmann and the United States learned their lesson that Joe Corona is an essential player in the midfield because he gives Diskerud and Holden a strong passing option in the midfield, which helps to connect the midfield to the attack.
Corona was missed for the 80 minutes that he wasn’t playing in the previous game against Costa Rica, which the U.S. didn’t need to win.
The strongest option for the USMNT would be to use a Front Six consisting of: Holden, Diskerud, Donovan, Corona, Shea, and Johnson.
This Front Six with Parkhurst, Orozco, Besler, and Beasley as the back four and Rimando in goal should give the United States the tools needed to win.
Clint Dempsey will be the best American soccer player for years to come. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Starting with the strikers and moving backward towards the goalkeepers, there are lots of pros and cons to what Jürgen Klinsmann is doing.
The main thing Klinsmann has done right is that he is close to finding a Starting XI that can play a higher caliber of soccer against top national teams.
The main two things he has done wrong are 1.) failing to use a player to connect the midfield to the attack; and 2.) filling the non-starter roster spots with players who haven’t proven they are better than other players the U.S. has at its disposal.
There’s no real connection between the improved international play of players like Jozy Altidore, and anything Jürgen Klinsmann is doing as a coach. Klinsmann simply likes to remind Altidore how he was a great German striker and thus entitled to publicly rag on Altidore, as opposed to solving the problem of providing Altidore with more service.
Klinsmann has publicly insulted Altidore on multiple occasions (supposedly as some sort of motivational tactic), but the improved service that Altidore received when playing for the United States was the real reason for Altidore’s recently improved scoring rate and combination play with Clint Dempsey.
Altidore’s improved skill-level and international performances is a product of steady improvement from childhood until seeing lots of playing time with technical footballers in Holland.
Clint Dempsey has been playing for the United States Men’s National Team as a second striker, even if a diagram of the line-up makes him look like a central attacking midfielder, but Dempsey’s performances for the U.S. have always been better when he’s provided with a better supporting cast who can play on his level.
Dempsey’s record and highlights speak for themselves, but Dempsey is often the scapegoat when the USMNT plays poorly. Often, Dempsey receives lower ratings from the American soccer media than players who clearly didn’t show as much class and intensity in a particular game. The more players like Michael Bradley who are playing with Dempsey, the more he’ll be able to play off his teammates and shine.
Despite the praise Graham Zusi has received from the American soccer media for his World Cup qualifying performances, Zusi looked mostly in over his head against Germany and Belgium. Often a single cross that finds its target in a game largely characterized by just trying to keep up with international competition will garner Zusi praise.
Zusi is certainly a technically-sound player with the ability to rely less on a steady stream of crosses and more on higher-caliber passing than he does. Zusi crossed the ball 12 times against Honduras, and while a few of them were well-weighted and elegant, others looked like he was married to crossing the ball. Nevertheless, Zusi has shown the ability to play a better style of passes, but he should play that way more.
One of the back ups for Zusi is Joe Corona, and Corona almost seems blackballed by Klinsmann, despite seeing a small number of World Cup qualifying minutes against Panama. Whatever Klinsmann’s rationale is for not using Corona more, even though he continues to call him up to the national team, it makes but little sense.
Every soccer fan around the world knows that the one missing element from the U.S. national team now is starting a higher number of technically-skilled players like Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Geoff Cameron, Jozy Altidore, and Fabian Johnson. Corona is not only technically-skilled, but he’s creative, experienced, and a starting attacking midfielder in a league that is better than Major League Soccer: La Liga MX.
The constant refusal to let Corona play a bigger role is a tough sale for any knowledgeable soccer fan. The United States Men’s National Team is simply not good enough in its current form to exclude players like Corona.
Amidst the euphoria of sitting on 13 points in World Cup qualifying, American soccer fans and the American soccer media should be mindful of how easily Germany’s B Team was able to score a flurry of goals in a matter of minutes when it was actually trying. Additionally, Belgium absolutely destroyed the United States in the friendly before Germany.
The United States wouldn’t have been outclassed to such an extent by Belgium if a greater number of better players were used. Without any thought, anyone who has followed the USMNT knows that Landon Donovan and Benny Feilhaber could have simply been given a uniform for the Belgium game and had no problems performing well without looking in over their heads. The United States might have still lost, but the quality of play would have been better.
People can say what they like about Donovan or Feilhaber, but both of them have skill-sets that this current U.S. team is missing.
While the United States has a variety of strong pieces in Klinsmann’s recent starting line-ups, there is undoubtedly a better right back, a better right midfielder, and a better playmaker. Klinsmann could simply insert three new starters to start with eight of his current starters and make the USMNT instantly better.
The State of the United States Men’s National Team is that eight of Klinsmann’s 11 starters should continue to start: Tim Howard (goalkeeper), Omar Gonzalez (center back), Matt Besler (center back), Fabian Johnson (left back), Michael Bradley (defensive midfielder), Geoff Cameron or Jermaine Jones (defensive midfielder), Clint Dempsey (second striker), and Jozy Altidore (first striker).
The United States needs to use new players at right back, at the central attacking midfielder role, and as the right attacking midfielder, and Klinsmann has the players available to him to strengthen these three positions.
At right back, Klinsmann has DeAndre Yedlin, Jonathan Spector, Eric Lichaj, and Andrew Farrell. At playmaker, Klinsmann has Benny Feilhaber, Joe Corona, Benji Joya, and Freddy Adu. And lining up as a right midfielder, Klinsmann has Landon Donovan, any of the players listed at playmaker, Joe Gyau, Brek Shea, or Stuart Holden.
The State of the United States Men’s National Team is that it has the players in the pool to shore up its weaknesses, but Klinsmann refuses to use even the internationally-proven ones.
The United States is in first place in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, but the line-ups Klinsmann is using don’t have the collective quality to beat stronger national teams. Klinsmann will have to use someone who can provided Dempsey and Altidore with more service, and Klinsmann will also have to use a right back with more speed than Brad Evans.
Not everything that Klinsmann is doing is bad, as Klinsmann is somewhat close to fielding a starting line-up with 10 skilled, dynamic, and athletic field players, but the missing connection between the defensive midfielders and the attack is still a problem.
One reality of the USMNT is that Jürgen Klinsmann is using some players who make the United States play below its real ability, and it’s time to see just how good the U.S. really is.
Who Jürgen Klinsmann will include in his Starting XI for the United States Men’s National Team is anyone’s guess, but it seems likely that Edgar Castillo would slot into his natural position of left back to replace the suspended DaMarcus Beasley.
Additionally, Klinsmann has been a big fan of Graham Zusi’s play as a pseudo-right winger. Nevertheless, Klinsmann must have liked the type of passing and off the ball movement the U.S. showed against Panama without Zusi.
The likely starters based on Klinsmann’s past decisions are: Tim Howard; Brad Evans, Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler, Edgar Castillo; Geoff Cameron; Michael Bradley; Graham Zusi or Eddie Johnson, Clint Dempsey, Fabian Johnson ; Jozy Altidore.
Is this the best starting line-up that can be formed from the players on the roster considering the suspensions? Maybe it is, or maybe it isn’t.
On the one hand, the United States played its best soccer under Klinsmann when two of Klinsmann’s first choice starters, Graham Zusi and Jermaine Jones, were unavailable. Zusi had delivered an assist two games in a row in the games before the Panama match, but without Zusi, Eddie Johnson was in the line-up making runs behind the Panamanian defense.
While Jones has performed well and provided the American midfield with lots of qualities, Cameron seemed to do a better job of playing a combination of a midfield destroyer and a box-to-box midfielder, mainly in regards to his passing and defensive recovery duties.
Klinsmann does have the option of starting Cameron right in front of the back four with Jones and Bradley in front of him to the right and left playing as box-to-box midfielders, but two things are unclear: is Jones ready to play again after his concussion, and would Klinsmann use all three at once given the problems with using three defensive midfielders in the past?
Despite the likely starting line-up predicted above, Klinsmann has the option of using Stuart Holden or Joe Corona or both, and Klinsmann has the option of using Terrence Boyd or Eddie Johnson as an additional center forward alongside Jozy Altidore.
Who will Klinsmann start? Who should Klinsmann start? These are two different questions.
The game against Panama at the very least demonstrated that changes to the starting line-up can greatly improve the USMNT’s performance, as opposed to the conventional wisdom that constant line-up changes prevent the team from playing as a cohesive unit.
A new line-up against Panama produced the first real glimpse of the type of proactive soccer that Klinsmann said he was trying to instill when he became head coach of the U.S. two years ago.
The right kind of change is good, and the next step for the U.S. is adding a playmaker in addition to the improved passing displayed with Geoff Cameron as somewhat of a combination of a midfield destroyer and a box-to-box midfielder.
Eddie Johnson (right) and Clint Dempsey (left). (Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO, SEATTLEPI.COM)
Jürgen Klinsmann didn’t have the option of using two of his first choice players (Graham Zusi and Jermaine Jones), and the United States Men’s National Team played its best soccer under Klinsmann’s tenure.
More so than in any other game under Klinsmann, the front six players in front of the goalkeeper and the defensive back four were all technically-skilled, athletic, and dynamic.
Without Zusi starting as something between a right wing and a right midfielder, the American attack along the right side of the field was less focused on crossing and more focused on quick passing soccer.
While Zusi certainly has the ability to play one-to-two touch soccer, without Zusi, Eddie Johnson was started as a right winger in name alone where he was able to stretch the Panamanian defense with his speed and runs, which were rewarded by passes by Geoff Cameron and others.
Klinsmann’s Front Six worked really well together due to the skill and playing style of the players, but the formation itself was somewhat unbalanced and hard to categorized. The front six was essentially two defensive midfielders, two attacking midfielders, and two strikers, but one of the strikers, Eddie Johnson, was supposedly playing as a right winger.
In reality, Eddie Johnson out right was playing more as a combination of an outside forward and a center forward, as he constantly switched back and forth between the two roles.
Neverthless, it was quite telling that a combination of players who Klinsmann didn’t envision as his ideal Starting XI actually produced the type of proactive soccer that he discussed when he was first appointed coach in August of 2011.
For USMNT fans, the game against Panama offered a glimpse of what higher-caliber soccer looks like as Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey played off each other with first-time passes, balls rolled back with the bottom of their cleats, back heels, wall passes, and the like, while Michael Bradley and Geoff Cameron roamed all over the field facilitating passing, breaking up passes, and tackling. Out left, Fabian Johnson combined with everyone, in addition to cutting inside toward the penalty box to look to shoot or break down the Panamanian defense.
Brad Evans didn’t perform as well as he had against Germany primarily because he was beaten with speed, which was outside of his control. Evans didn’t defend poorly or put in a poor performance, but he was simply unable to keep up with Panama’s attackers. This lack of speed wasn’t a real problem for the USMNT because Evans was covered by the U.S.’ two defensive midfielders, Bradley and Cameron, as well as the right center back, Omar Gonzalez.
One observation that might have gone unnoticed with the United States’ improved ball movement, Cameron and Bradley’s commanding central midfield and defensive midfield performances, and Altidore’s and Eddie Johnson’s goals was Matt Besler’s noticeably increased use of his weaker right foot. With Besler’s speed and strong defensive instincts, the use of both feet takes his game to a new level.
Against an athletic and skilled Panamanian national team, the United States made its first big step to playing a higher caliber of soccer based on technical skill and excellent team passing.
Jürgen Klinsmann is likely to start the same line-up that he used against Jamaica except for Graham Zusi (suspended) and Jermaine Jones (concussion), but Klinsmann will likely play Eddie Johnson out of position as a left or right winger, instead of using him as a out-and-out striker with Jozy Altidore.
Klinsmann would be wise to use Joe Corona and Clint Dempsey as attacking midfielders behind Jozy Altidore and Eddie Johnson, if Klinsmann wants to use Eddie Johnson.
With Geoff Cameron having a natural tendency to making dribbling forays out of the back, using Cameron as a right back allows the United States Men’s National Team to attack wide and defend well along the flanks.
Many of the best teams in the world put their best attacker out left, so the player can cut onto their right foot as the player attacks the goal by going at the center of the defense.
Using Cameron out right would allow the United States to have a skilled and athletic defender marking this type of attack by either forcing the player out wide toward the sideline or into the center of the defense which should be guarded by Gale Agbossoumonde and Andrew Farrell.
