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| USA's crucial win over Guatemala: five things we learned | USA's crucial win over Guatemala: five things we learned |
| (5 months later) | |
| Jürgen Klinsmann picked the right team on Tuesday… | Jürgen Klinsmann picked the right team on Tuesday… |
| …which makes his selection last Friday all the more inexplicable. | …which makes his selection last Friday all the more inexplicable. |
| On Tuesday night, a physically dominant US team, led by Clint Dempsey harrying from the front, Graham Zusi and Michael Bradley jumping on loose touches in the Guatemala half, and Kyle Beckerman mopping up at the heart of midfield, bullied Guatemala for the portion of the 90 minutes that the result was in question (the period of second-half possession Guatemala enjoyed came when the game was already 3-0). Then, as the minutes ebbed away, there was a goal for one substitute (Jozy Altidore), a wrongly disallowed goal for another (Columbus native Ethan Finlay), and a cameo for a promising 17-year-old to tie him to the US (Cristian Pulisic). | On Tuesday night, a physically dominant US team, led by Clint Dempsey harrying from the front, Graham Zusi and Michael Bradley jumping on loose touches in the Guatemala half, and Kyle Beckerman mopping up at the heart of midfield, bullied Guatemala for the portion of the 90 minutes that the result was in question (the period of second-half possession Guatemala enjoyed came when the game was already 3-0). Then, as the minutes ebbed away, there was a goal for one substitute (Jozy Altidore), a wrongly disallowed goal for another (Columbus native Ethan Finlay), and a cameo for a promising 17-year-old to tie him to the US (Cristian Pulisic). |
| And everybody seemed to know their jobs and be confident in the execution of them – even Steven Birnbaum, making his competitive debut alongside Geoff Cameron in the heart of defense. | And everybody seemed to know their jobs and be confident in the execution of them – even Steven Birnbaum, making his competitive debut alongside Geoff Cameron in the heart of defense. |
| Compare to Friday night’s debacle, when Omar Gonzalez’s shot confidence at this level was all too visible; Michael Orozco’s current bench-warming status at his club all too apparent; and Mix Diskerud’s “overrated” status all too deserved. Others were anonymous, indecisive and even if not directly culpable in errors, uninspiring in trying to chase the game. | Compare to Friday night’s debacle, when Omar Gonzalez’s shot confidence at this level was all too visible; Michael Orozco’s current bench-warming status at his club all too apparent; and Mix Diskerud’s “overrated” status all too deserved. Others were anonymous, indecisive and even if not directly culpable in errors, uninspiring in trying to chase the game. |
| Aberrant results occur in qualifying, especially in Concacaf, but the frustrating thing for US fans, is how preventable the result in Guatemala was – yet again Klinsmann sent out an experimental team staffed by players who might technically be able to play the positions assigned to them, but who had no chemistry with the players around them. | Aberrant results occur in qualifying, especially in Concacaf, but the frustrating thing for US fans, is how preventable the result in Guatemala was – yet again Klinsmann sent out an experimental team staffed by players who might technically be able to play the positions assigned to them, but who had no chemistry with the players around them. |
| And the further frustration is this: on Tuesday Klinsmann picked a pragmatically balanced team designed to execute the task at hand. It’s hard to remember the last time he did that, going back to the group stages of the 2014 World Cup. And you wouldn’t bet on him learning the lesson from the latest scare. | And the further frustration is this: on Tuesday Klinsmann picked a pragmatically balanced team designed to execute the task at hand. It’s hard to remember the last time he did that, going back to the group stages of the 2014 World Cup. And you wouldn’t bet on him learning the lesson from the latest scare. |
| Kyle Beckerman will do until a new Kyle Beckerman comes along | Kyle Beckerman will do until a new Kyle Beckerman comes along |
| This pair of games offered a clear study in midfield contrasts. When Kyle Beckerman and Carlos Ruiz tangled early in the second half in Columbus, the Guatemalan, famed for his ability to press the buttons of his opponents, found himself jawing with an unfazed kindred spirit – a player once described by one of his erstwhile US international peers as “a bit of a prick on the field”. | This pair of games offered a clear study in midfield contrasts. When Kyle Beckerman and Carlos Ruiz tangled early in the second half in Columbus, the Guatemalan, famed for his ability to press the buttons of his opponents, found himself jawing with an unfazed kindred spirit – a player once described by one of his erstwhile US international peers as “a bit of a prick on the field”. |
| How the US need that though. With Jermaine Jones fading as an international influence, Beckerman represents the most reliable current option to do the unglamorous clearing up in front of defense, and provide the kind of platform for his midfield partners to get forward with confidence. | How the US need that though. With Jermaine Jones fading as an international influence, Beckerman represents the most reliable current option to do the unglamorous clearing up in front of defense, and provide the kind of platform for his midfield partners to get forward with confidence. |
| In the home leg of the Guatemala series, the benefits were obvious to the balance of the team – Michael Bradley looked like a man who was unsure if he’d left the gas on when he went forward in Guatemala, while Mix Diskerud got stretched behind him. On Tuesday night Bradley was aggressive, strategic and consistently looking up the field, as well as jumping in confidently to close down Guatemalan players in their own half, alongside Graham Zusi in a similarly liberated mode. | In the home leg of the Guatemala series, the benefits were obvious to the balance of the team – Michael Bradley looked like a man who was unsure if he’d left the gas on when he went forward in Guatemala, while Mix Diskerud got stretched behind him. On Tuesday night Bradley was aggressive, strategic and consistently looking up the field, as well as jumping in confidently to close down Guatemalan players in their own half, alongside Graham Zusi in a similarly liberated mode. |
| Behind them Beckerman ran in his usual patrols, closing down or slowing rare Guatemalan attempts at counters; circulating the ball amid the USA’s wealth of possession. This is what the USA should look like against smaller Concacaf nations, and even allowing for the difficult nature of road games in this region, you could argue that this was the team that should have started on Friday. | Behind them Beckerman ran in his usual patrols, closing down or slowing rare Guatemalan attempts at counters; circulating the ball amid the USA’s wealth of possession. This is what the USA should look like against smaller Concacaf nations, and even allowing for the difficult nature of road games in this region, you could argue that this was the team that should have started on Friday. |
| Beckerman is aging and he was never the quickest player to begin with, but as a dutiful role player he still performs a vital function within a US side who at times look desperate for coherence. He surely won’t feature in the next World Cup (Geoff Cameron might ultimately make an intriguing option to replace him), but the US still needs what he offers. | Beckerman is aging and he was never the quickest player to begin with, but as a dutiful role player he still performs a vital function within a US side who at times look desperate for coherence. He surely won’t feature in the next World Cup (Geoff Cameron might ultimately make an intriguing option to replace him), but the US still needs what he offers. |
| Clint Dempsey will do until a new Clint Dempsey comes along | Clint Dempsey will do until a new Clint Dempsey comes along |
| Clint Dempsey will be 35 when the next World Cup comes along. His continued presence as an indispensable presence up front for the US partly speaks to the paucity of credible options as goalscoring second strikers, and partly to his own continued ability to come up with goals when it really matters. | Clint Dempsey will be 35 when the next World Cup comes along. His continued presence as an indispensable presence up front for the US partly speaks to the paucity of credible options as goalscoring second strikers, and partly to his own continued ability to come up with goals when it really matters. |
| Dempsey was uncharacteristically profligate in Guatemala – shooting straight at Paulo Motta with the whole goal to aim at, and generally looking infected by the same uncertainty as his team mates. But back in Columbus, when the ball dropped to Dempsey running into the box early in the game, off an inadvertent Gyassi Zardes knockdown, his precise first time finish looked as inevitable as his misses on Friday looked inexplicable. | Dempsey was uncharacteristically profligate in Guatemala – shooting straight at Paulo Motta with the whole goal to aim at, and generally looking infected by the same uncertainty as his team mates. But back in Columbus, when the ball dropped to Dempsey running into the box early in the game, off an inadvertent Gyassi Zardes knockdown, his precise first time finish looked as inevitable as his misses on Friday looked inexplicable. |
| His opening goal relieved much of the growing tension among US fans, and took him out on his own as the all-time leading US goalscorer in World Cup qualifiers. He certainly benefitted from the high press made possible by Beckerman freeing up Zusi and Bradley, but Dempsey also worked hard to exert his influence – harrying from the front to set the tone at the start of the game, and as usual doing some of his best work with short layoffs in tight spaces. | His opening goal relieved much of the growing tension among US fans, and took him out on his own as the all-time leading US goalscorer in World Cup qualifiers. He certainly benefitted from the high press made possible by Beckerman freeing up Zusi and Bradley, but Dempsey also worked hard to exert his influence – harrying from the front to set the tone at the start of the game, and as usual doing some of his best work with short layoffs in tight spaces. |
| Dempsey was involved to the end — dancing inside the box as he touched the ball for Altidore’s decisive touch on the USA’s 4th goal, and generally leading from the front. Looking at the attacking players around him, they looked like the international apprentices they still are. Bobby Wood may have been out of position out wide, but he also rarely looked like truly shaping events, even while having some good runs. Meanwhile Gyassi Zardes had a hand in two US goals, but the kindest you could say about his touches on both was that he “got into a dangerous area and caused problems” — he has pace to burn but is still not a reliable outlet in attack. Dempsey still is. | Dempsey was involved to the end — dancing inside the box as he touched the ball for Altidore’s decisive touch on the USA’s 4th goal, and generally leading from the front. Looking at the attacking players around him, they looked like the international apprentices they still are. Bobby Wood may have been out of position out wide, but he also rarely looked like truly shaping events, even while having some good runs. Meanwhile Gyassi Zardes had a hand in two US goals, but the kindest you could say about his touches on both was that he “got into a dangerous area and caused problems” — he has pace to burn but is still not a reliable outlet in attack. Dempsey still is. |
| It’s a little less clear how the next wave of players is going to come along | It’s a little less clear how the next wave of players is going to come along |
| Immediately after the main USA team had taken care of business in Columbus the U-23s kicked off the second leg of their Olympic qualifier against Colombia. And while the worst case scenario of twin US defeats didn’t materialize, the younger US players never looked in the game against their talented South American peers and slid to a 2-1 (3-2) defeat that means the USA have once again failed to qualify for the Olympics. In a weekend where the program set unwanted records, the team has now missed consecutive Olympics for the first time since 1964/1968. | Immediately after the main USA team had taken care of business in Columbus the U-23s kicked off the second leg of their Olympic qualifier against Colombia. And while the worst case scenario of twin US defeats didn’t materialize, the younger US players never looked in the game against their talented South American peers and slid to a 2-1 (3-2) defeat that means the USA have once again failed to qualify for the Olympics. In a weekend where the program set unwanted records, the team has now missed consecutive Olympics for the first time since 1964/1968. |
| After the senior team’s failure to qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup it means that this summer’s Copa America becomes the sole ‘meaningful’ competition left for the US to play between now and Russia 2018 – though given that Russia itself was in doubt when the main team kicked off in Columbus, Klinsmann will content himself to at least have the ultimate destination still available, even if the journey just got more tortuous. What Klinsmann once envisioned as a smooth competitive schedule that would allow youth to gain competitive experience, and cycle smoothly into an equally battle-tested senior team, is now anything but. | After the senior team’s failure to qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup it means that this summer’s Copa America becomes the sole ‘meaningful’ competition left for the US to play between now and Russia 2018 – though given that Russia itself was in doubt when the main team kicked off in Columbus, Klinsmann will content himself to at least have the ultimate destination still available, even if the journey just got more tortuous. What Klinsmann once envisioned as a smooth competitive schedule that would allow youth to gain competitive experience, and cycle smoothly into an equally battle-tested senior team, is now anything but. |
| Klinsmann and US Soccer must now further reimagine a route to Russia through a schedule of their own devising. The generation of young players who might have hoped to break through at the Olympics will now have to try and force their way directly into a senior team whose capacity and appetite for experimentation currently looks very near capacity. | Klinsmann and US Soccer must now further reimagine a route to Russia through a schedule of their own devising. The generation of young players who might have hoped to break through at the Olympics will now have to try and force their way directly into a senior team whose capacity and appetite for experimentation currently looks very near capacity. |
| The U-23s can have no complaints. A wind-assisted own goal briefly got them back on level terms after Colombia opened the scoring, but other than that they had only one shot on goal over two legs, and finished with nine men in the second game after Matt Miazga and Luis Gil saw late red cards. | The U-23s can have no complaints. A wind-assisted own goal briefly got them back on level terms after Colombia opened the scoring, but other than that they had only one shot on goal over two legs, and finished with nine men in the second game after Matt Miazga and Luis Gil saw late red cards. |
| In truth though, this setback started on the day of another doubleheader – when the team were eliminated by Honduras from Concacaf qualifying on the same day the US lost to Mexico in the Concacaf Cup. Facing a talented Colombia team in a playoff always represented a slim chance to rectify the original failure, and a 1-1 draw in Colombia proved to offer a false hope. Once again, the US were bossed on their home territory, in a game they should never have been playing in had they just taken care of business against regional opposition. | In truth though, this setback started on the day of another doubleheader – when the team were eliminated by Honduras from Concacaf qualifying on the same day the US lost to Mexico in the Concacaf Cup. Facing a talented Colombia team in a playoff always represented a slim chance to rectify the original failure, and a 1-1 draw in Colombia proved to offer a false hope. Once again, the US were bossed on their home territory, in a game they should never have been playing in had they just taken care of business against regional opposition. |
| It’s not just that Olympic qualification would have blooded individuals to advance for senior consideration over the next couple of years – it would have represented a marker of progress for the whole US development program that Klinsmann heads up. As it was he went to veteran presences to steady the ship in Columbus, and on the same night nobody younger made a compelling case to dislodge them. | It’s not just that Olympic qualification would have blooded individuals to advance for senior consideration over the next couple of years – it would have represented a marker of progress for the whole US development program that Klinsmann heads up. As it was he went to veteran presences to steady the ship in Columbus, and on the same night nobody younger made a compelling case to dislodge them. |
| Opinion may have definitively turned on Klinsmann | Opinion may have definitively turned on Klinsmann |
| For perspective, it’s worth remembering that the USA have been in holes before in qualifying under Jürgen Klinsmann. | For perspective, it’s worth remembering that the USA have been in holes before in qualifying under Jürgen Klinsmann. |
| They lost in Jamaica at the same stage of qualifying for the 2014 tournament, but the comparison only goes so far. The teams around them then did not have the kind of points totals that made Tuesday night’s match a game the USA couldn’t afford to lose. | They lost in Jamaica at the same stage of qualifying for the 2014 tournament, but the comparison only goes so far. The teams around them then did not have the kind of points totals that made Tuesday night’s match a game the USA couldn’t afford to lose. |
| The US also lost their opening game of the Hex on the road in Honduras in 2013, and went into their next game against Costa Rica rocked by a story by writer Brian Straus, where players anonymously complained about Klinsmann and his methods. | The US also lost their opening game of the Hex on the road in Honduras in 2013, and went into their next game against Costa Rica rocked by a story by writer Brian Straus, where players anonymously complained about Klinsmann and his methods. |
| On both occasions the team rallied (in the latter case winning a game in a Colorado blizzard via a goal scored, inevitably, by Clint Dempsey). And underlying the reaction to those recoveries was a tacit willingness to accept, however grudgingly, that Klinsmann was building towards something, and that Concacaf qualifying is and always has been a grind. Klinsmann’s own calm emphasis on the big picture appeared at its most compelling in those moments. | On both occasions the team rallied (in the latter case winning a game in a Colorado blizzard via a goal scored, inevitably, by Clint Dempsey). And underlying the reaction to those recoveries was a tacit willingness to accept, however grudgingly, that Klinsmann was building towards something, and that Concacaf qualifying is and always has been a grind. Klinsmann’s own calm emphasis on the big picture appeared at its most compelling in those moments. |
| But having taken the team only as far as his predecessor did in the World Cup proper, Klinsmann was always going to be held to a higher standard in his second World Cup cycle. And as experimentation failed to turn into coherence when it counted in 2015 and now 2016, there is less indulgence available for the coach’s insistence on the big picture. | But having taken the team only as far as his predecessor did in the World Cup proper, Klinsmann was always going to be held to a higher standard in his second World Cup cycle. And as experimentation failed to turn into coherence when it counted in 2015 and now 2016, there is less indulgence available for the coach’s insistence on the big picture. |
| And coming out of this international break, where the US won and lost in a series against Guatemala and crashed out of the Olympics, it’s hard to argue that the overall outlook looks rosier than it did on Friday morning. The win in Columbus deferred a reckoning, but Klinsmann looks more and more like a lame duck. | And coming out of this international break, where the US won and lost in a series against Guatemala and crashed out of the Olympics, it’s hard to argue that the overall outlook looks rosier than it did on Friday morning. The win in Columbus deferred a reckoning, but Klinsmann looks more and more like a lame duck. |