Urgent issues for the Americans
By Brent Latham
ESPN INSIDER
As Jurgen Klinsmann and the U.S. advance, figuratively, in what they've denominated a five-game tournament, the team has displayed some troubling tendencies, culminating with the less-than-inspiring 3-1 win against tiny Antigua and Barbuda Friday night. Aside from the obviously unimpressive score lines in the matches with Brazil, Canada and Antigua, there's been a disturbing decrease in quality of play during the last two weeks.
Digging down into the malaise, a few issues come to light that will need to be addressed, not only for the important road match Tuesday in Guatemala, but also if the U.S. is to get comfortably through this round of qualifying and into next year's hexagonal. Here are some things Klinsmann should have his eye on mid-term and more immediately as the team prepares for its final match of the summer.
Attitude and killer instinct
The U.S. has been running in low gear since the Brazil match. In fact, ever since the thrashing of Scotland two weekends ago, the Americans just haven't seemed to feel an urgency to prove themselves on the field.
That lack of urgency showed against Canada and again against Antigua and Barbuda, with low-octane efforts not fit of a national team that has most of its important pieces on the field. On Friday, the U.S. had all of the possession, but time after time, things broke down in the final third, and the forwards passed up open looks to make an extra pass as if playing a charity match. Only Herculez Gomez showed any real hunger to score.
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What's missing is the disposition to go for the jugular against an inferior team on the ropes -- the killer instinct to put away a team like Antigua and Barbuda. Up two goals coming out of halftime, the Americans didn't look particularly anxious to put in another. Not until Antigua shocked them out of their complacency with a goal to cut into the lead did the U.S. really start to play with any sense of urgency. Just a few minutes later, they were up two again.
Against teams like Guatemala and Jamaica, especially on the road, the U.S. will need to maintain concentration and finish off the match when it gets the chance. Players on those teams would kill to get the World Cup. If the Americans aren't willing to do the same, their chances of making it decrease substantially.
Varying the plan of attack
The U.S. looked dangerous on set pieces Friday night, but not too much else. As noted, plenty of possession did not translate into good scoring chances, as the Americans continuously tried to make that extra, often unnecessary, pass or negotiate their way through eight or nine defenders with short passing rather than looking for a switch or cross to a runner in the box (there were few, as off-the-ball movement was subpar).
On Friday night, it took 70 minutes before anyone tried a shot from distance on a wet pitch. Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan were particularly guilty of trying to be a few degrees too cute on the ball. That pair needs to bring a goal-scoring mentality to the table Tuesday, and throughout the rest of qualifiers, for the U.S. to take advantage of its superiority in terms of skill against its group opponents.
The Americans' newfound devotion to ball possession and short passing under Klinsmann is admirable. But it will also become frustrating if they don't use other weaponry to break down teams parked in front of their own goal. To make things easier on themselves going forward, the Americans can't be afraid to vary the attack by mixing in some long-range shooting, switching the point of attack more frequently or even trying to pick out a forward with a cross into the box now and then.
Back-line errors
If there's one thing that will continue to get the U.S. in trouble for the rest of qualifying, it's the now commonplace catastrophic errors on the back line. The culprit Friday was Oguchi Onyewu, but the U.S. seems to have fallen into a habit of committing a terrible mistake or two on the back line in just about every match. Those types of errors are the life blood of teams like Jamaica and Guatemala and will cost the U.S. valuable points if they aren't addressed.
Of course, this isn't a tactical observation -- errors are by definition unintentional, and Klinsmann doesn't send center backs out expecting them to play poorly. But in terms of personnel decisions, the coach might be better served by taking a little less risk at the spot, even if that means less skill on the ball from time to time. Carlos Bocanegra and Clarence Goodson have proved the most reliable pairing in that sense, so even if Boca is needed out wide Tuesday night, Klinsmann might want to think twice.
Physical and mental fatigue
One issue that possibly overrides all the previous ones -- and indeed may be the cause of the national team's uninspiring level of play during the past two weeks -- is the general level of fatigue exhibited by players all over the field. Klinsmann has run a hard camp, and it's clearly taken its toll on the players. The so-called five-game tournament seems to have worn down the team's mental sharpness as well, just as the games that really count kick off.
Many of the players who will be called on to perform Tuesday have already played four full matches in the past two weeks and are undoubtedly tired. The team will have gotten some rest over the weekend as Klinsmann tries to address the issue, but if the team can't give a spirited effort for 90 minutes Tuesday in what is without doubt the most important game of the series, some serious questions will have to be asked about the rigor of the preparation process.
No matter the outcome, given the decreasing returns from each match of the "tournament" thus far, Klinsmann might be well-advised to rethink his preparation techniques going forward for games that count.
Notes
• The U.S. under-20 team will return this summer to one of the premier international competitions for that age group, the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland. The U.S. has had excellent success in recent years in Northern Ireland, winning the title in 2010. The Americans will face Denmark and Turkey in group play before a final seeding match.
• Tab Ramos and his team have had a rough start to their South American tour, dropping two matches to Uruguay last week, 4-2 and 2-0. In the opening match, the Americans lost forwards Villyan Bijev and Omar Salgado to injury. They'll wrap the tour up against Chile in Santiago on Tuesday.
By Brent Latham
ESPN INSIDER
As Jurgen Klinsmann and the U.S. advance, figuratively, in what they've denominated a five-game tournament, the team has displayed some troubling tendencies, culminating with the less-than-inspiring 3-1 win against tiny Antigua and Barbuda Friday night. Aside from the obviously unimpressive score lines in the matches with Brazil, Canada and Antigua, there's been a disturbing decrease in quality of play during the last two weeks.
Digging down into the malaise, a few issues come to light that will need to be addressed, not only for the important road match Tuesday in Guatemala, but also if the U.S. is to get comfortably through this round of qualifying and into next year's hexagonal. Here are some things Klinsmann should have his eye on mid-term and more immediately as the team prepares for its final match of the summer.
Attitude and killer instinct
The U.S. has been running in low gear since the Brazil match. In fact, ever since the thrashing of Scotland two weekends ago, the Americans just haven't seemed to feel an urgency to prove themselves on the field.
That lack of urgency showed against Canada and again against Antigua and Barbuda, with low-octane efforts not fit of a national team that has most of its important pieces on the field. On Friday, the U.S. had all of the possession, but time after time, things broke down in the final third, and the forwards passed up open looks to make an extra pass as if playing a charity match. Only Herculez Gomez showed any real hunger to score.
<offer></offer>
What's missing is the disposition to go for the jugular against an inferior team on the ropes -- the killer instinct to put away a team like Antigua and Barbuda. Up two goals coming out of halftime, the Americans didn't look particularly anxious to put in another. Not until Antigua shocked them out of their complacency with a goal to cut into the lead did the U.S. really start to play with any sense of urgency. Just a few minutes later, they were up two again.
Against teams like Guatemala and Jamaica, especially on the road, the U.S. will need to maintain concentration and finish off the match when it gets the chance. Players on those teams would kill to get the World Cup. If the Americans aren't willing to do the same, their chances of making it decrease substantially.
Varying the plan of attack
The U.S. looked dangerous on set pieces Friday night, but not too much else. As noted, plenty of possession did not translate into good scoring chances, as the Americans continuously tried to make that extra, often unnecessary, pass or negotiate their way through eight or nine defenders with short passing rather than looking for a switch or cross to a runner in the box (there were few, as off-the-ball movement was subpar).
On Friday night, it took 70 minutes before anyone tried a shot from distance on a wet pitch. Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan were particularly guilty of trying to be a few degrees too cute on the ball. That pair needs to bring a goal-scoring mentality to the table Tuesday, and throughout the rest of qualifiers, for the U.S. to take advantage of its superiority in terms of skill against its group opponents.
The Americans' newfound devotion to ball possession and short passing under Klinsmann is admirable. But it will also become frustrating if they don't use other weaponry to break down teams parked in front of their own goal. To make things easier on themselves going forward, the Americans can't be afraid to vary the attack by mixing in some long-range shooting, switching the point of attack more frequently or even trying to pick out a forward with a cross into the box now and then.
Back-line errors
If there's one thing that will continue to get the U.S. in trouble for the rest of qualifying, it's the now commonplace catastrophic errors on the back line. The culprit Friday was Oguchi Onyewu, but the U.S. seems to have fallen into a habit of committing a terrible mistake or two on the back line in just about every match. Those types of errors are the life blood of teams like Jamaica and Guatemala and will cost the U.S. valuable points if they aren't addressed.
Of course, this isn't a tactical observation -- errors are by definition unintentional, and Klinsmann doesn't send center backs out expecting them to play poorly. But in terms of personnel decisions, the coach might be better served by taking a little less risk at the spot, even if that means less skill on the ball from time to time. Carlos Bocanegra and Clarence Goodson have proved the most reliable pairing in that sense, so even if Boca is needed out wide Tuesday night, Klinsmann might want to think twice.
Physical and mental fatigue
One issue that possibly overrides all the previous ones -- and indeed may be the cause of the national team's uninspiring level of play during the past two weeks -- is the general level of fatigue exhibited by players all over the field. Klinsmann has run a hard camp, and it's clearly taken its toll on the players. The so-called five-game tournament seems to have worn down the team's mental sharpness as well, just as the games that really count kick off.
Many of the players who will be called on to perform Tuesday have already played four full matches in the past two weeks and are undoubtedly tired. The team will have gotten some rest over the weekend as Klinsmann tries to address the issue, but if the team can't give a spirited effort for 90 minutes Tuesday in what is without doubt the most important game of the series, some serious questions will have to be asked about the rigor of the preparation process.
No matter the outcome, given the decreasing returns from each match of the "tournament" thus far, Klinsmann might be well-advised to rethink his preparation techniques going forward for games that count.
Notes
• The U.S. under-20 team will return this summer to one of the premier international competitions for that age group, the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland. The U.S. has had excellent success in recent years in Northern Ireland, winning the title in 2010. The Americans will face Denmark and Turkey in group play before a final seeding match.
• Tab Ramos and his team have had a rough start to their South American tour, dropping two matches to Uruguay last week, 4-2 and 2-0. In the opening match, the Americans lost forwards Villyan Bijev and Omar Salgado to injury. They'll wrap the tour up against Chile in Santiago on Tuesday.
