USMNT

By: Colin Reese

Opinion:

Here are the 23 footballers that World Soccer Source believes that the United States Men’s National Team needs for the 2014 World Cup as of March 2014.

These are not the players that Jürgen Klinsmann will likely select, but they are the players that World Soccer Source wishes to see on the USA 2014 World Cup roster.

Readers will see proven veterans like Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley plus proven American players who have seen limited USMNT playing time such as Joe Corona, Mix Diskerud, and Juan Agudelo, and readers will also see USA veterans like Benny Feilhaber, Eric Lichaj, and Jonathan Spector all of whom have been frozen out by Klinsmann.

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By: Colin Reese

While the United States Men’s National Team isn’t nearly talented enough to emulate the technical ability and creativity of the Seleção, the United States can utilize the tactics, formation, and the combination of the types of players used by the Seleção.

Like Jürgen Klinsmann, Felipão uses the 4-2-3-1 formation with Brazil where truly two-way outside backs flank center backs with the skill of elite defensive or central midfielders, and the Front Six of Brazil combines a line of two defensive midfielders of both varieties behind a line of three attacking midfielders including a true Number 10 with a Number 9 spearheading the attack.

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By: Colin Reese

Many American footballers have been called 2014 World Cup roster locks by various people, but really only 10 or possibly eleven are true locks.

Jürgen Klinsmann referred to Tim Howard, Jermaine Jones, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore as the “spine” of the United States Men’s National Team, but players such as Landon Donovan, Geoff Cameron, Brad Guzan, Fabian Johnson, and Aron Jóhannsson also have to be considered locks.

A few other players might end up being just too good to leave off the roster when the final decision comes around, but below are the USMNT roster locks for the 2014 World Cup:

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By: Colin Reese

Selecting American footballers that excel as center backs or defensive midfielders is an excellent way to maximize roster space, while upping the skill level, speed, and agility of center backs.

Geoff Cameron is the perfect example of this.

Cameron has the skill-set and athleticism of a defensive midfielder or of a central midfielder, but he can effectively play as a center back or as an outside back.

Michael Orozco and Maurice Edu are other examples of this, as are young American players such as Shane O’Neill, Caleb Stanko, and Amobi Okugo.

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By: Colin Reese

Going into the 2014 World Cup, the United States Men’s National Team needs to shore up the Back Four and look to improve the squad’s ability to keep possession. Jürgen Klinsmann and the USMNT would be wise to take advantage of not only new and young American talents, but also to take advantage of players that have shown that they have qualities and experience that can improve the national team.

The Back Four can be improved by using not only using natural and modern outside backs but also more skilled center backs. In the Front Six, young players like Juan Agudelo, Joe Corona, and Benji Joya can help to improve the passing and overall skill level of the United States.

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By: Colin Reese

World Soccer Source’s rankings for the Best American Footballers (February 2014) aren’t based on a scientifically equal weighing of talent, club form, and international form, but rather they are an attempt to rank the American footballers based on talent and/or form.

Ranking players are subjective, and many American soccer players don’t play in leagues where one can get a really accurate assessment of which players are the best against strong competition, which really shows how good players are compared to other players.

In other big soccer nations, players’ club form in really good leagues provides an indication of which players are the best because the level of competition provides a good indicator of skill and effectiveness.

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By: Colin Reese

Jürgen Klinsmann has been overcomplicating things as the coach of the United States Men’s National Team by tinkering with things that didn’t need tinkering and by not using a Back Four made up of players deployed at their natural positions.

Klinsmann can talk about the need for more American players in the Champions League, but this doesn’t excuse him from his illogical Starting XIs for which he himself is responsible.

While there is a big gap in skill between the United States and elite national teams, the United States does have a fairly solid group of players that can be deployed as the Front Six that at the very least have a baseline of good technical skill and sufficient athleticism for international play.

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By: Colin Reese

Lead from the front.

In World Soccer Source’s previous article, this writer explored the possibility of a Michael Bradley and Benji Joya two-man defensive midfield, but this article goes one step further and backs Michael Bradley as the defensive midfielder, Benji Joya as the playmaker, and Jozy Altidore and Juan Agudelo as the strikers.

Jürgen Klinsmann is clearly dissatisfied with the performance of the United States Men’s National Team, and the choice of Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey to return to Major League Soccer instead of staying with Roma in Bradley’s case or finding a different club in Dempsey’s case obviously greatly disappointed and angered Klinsmann.

Additionally, Klinsmann is dissatisfied with the way that his defenders hit long ball clearances instead of working the ball out of the ball by staying calm on the ball and using quality passing to get the ball out of the danger zone.

If the coach of the United States is truly this dissatisfied with the play of the United States, then he should consider the possibility that the players that he uses simply do not have the technical skills or the physical gifts to give him what he wants.

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By: Colin Reese

Benji Joya’s loan to the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer makes the prospect of Joya playing for the United States in the World Cup within the realm of possibility, and World Soccer Source thinks that Joya should start for the United States in the World Cup.

Given the need for Geoff Cameron to play as one of the starting United States Men’s National Team center backs and given the poor partnership between Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley, starting Benji Joya as a central midfielder of the box-to-box variety with Michael Bradley playing a slightly more defensive role could really improve the quality of the American central midfield behind the attacking midfielders.

There’s a belief among many American soccer observers that Benji Joya is just a promising and raw player that isn’t ready for the World Cup stage, but the United States Men’s National Team can ill-afford to allow complete central midfielders of Joya’s caliber to watch the U.S. World Cup games on TV, even if they are young and inexperienced.

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By: Colin Reese

What would a Young USMNT XI look like?

World Soccer Source takes a look at a hypothetical USA XI without veterans like Tim Howard, Geoff Cameron, Jermaine Jones, Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan, Benny Feilhaber, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore.

Most of the players listed above will be and should be United States Men’s National Team mainstays for years to come, but many of the younger players can help to form a Starting XI that contains not only the core players but also the new talents.

The future of the USMNT is in good hands, and there appears to be plenty of technically-skilled and athletic players that can produce a brand of high quality soccer that is effective against top national teams. These players are young, but by making a hypothetical Starting XI with them, one can see how the quality of the national team in terms of the ability of the defense to not only defend but also play out of the back is matched by the ability of the Front Six to keep possession, creating scoring chances, and put the ball in the back of the net.

Below is a 4-2-3-1 formation made up of up-and-comers in addition to some more well-known and established American footballers in MLS and other leagues:

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