Featured, March 2015, USMNT

US 1, Switzerland 1: Yanks Were Better Against Swiss, Until They Weren’t

Brek Shea's stunning free kick gave the Americans another lead. Again, they failed to keep it.

Brek Shea’s stunning free kick gave the Americans another lead. Again, they failed to keep it.

John Halloran

For 65 minutes on Tuesday night in Zurich, the United States men’s national team was fairly impressive. They controlled decent spells of possession, looked dangerous on the break and were even beating the 12th-ranked Swiss squad.

Then, a familiar pattern emerged. Following a foolish red card earned by Jozy Altidore in the 67th minute, the team lost focus and self-destructed.

Another lead. Another failure to keep it.

The match finished with the U.S. conceding a late goal and finishing with a 1-1 draw. The equalizer also produced some troubling symmetry for the Americans, as it was the 15th time in 15 games that the U.S. had given up a goal in the last 15 minutes.

Here’s what we learned from the match.

Michael Bradley is Not a No. 10

There’s a difference between experimenting and futilely bashing your head against a wall repeatedly, but when it comes to playing Michael Bradley in an advanced midfield role, Jurgen Klinsmann still apparently favors the latter.

Following one brilliant game against Mexico last spring as an attacking midfielder, Klinsmann has been bound and determined to make Bradley the team’s No. 10, no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary.

Bradley played poorly in an advanced role in the World Cup (albeit through an injury), and has never looked wholly comfortable as an attacking midfielder for the U.S.

There’s no doubt that the experiment was once worth trying—Bradley had played well as a No. 10 nearly a decade ago at Heerenveen and there was some early promise the move might work for the Americans—but it is now clear to everyone except Klinsmann that the further up the field Bradley plays, the worse he plays.

In the attacking midfield role on Tuesday, Bradley uncharacteristically lost possession and missed two fairly simple opportunities to score. Historically, when deployed deeper, he has been much more effective and comfortable—and that’s where Klinsmann needs to keep him in the future.

Michael Bradley continues to look ill-suited at the top of a diamond, or as a number ten.

Michael Bradley continues to look ill-suited at the top of a diamond, or as a number ten.

A Solid Performance from Brek Shea

His first-half goal aside—and it was an absolute beauty—Brek Shea put together a solid performance for the Yanks on Tuesday. He got forward well, put a number of decent services into the area and did his part defensively.

Perhaps most impressive was that Shea didn’t give away possession easily. In the past, Shea has been apt to silly giveaways, but against the Swiss, Shea played with confidence under pressure and repeatedly showed a level of patience in possession that had been missing in the past. It’s clear Adrian Heath and Orlando City are helping him, both with fundamentals and confidence. 

https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/status/582975987341758465


The 4-1-2-1-2 Works for the U.S.

In his three and a half years in charge, Klinsmann has put the U.S. in nearly every conceivable formation—a pattern which has reached new heights of unpredictability in the months since last summer’s World Cup.

But against the Swiss, Klinsmann went back to the 4-1-2-1-2 that showed some real promise last summer. Although devoid of any natural width, the 4-1-2-1-2 takes advantage of the U.S.’s large pool of center midfielders and avoids its lack of wingers. It also gives the U.S. two strikers—something they have always played better with—and a third attacker just underneath the forwards to facilitate play.

On Tuesday, Alejandro Bedoya and Alfredo Morales were the two “wide” midfielders and the formation suited them well. Bedoya was able to both come narrow to get the ball and fade into the wide areas to find space, as he enjoyed one of his best matches in a U.S. shirt to date.

While Bedoya has always shown great effort when playing for the Americans, his attacking prowess has always been a bit underwhelming. But on Tuesday, Bedoya repeatedly opened up the Swiss defense with his passing and smart movement off the ball.

On the left side, Morales played well- easily his best game in a US shirt- and displayed a veteran savvy. He also helped the U.S. work the ball out of pressure—not exactly an American specialty—on multiple occasions.

Inconsistencies Remain

Besides giving up the lead late, the U.S. still has several inconsistencies it needs to address—and quickly.

Timmy Chandler, who once again played right-back, put in another Jekyll-and-Hyde performance. While he combined well with Bedoya and Gyasi Zardes down the right side, he also had several moments of poor defending that the U.S. narrowly escaped.

The most notable was a bizarre sequence in the 54th minute when Chandler took a poor touch in the box, lost possession, handled the ball twice and then tried to bear hug a Swiss attacker. Thankfully, none of his three fouls on the play were called, but it was a scary reminder of his ability to produce jaw-dropping gaffes in the back.

Altidore’s performance was also noteworthy in its inconsistency. While he had a strong first half, held the ball up extremely well and made the key pass on a beautiful sequence that Bradley should have scored on, he also forced the U.S. to play down a man for the final 23 minutes with his second-half red card.

 For whatever reason, Altidore was hot-headed even in the first half, repeatedly berating the linesman and center official. Then, in the 67th minute, Altidore was visibly upset about another no-call (viewing the replay, there was no apparent foul to be upset about) and took his anger out by chasing down a Swiss defender from 20 yards away and hacking him down from behind. Then, Altidore swore directly in the center officials’ face and was promptly given his marching orders.

To put it simply, the U.S. needs better from its veteran striker.

Michael Orozco Proving His Worth

 One common thread on this website for the past year has been the steady hand of Michael Orozco, though this has gone largely unnoticed elsewhere. Orozco was another bright spot for the U.S.against Switzerland, only a couple of days removed from a rare TYAC criticism of him (for removing himself from a game after 80 minutes citing “exhaustion”). Although Orozco has played poorly in the past for the U.S., those games have mostly come when deployed on the right side and not centrally. And they mostly happened on the front end of the previous World Cup cycle, with a noticeable shift occurring after he scored to defeat Mexico at Azteca.  When playing as a center back, Orozco has been strong, and considering the inconsistent play of Matt Besler, Jermaine Jones, Geoff Cameron and John Anthony Brooks, Orozco has proven that he has value to the U.S. in the center of its defense.

Ventura Alvarado still looks very raw and MLS products Steve Birnbaum and Matt Hedges, while both showing promise, are still unproven at the international level.

 Orozco also demonstrated against the Danes his willingness to finish a play, as he did when he recovered behind Nick Rimando to clear the ball off the line. In the past, Cameron, Gonzalez, Jones and Brooks have all shown a propensity to give up too early on plays, resulting in goals against the U.S. It was, in fact, Brooks, whose mark scored the Swiss equalizer on Tuesday. And that was also the case against Denmark. 

Klinsmann told Ian Darke prior to the game against Denmark that Orozco would have probably made the World Cup roster if not for a late injury and his performances against Denmark and Switzerland have proven that Orozco can handle high-level international competition.

He deserved to stay in the fold as the U.S. moves forward.

The Americans next play Mexico, on April 15, in San Antonio, Texas.

Written by: John Halloran on April 1, 2015.
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