Jordan Morris celebrates his goal vs. Mexico. The US play Holland tomorrow.
Neil W. Blackmon
Jurgen Klinsmann’s side heads into its summer schedule with two stern friendly tests over the next week: tomorrow’s match against Holland at the Amsterdam Arena (2:30 PM, ET, ESPN) and next Wednesday at Germany in Cologne. Both opponents have largely called in their best squads, with European qualifying on the horizon.
These matches would be tough tests on home soil- that the Americans are playing on European soil only makes things more difficult. Still, these are the types of games Jurgen Klinsmann values as he seeks to battle-test his team ahead of next month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, which, FIFA-pocalypse aside, will be played and will see the US underdogs to rival Mexico, just under two years removed from rescuing El Tri from an empty World Cup campaign and sending them to a World Cup playoff by scoring a goal in Panama.
The US will be underdogs, of course, because results have been brutally difficult to come by since defeating Ghana in the Natal rain.
The Americans have won only three matches in ten since the World Cup and only one of those matches, a 1-0 win in Prague, came against non-CONCACAF opposition. A 2-0 victory over El Tri in San Antonio on a field not suited for a rec league sparked some optimism in the fan base, but the Americans are still a side full of question marks playing under a manager still seeking measuring sticks. Playing the reigning World Champion and one of the game’s global powers in the span of a week will certainly be that.
When last these two nations met, Stu Holden’s troubles began…
Let’s kick the usuals around a bit before we dive into the particulars:
Series: Fifth Meeting. Netherlands Lead, 4-0-0. This will be the third meeting between the two countries in Amsterdam. The United States have only scored once against the Dutch, in a 2010 World Cup tuneup- a 2-1 loss.You’ll remember that game not for the Carlos Bocanegra goal, on a delicious ball from DaMarcus Beasley, which is below at 3:25, but for Nigel de Jong’s brutal tackle on Stu Holden, which resulted in a broken leg and was the first of a series of injury misfortunes for the composed and talented American midfielder.
It is entirely fair, sad and somber to wonder how the US midfield, which performed admirably but not terrific in Brazil, would have looked last summer with Holden. His continued injuries, like John O’Brien’s before him, deprived the Americans of a truly gifted technical player in the center of the field. Ironically, De Jong was called into this Dutch team but has been dropped due to injury.
Weather: Warm. It will be 89 in Amsterdam tomorrow afternoon, and should linger around 70 degrees at kickoff with high humidity (fairly common in Holland because of all the water.) Rain moving in Saturday but none of it should affect the game tomorrow evening.
What to Watch For From Holland:
Holland have struggled transitioning from the semifinal run in Brazil under Louis Van Gaal to the looser, more player-friendly style of Guss Hiddink, but personnel wise they are still largely the side that placed third at the 2014 World Cup and the country whose footballing resume lacks only a World Cup trophy. The Dutch currently sit third in their EURO 2016 qualifying group, five points behind Iceland and out of second after one rotation and very much at risk to at the least need a playoff to qualify, even with the expanded field. They will doubtlessly view the match against the United States as a tuneup before an essential qualifier against Latvia next week.
Hiring Hiddink was decided well before the third place finish in Brazil, an odd move by the KNVB that put Hiddink in charge for Van Gaal immediately after the World Cup until the end of the 2016 EURO, and then designated assistant coach Danny Blind as the manager for World Cup 2018 qualification. The “coach in waiting” arrangement, seen most often in college football, is odd enough as an anomaly. But the hire of the aging Hiddink was questionable in and of itself.
Count supersub Klaas-Jan Huntelaar among the Hiddink cynics thus far.
Hiddink took over the Dutch in the aftermath of a handful of managerial failures, two happening quite visibly at the international level. Under his stewardship, Russia failed to qualify for World Cup 2010 and Turkey, darlings of the 2008 EURO, failed to qualify for the 2012 tournament. Nonetheless, the Dutchman was given the opportunity for the second time to coach the Clockwork Oranje, noting quite publicly that it would be the final job of his distinguished career.
The KNVB thinking behind the decision to return to Hiddink was likely as follows: Van Gaal was the right call with a promising yet fairly green side, featuring talents such as Daryl Janmaat, Stefan de Vrij, Bruno Martins Indi, Daley Blind and Memphis Depay, who needed regiment and firm guidance; the more player friendly style of Guus would better suit that same young group as they entered their primes, seeking a level of autonomy and the ability to have a say in proceedings.
It hasn’t worked out that way. Van Gaal’s success in Brazil came with a rare (for the Dutch) shift to a defensive formation (5-3-2) and a momentum-building rout of then European and World Champion Spain, 5-1, to start the tournament. They finished third at a tournament they weren’t particularly well-rated at entering, and expectations soared immediately. The Dutch almost immediately failed to live up to them.
Holland lost to Italy in a friendly and Hiddink, having promised to switch to the traditional Dutch 4-3-3, stuck with 5-3-2. The team lost to a mediocre Czech Republic side Klinsmann’s troops beat in Prague, 2-1, then nipped a woeful Kazakhstan side before losing to Iceland in October in a match that set off a national scandal level feud between supersub Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and star forward Robin Van Persie.
A win over Spain in March appears to have set things right, but no one is really sure, with Hiddink still wanting a national discussion over how players in Holland are developed, suggesting the team is little more than the mood of Arjen Robben and former Holland coach Bert van Marwijk suggesting in the Dutch media that Hiddink’s squad lacks equanimity.
Bottom line? The Dutch are looking to the match against Klinsmann and the Americans as a measuring stick in their own right: did the win over Spain right the ship or was it a temporary restoration of order amidst lingering chaos? And Hiddink has raised the stakes, pledging to quit his job if the Dutch lose to Latvia and indicating that you’ll begin to see the improved side against the United States.
The Oranje will bring the best side they have given health to play the Americans- but they will be without Arjen Robben, who is injured, as well as Ibrahim Afellay, Bas Dost, Lazio defender Stefan de Vrij (fitness) and World Cup darling Ron Vlaar of Aston Villa.
Wesley Sneijder could play a part after finishing his season with Galatasaray, while Hiddink confirmed during his press conference that Robin van Persie will start and captain the side. It is likely that Van Persie will be joined up front by bloodfeud mate Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, while the über-talented Memphis Depay will make his first Netherlands appearance since his move to Manchester United was approved.
Debut’s could be handed to Groningen’s Tjaronn Chery, Vitesse’s Davy Propper, and AZ Alkmaar’s Steven Berghuis, but all three are likely to start on the bench.
That leaves a Dutch eleven that looks like the inset.
That formation leaves Blind and Depay to overlap and Depay, inverted on the left to cut and attack the US on his stronger right foot. It makes a Sneijder cameo off the bench distinctly possible but still raises plenty of questions for the American back four, which is unsettled and without mainstay starters Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez. Van Persie’s match fitness remains a bit of a question mark, but it is difficult to imagine him not starting and wearing the armband given Hiddink’s comments.
Tactically, one of the only things that has remained in the transition to Hiddink-ball has been the high lines in defense.
In Brazil, Van Gaal’s Oranje played astonishingly high throughout the World Cup until retreating and lacking imagination and pressure in the semifinal draw and penalty defeat to Argentina. Hiddink will insist that his center backs harangue and track anyone who drifts inside and they will demand that the player at the center of the midfield- Wijnaldum, Clasie, even Daley Blind as the Ajax six- take up extremely advanced positions and stay tight with the American central midfielders. The Oranje remain very aggressive in their tackles, even without de Guzman and de Jong, and the Americans will need to play with tempo and decisively to avoid the types of turnovers that further compromise an experimental backline.
When Robben is available, the Dutch can play Depay inverted on the left and Robben on the right, a terrifying proposition when you factor in the Daley Blind overlap and the more than capable Wijnaldum covering the right of the pitch. Fortunately, the Yanks won’t have to deal with this incarnation of Holland, but they will have to deal with one capable of playing with width, particularly if Sneijder enters and the Dutch can bump Wijnaldum wide. That will be a severe test for the American fullback pairing- likely converted midfielder Brek Shea, who is playing midfield at Orlando at present due to injuries, and DeAndre Yedlin, who played mostly in the reserves the last few months since moving to Tottenham Hotspur.
The Dutch are not, as it turns out, just Arjen Robben. But they are certainly less dangerous without him, especially on the break, and even more so without Jeremain Lens, who is unlikely to feature Friday due to club commitments. This means the Americans should know that the danger comes from Van Persie, from Huntelaar lurking far post and poaching messes the American back four doesn’t clean up, and from Memphis Depay incutting and galloping in space.
In the end, on the road, a tall test for the Americans.
Aron Johannsson salutes fans in Natal. He hasn’t been healthy since well before that game.
What to Watch For From The Yanks:
A team trying to work out the right combinations. A team that is difficult, tactically, to figure out.
What is the plan? If a player is deployed in a certain spot, what is the tactical endgame? What’s the long term vision?
These are things I would imagine Jurgen Klinsmann and Berti and whomever are figuring out.
Jurgen Klinsmann’s roster for these two matches is by no means experimental- most the European-based mainstays plus Michael Bradley are in the team- but it does feature more than its fair share of inexperience. Nine of the 22 players in camp have less than ten caps with the addition of Jordan Morris to the team in the aftermath of Jermaine Jones’s injury last week. Morris, who was already in France for the U23 Toulon Tournament, was splendid in that competition and his inclusion in a side that will play two global powers speaks volumes about the American coach and technical director’s opinion of him.
Morris, of course, plays forward, which is as good a place as any to start when evaluating this incarnation of the Yanks. Who is not present is a strong place to begin. Clint Dempsey isn’t here because what does Clint Dempsey, a legitimate MLS MVP candidate at this point in the season, have to prove by flying to Europe for two matches against elite teams? And why force Klinsmann to decide who wears the armband when both Bradley and Dempsey are in a squad? Can’t he just decide that at the Gold Cup? Meanwhile, Jozy Altidore is also missing out, nursing another summer leg injury that may result in his absence again for his country in meaningful competition. So Klinsmann must find answers.
Calling in Juan Agudelo, who has been masterful for New England playing next to Charlie Davies, is a terrific start. Agudelo scored a great goal against Mexico, but more important, he’s a technical player who can drift, take you on off the bounce from wide positions or play the battering ram number nine because he’s stronger than he looks. He’s a quality shooter and there’s a quiet, “try stuff” Clint Dempsey confidence to him that makes him a leagues better option for the Yanks in Altidore’s stead than Galaxy forward Gyasi Zardes, who is Jules Verne behind Agudelo as a technical soccer player and has looked mediocre on a good day in the absence of Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane.
Zardes is in this team too, despite a miserable outing against Mexico and the aforementioned MLS form. How long Klinsmann keeps him in the mix is a fair question to be asked with a critical lens: what’s he see in him outside of physical gifts? Bobby Wood, who has infinitely more technical polish but has been a step behind or two reading the international game (see, Wondolowski, Chris), is also in the camp.
Finally, Aron Johannsson has the chance to show out for the national team and will get to do so healthy for the first time since before the World Cup. Pressed into emergency duty against Ghana in Brazil, Johannsson labored for 70 minutes because Klinsmann had brought no other options, showing plenty of guts but clearly hurt. We would find out after the tournament that Klinsmann had brought a forward to Brazil that needed surgery before the tournament- front of the sports page type stuff in most country but brushed aside like a summer gnat as “judgment call” by Klinsmann devotees stateside. It was easily the worst roster decision Klinsmann made. It will be nice to see an in-form Johannsson play for his country.
In midfield, the absence of Benny Feilhaber stands out and could prove costly against the high-pressure, high-line Dutch tomorrow. This would be the ideal game to end the Bradley at the top of the diamond experiment, an understandable inclination by Klinsmann to make his best player the engine of the side. The thing is, he can be elsewhere, and he’s a regista, preferring the scrum deeper in the midfield to the forward deployment.
A deeper deployment under Dutch pressure tomorrow would make great sense, and it would make even greater sense given the tremendous form of Sporting Kansas City’s Feilhaber, who not only is orchestrating attacks the way he’s always done, with deft passes and calmness on the ball, but is also playing defense, tracking back and covering more ground now, at 30, than he ever has in MLS. His four goals and seven assists suggest that he’s precisely the type of proactive, possession oriented player, at least at present, Klinsmann said he values and he’s precisely the type of calm on the ball presence you need against a Holland. Yet, Danny Williams, whose best game in a US Shirt has come against Caribbean island nation Antigua and Barbuda, is in the team and Feilhaber isn’t. Again, this isn’t about treating every player the same- that isn’t realistic– but it is about treating things fairly and setting consistent standards. Either MLS is good enough or it isn’t. Either failing abroad is okay or it isn’t. These are the types of roster choices that continue to mystify.
My predicted US eleven is in the inset. A final interesting possibility worth noting is the presence of Yedlin, Shea and Johnson on the field together at once. Johnson remains the best wide player in the pool, and his technical ability will be needed tomorrow. We’ll likely see him ahead of Shea, inverted on his left foot, or at the least, ahead of Yedlin on the right, especially with Ale Bedoya nursing a knee injury and out for this set of friendlies.
Defensively, expect Orozco, who has been steady for the Americans for well over two years, to start in the middle with John Brooks. Ventura Alvarado will play. As noted above, I’d expect Shea to get a vital game against elite competition at left back and Yedlin to start on the right, allowing the Americans to utilize Johnson as a midfielder.
Holland Player to Watch: Memphis Depay
Guy can ball. And he’s named after the city that brought you the blues and 1/2 the rapper that Jay Z originally thought would be a bigger success than Kanye, Memphis Bleek. Here’s a video of stuff we don’t want him to do tomorrow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A9JdqwdXhI
US Player to Watch: Aron Johannsson
Tempting to go Brek Shea here as this is his first match against an elite opponent since he moved back to MLS and found himself. Tempting to go Agudelo because he’s massively improved over the last year and a half and finally getting a repeat call-up to show it. Tempting to go Guzan here because the match marks the beginning of his tenure as the US number one. Tempting to go Ventura Alvarado, who has a unique skillset among American defenders and was splendid against El Tri on the ragged non-pitch of the Alamo Dome in March.
But ultimately, the answer is Johannsson because he’s healthy and scoring goals and his skill set is so unique to the US player pool. He’s the anti-Zardes, capable of creating his own chances, dominant as a late runner in the channels- an area where the Dutch struggle– and tidy on the ball. With Altidore gone, the natural concern is that he’ll press- but in a friendly, there’s nothing wrong with putting pressure on yourself. After all, it is close to time for the young Icelandic American to consistently produce, not simply woo Klinsmann and fans with his potential.
Prediction: Holland 2, USA 1. Depay scores on a Yedlin-skinning run early. The US settle, play well, score and then concede a winner late. Huntelaar, far post.
Neil W. Blackmon is Co-Founder and Co-Editor of The Yanks Are Coming. Follow him on Twitter @nwblackmon. Email nwblackmon@gmail.com