USA vs. Colombia. LALAS TIME!!!
Neil W. Blackmon and Jon Levy
The United States Men’s National Team will look to bounce back after disappointing October home friendlies by taking their show on the road tomorrow night, as they battle World Cup darlings Colombia in London. The venue- storied Craven Cottage, what with it’s “Fulhamerica” label, on-site pub named after legendary Yank Brian McBride and statue of Michael Jackson– makes it as close to a home match as the US could play, given that the match is in London. There aren’t many cities located outside the 50 states and territories where the American Outlaws can have a “Night Before” party at least co-arranged by the host chapter, AO London. All this is fun. And also misses the point.
In facing Colombia, the Yanks meet not only a side that stole hearts at the World Cup but also a side that will be among the heavy favorites at the 2016 Copa América Centenario, a tournament the US of course will host. Colombia will also bring a large collection of its best players, including World Cup headliner James Rodriguez, which means the competition is a huge step up from any of the nations the Americans have met since beginning the 2018 World Cup cycle with a surprising win in Prague.
The match, and the fact it isn’t truly on home soil, is in keeping with a Klinsmann mantra since taking the gig: the United States will play the best sides in the world “Whenever, Wherever” (Yes, I did what you think I did there) and even if hips do, the results don’t lie– the Americans have played to the level of their competition, by and large, under Jurgen. They tie Honduras in Boca Raton and draw Ecuador in a game not only played basically at sea level but buttressed by the raw, hair-on-your-arms emotion of Landon Donovan playing his final game for the Stars and Stripes. But they beat Mexico at Azteca, tying them the next time for good measure; they beat Italy in Genoa; they hammer Germany in Washington D.C.; they run Portugal ragged in the rainforest, upend Ghana in the Natal rain.
I know, I know. Friendly. Here’s the thing: TYAC isn’t here to try to sell you a “friendlies matter” novella, but count us among those who reject the oft-repeated notion that they’re valueless beyond player evaluation. Simply not true. You establish the touchstone for the World Cup qualifying grind and the quick death group stage that follows in friendlies, which teach valuable lessons about how to win and perhaps more accurately, how to compete. Who are ya? You find out in competition certainly, but when you are the best footballing nation in your region- which four World Cup cycles now say the Americans are– you figure out by playing teams like Colombia in friendlies too.
“We were extremely disappointed, because that’s the type of team we should beat, have to beat”, Alejandro Bedoya told TYAC after the Honduras draw. “We’ll have to play better in the next set of friendlies, against the better sides, away from home,” Bedoya added. Bedoya’s right. The US should hammer Honduras at home and Ecuador at any game not played at altitude.The good news is the history says the US will.
Here’s the TYAC preview usuals, with all the bells, whistles and of course particulars:
Series: 17th Meeting. Colombia lead, 9-3-4. This is the third meeting not held in either country. Colombia won the other two- both in the Copa América- 4-1 in Uruguay in 1995 and 1-0 in Venezuela in 2007. The United States last beat Colombia in 2005- a 3-0 win in Fullerton, California in March 2005. The most famous match between the two countries, of course, is the 1994 World Cup match, won by the Americans 2-1 in the Rose Bowl and made infamous by the tragic murder of Andrés Escobar, whose own goal contributed to Colombia’s shocking defeat and disappointing exit from a World Cup in which they were pre-tournament favorites. That match, that day at the Rose Bowl in 1994, is one reason a Colombian friend of mine told me “Colombian football is about crying,” and why, as Tomas Rios wrote for Sports on Earth after they defeated Uruguay in the Round of 16 this summer, their brilliant World Cup run was 20 years in the making.
Weather: London in November, which means the weather will be dire. Gloomy, rainy and around 50 degrees at kick.
Neil W. Blackmon on What to Watch for from Colombia:
Pékerman is building an “Empire.” Ok. I’m done. Really.
There’s an argument that outside of the World Cup champions, Los Cafeteros are the best team in the world from attacking positions. That’s true even without the divine Radamel Falcao, who José Pékerman says is “very close” to being back to his best, for both club (Manchester United, at present) and country. Falcao has just one goal since arriving at Old Trafford- but that could largely be because he’s missed time (again) recovering from the injury that caused him to miss the World Cup finals in the first place.
In his stead, the team have remained fluid in attack, with the emergence of James Rodriguez this summer as a bona fide world class player and the ability to pair Teófilo Gutiérrez and Carlos Bacca, who have been playing together since they were 16 and 15 years old at Barranquilla.
At the World Cup, however, Pékerman abandoned the 4-2-2-2 that guided the team through CONMEBOL and simplified things, slotting Teófilo in the spot traditionally occupied by Falcao, and pushingJames Rodriguez inside from the left to play the number ten. It was a clever tactical rethink: and one that exploited dynamic speed on the edges in Fiorentina’s Juan Cuadrado and Victor Ibarbo. Ibarbo is gone, but Pékerman wasn’t shy about changing who played opposite Cuadrado in Brazil- even opting for Porto captain and Liverpool target Jackson Martinez (who usually paired with Falcao) in the Round of 16.
The shift in formation accomplished two things, both directly contributing to the quarterfinal run by Colombia. First, it allowed Rodriguez to dictate the game from the center, and while he’s not a natural number ten (diminutive Porto youngster Juan Quintero fits that bill far better), he is one of the smartest players in the world, a thinker who sees the game sequences ahead, much like Arjen Robben in that respect. His opening goal against Uruguay (yes, the howitzer) demonstrated this perfectly. The strike isn’t even the best part of the film– it’s his movement before it, and his quick glance, just before receiving the pass, where he decides he has enough space to fire away. Watch for yourselves:
Rodriguez was given space by Greece in the opening fixture of the World Cup- and was happy to take it- instinctively dropping deep to link up with the central midfielders and then feeding the ball to the flanks. Colombia carved the usually compact Greeks up that way and after that, Rodriguez had men draped on his shoulders for the remainder of the tournament. What he did after impressed– he simply moved his marker into uncomfortable areas, whether it be deep positions, wide on the left or drifting between the lines. He’s quick on the ball and keeps his distributions simple, and it’s the kind of test that demanded Klinsmann call in a savvy six like Kyle Beckerman and a relentless tracker like Ale Bedoya, who must help when Rodriguez drifts.
Not addition by subtraction, but Teofilo is well suited to replace Falcao if Colombia stay in the 4-2-3-1.
Second, it made Colombia stay organized. As great a goalscorer as Falcao is- he often became too interested in becoming part of the build up play, despite being an average passer at best. Carlos Bacca and Teófilo are both better target players, and the latter is unquestionably a better passer. I’m not sure how much this means Los Cafeteros are better without Falcao, as I don’t really subscribe to addition by subtraction when it involves such a great player. But I do think that Pékerman tried too hard at times to define a role for Falcao, when he should have been concerned purely with how to stay organized enough to get the ball to the flanks. Jon Levy will write more on the best winger of a deep group in our “Players to Watch” section.
Abel Aguilar is the best of the players behind the front four, and he performed He’ll be paired with Aston Villa hatchet man Carlos Sanchez, the primary holder, if Pékerman is taking the Americans seriously. If Pékerman isn’t- Inter’s Fredy Guarin, who is as irresponsible as he is talented- could get a shift.
Defensively, the Colombians do leave openings, or at least did at the World Cup– and it is safe to wonder how much better they will be without the ageless Mario Yepes there to sully things up. Éder Balanta, who has played at River Plate since he was 17, will get first crack at replacing the legend, and is with this team in London. He’s faster- but a piano would be- and is an adept passer- but he’s 150 caps short on experience and nearly two decades behind in savvy. We’ll see.
Colombia are essentially holding open tryouts on defense (not unlike the Americans at forward) at the front end of this World Cup cycle, and even Cristián Zapata, who has never been a Pékerman favorite, is back in the fold. The Americans will need to find space to operate in the channels to test whatever combination Colombia choose– they lack cohesiveness and neither centerback is a special emergency defender. That said, they are both quicker than Valdes and Yepes were this summer which means they can still afford to thrust their fullbacks way up the field, and we should expect them to do so tomorrow. Milan’s Pablo Armero had a fine World Cup at one of those spots and is with this team; PSV speed merchant Santiago Arias should get the crack at the other spot.
Pékerman also will audition a new keeper tomorrow, with David Ospina not in the camp and legend Faryd Mondragon finally drinking cocktails on a beach somewhere. Camilo Vargas is the youngest of the group at 25 and is the only one who has been capped.
Head on the swivel, Kyle.
Neil W. Blackmon on what to watch for from the United States:
The Yanks can’t afford to play blissfully without anyone to hold the ball, not against Colombia. They won’t have the ball enough to and they’ll need a traffic director to both ensure Rodriguez isn’t running too much riot and to point out where Cuadrado is down the flanks. Kyle Beckerman gets our “head on the swivel” nod here over the younger Morales, whose future is bright but confidence could be shot quickly against this type of attacking team.
This is a fascinating tactical match for DeAndre Yedlin. Will he be given the chance to force his winger into deep positions? Would it be better to play him at fullback and ask him, as Jurgen famously does, to “go express himself”– read: get up the field as much as possible and trust that Beckerman and Bedoya will watch Cuadrado and whoevcer isn’t tracking back on the Colombian flank to check the counterattack? A good test, especially for one of the few US World Cup players in ever-improving form.
Defensively, the US will want to get Colombia into a predictable pattern– this is ultimately what Brazil did and to some extent, what Ivory Coast did. That means forcing Rodriguez to favor one side over the other for his distributions and then making sure they overload on the side he favors. If this is ultimately Cuadrado, one of the world’s best dribblers, then so be it– the Colombians struggle on set pieces and could be even more dire in the air without Yepes and Valdes to clean up. There are worse things than surrendering free kicks from wide positions against Colombia.
The Americans have a few other positions of interest: left back being one. Greg Garza played terrific in the October matches, and it would be nice if DaMarcus Beasley could be phased out gently, playing the role of mentor to Garza rather than playing in his stead. Beasley surprised many people (not TYAC) with his good showing in Brazil, and we wouldn’t bet against him lingering this cycle– but the 23 year old Garza is a trained left back who needs to be tested against better competition. Maybe that starts with a substitute appearance tomorrow? The bet here is on Johnson and Beasley to start and attempt to get up the pitch as much as possible– the underlying thought being that if you play that pairing it doesn’t really matter where you play Yedlin, so long as he’s flying up and down the field harassing a Colombian winger.
The Jermaine Jones center back experience should also continue. Klinsmann has expressed doubt about Jones’ “ability to continue if he’s playing on turf fields” (MLS dig? What MLS dig?) for the next four years but both he and Jones are laser-focused on the Copa in 2016– and I think the idea with Jones is more about having a player who can help distribute against the more stylish South American sides from the back than it is stretching him Cannavaro style to Russia. Remember, World Cup cycles are really about what happens the next year anyway: it’s a recent internet phenomenon to discuss how each friendly is a “build to Russia.” It just isn’t. That’s impractical.
At forward- open tryouts. Jozy Altidore’s agent is trying to get Jozy’s bags packed for somewhere that isn’t NYC FC this January, and while he does that, Klinsmann is looking again at Miguel Ibarra- who scored this beauty in a losing effort to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the NASL semis… and yeah, he doesn’t play in MLS.
No coincidence that Klinsmann called in Rubio Rubin, Ibarra, Bobby Wood and Ibarra to forward tryouts but no one to MLS except Chris Wondolowski, the oldish dude he took to the World Cup. Wondolowski deserves to be in the team– he’s still a quality guy off the bench and more important, he’s a camp presence around these youngsters, one that’s invaluable. Plus he is adored by his teammates almost universally. Of the youngsters, Bobby Wood invites the most– a horrid knee injury a major setback but clearly the best mover off the ball and reader of the game, sitter vs. Ecuador aside. He’s in the right spots already, or is close to being in the right spots. Experience should handle some of the rest.
Juan Debbie Wasserman Schultz Cuadrado.
Jon Levy on the Colombian Player to Watch: Juan Cuadrado
I know about Juan Caudrado. You know about Juan Caudrado. He is perhaps the biggest reasons we’re both happy this little affair at Craven Cottage is just a friendly.
Caudrado is Colombia’s winger-in-chief; especially so since James Rodríguez embraced a central role and put in his Golden Boot winning (and Golden Ball deserving) World Cup performance. But there’s an argument to be made that while Rodríguez is the better overall player, Cuadrado is the better winger. Cuadrado is the 2014 prototype for the position, because unless he’s playing for Sam Allardyce, a winger now has to be able to create his own shot and put away goals in addition to providing the requisite assists for his teammates.
Cuadrado scores. He passes. He’s excellent on the ball, and his movement without it is both aggressive and productive. You probably saw Colombia playing through him on their way to the World Cup quarters. You definitely noticed his trademark curly locks bouncing up and down the pitch. This guy is the Colombian Debbie Wasserman Schultz. What you might not have noticed is that he tied World Cup winner Toni Kroos for most assists at the 2014 World Cup with four.
To use a comparison that pretty much all USMNT fans can get behind (in case my awesome Debbie Wasserman Schultz pull wasn’t your favorite part of this blog), Juan Caudrado is in many ways Colombia’s version of Mexico mainstay Andrés Guardado. He’s a dynamic winger that runs at defenders and makes them choose, and who has the skill to exploit whichever choice is made. But y’know, Caudrado’s younger, faster, and being sought after by Chelsea, Man U, and Bayern Munich. Good luck holding on to this one Fiorentina. And good luck American defense; please find a way to shut this dynamo down without letting Rodríguez and Martínez run wild. Thanks.
Jon Levy on the US Player to Watch: Lee Nguyen
This time, truly, it was always going to be Lee Nguyen.
Since signing an MLS deal a few years ago and being claimed by the Revolution in the Waiver Draft, Nguyen’s done nothing but justify the considerable hype he’d earned with his play in the Vietnamese league. Nguyen (pronounced “win,” but you probably knew that) is the attacking focal point for the New England Revolution, and he could fit into Jurgen Klinsmann’s team in a number of spots. He’s probably best suited to the central attacking midfield role that we’ve seen Clint Dempsey make his own.
But like Mix Diskerud, Nguyen would put his own spin on that position. We’ve seen him apply that spin with the Rev, and it’s awesome. Nguyen can also play central midfield, but if Jurgen continues to insist that Michael Bradley play the attacking role and we see Nguyen sitting behind him in the formation, well, my head is going to explode. And hey, if Mix Diskerud and Sacha Kljestan can do a job on the wing for this national team, so can Lee Nguyen.
Bottom line: This is a well deserved call-up that’s overdue, and this is a guy who can challenge for a starting spot on the national team. Now let’s hope he gets a real run-out against this good Colombia squad.
Prediction: Colombia 2, United States 1. Americans will fight for a result against an elite team, as they do. This time, they won’t get one. I like a Cuadrado goal early and a Rodriguez strike late. The Americans get on the board off a set piece, but it isn’t enough.