In front of a sell-out crowd, the US managed a draw in Port of Spain
Neil W. Blackmon
PORT OF SPAIN-
The US Men’s National Team managed to grind out a road qualifying point last night at a sold-out, jubilant Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. There’s value and accomplishment in World Cup qualifying road points, especially in the din, tenebrous haunts of CONCACAF. Further, there’s no mistaking that Trinidad and Tobago entered the match as one of CONCACAF’s hottest sides, fresh off a summer where they won a Gold Cup group and buzzing with confidence after opening their 2018 World Cup qualification campaign with three points in Guatemala. So the US can pleased they secured a result, and ended what can only be characterized for the men’s program as a difficult year with something to build on, even if that something is a 0-0 road draw against a side most still don’t fancy to qualify for 32 team field in Russia.
Nonetheless, the Americans will also rue not getting all three points, as Gyasi Zardes failed to convert two golden chances, including a free header on the edge of the six directly after intermission which international caliber professionals rarely miss. Chances in road qualifiers are limited, and the Yanks had enough to win. They just didn’t take them. And the players knew it.
“These games are always the same,” said Michael Bradley. “What makes them different is if you can take your chance. You know they’re going to be hard games. You know they aren’t always going to be pretty with the conditions and the field. We’ve been through it before. We know what it’s like. If you’re able to — on the day — take your chance, the result can look different and you can come away with three points. If you don’t take your chance, then it’s vital that you’re defensively solid and you’re — at worst — able to come out with a 0-0 draw. We did that tonight. In those ways, it was a professional performance.”
Tim Howard, in his first competitive match back since the US defeat to Belgium in Brazil, agreed.
“We knew it would be close,” Howard said. “We hoped it wouldn’t be, but we knew it would be. If you win the home game and you get something on the road, then we’re in first place. And that’s something.”
Unfortunately, at some point over the holidays, the US coaching staff will also watch video and see some of the same problems that have plagued the US since the Germany game at the last World Cup: a disjointed midfield, a lack of support for the forwards, shoddy link-up passing, a handful of mistakes in the center of the defense and a side that once again was out-shot when they played a decent opponent.
For all that’s redeeming in a road point, the play was more of the same. Four more thoughts from the final match for the men in 2016.
A stagnant right flank was the byproduct of a lack of tactical imagination.
Jurgen Klinsmann, perhaps inspired by Jogi Löw’s World Cup winners, opted for a backline of 4 CB’s last night, with (should be) mainstays Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler central, Tim Ream on the left and lunch-pail worker bee Michael Orozco at right back. The decision worked for Germany because the team had two dynamic walls of three who understand how to drift around, combine, and interchange when one or two tucked inside to run the channels. It’s also worth remembering that in addition to superior technical quality, the Germans didn’t demolish teams until the quarterfinals, and by then Phillip Lahm had been moved back to right back to give the side a proper fullback, but I digress.
Between Yedlin and Zardes, the U.S. right looks like a concrete rebounding wall set on top of a rocket in mid-explosion.
— Will Parchman (@WillParchman) November 18, 2015
The narrow grouping negatively affected the right flank in particular, where Klinsmann opted to start DeAndre Yedlin in midfield, a position he no longer plays in the English Premier League. Behind him, Michael Orozco started. Orozco delivered another in a long line of consistent and workmanlike performances for Jurgen Klinsmann. He did great help work on Joevin Jones in particular and was one of the only Americans still winning 50/50 balls late (2 for 2 in the last ten minutes). But Orozco offered next to nothing getting forward and DeAndre Yedlin, save one spectacular run early where he lost a footrace to a Michael Bradley through ball, was largely erased from the game’s first 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, Gyasi Zardes labored, slow to take defenders one v. one and reactive in his movements off the ball. Zardes has improved immensely over the past year, a credit to Bruce Arena and a credit to Jurgen Klinsmann giving him 19 chances to play at this level, and he was better last night at creating space for teammates, pulling defenders away from Jozy Altidore and others on multiple occasions. But he has to do it faster, and the US seemed just a step behind in the final third most the night, particularly on the right.
Still, the team had its chances, which is a credit to their mentality, given the fact that…
Jermaine Jones put in a good shift defensively, but the Bradley-Jones pairing continues to leave the midfield short on imagination.
The US midfield remains disjointed, and in need of new ideas, even as Darlington Nagbe gives the unit an infusion of life.
It is difficult to chalk this up to “tactical intent”, but one way the narrow 4 man backline helped the US was it provided naturally pinched cover to track runners off Kenwyne Jones, Trinidad and Tobago’s mountain of a center forward. This defensive tactic was also aided nicely by Jermaine Jones’s presence as a holding midfielder. There were, in the first 25 minutes in particular, some spacing issues, but Jones did his job defensively, providing cover and limiting the opportunities afforded to Khaleem Hyland, Cordell Cato and Joevin Jones off second balls. Jones also nearly scored a winning goal from distance on a pitch where the US have famously scored from distance, only to have his spectacular effort tipped over the bar by Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Jan Michael-Williams.
Still, for all the positives in Jermaine Jones’s performance last night, the 34 year old midfielder has failed in four years to develop much of a rapport with Michael Bradley in possession. How much of this has to do with both players wanting more of the ball from a deeper position and how much of it has to do with the continued reliance on Michael Bradley as a high-slotted playmaker I’ll leave to others, but one thing is certain. The US lost the plot in the first half last night in the middle of the field, and was relatively toothless in attack.
When they did get chances, Bradley missed them, partly because he was a bit off last evening, but also because he’s being asked to do things he shouldn’t be asked to do. So for every good pass to Yedlin that nearly results in a goal, there is a ball like this he doesn’t get through.
Bradley did not make this pass. Because he is not a #10. pic.twitter.com/lTLXyUk4aN
— Will Parchman (@WillParchman) November 17, 2015
Michael Bradley is too quality a player to ever look dire, and he will often look serviceable no matter what he does. But US fans have been deprived of a good portion of their best field player’s prime because he is being asked to do things from a #10 type position that he isn’t as good at doing as other things. And Jermaine Jones doesn’t complement what Bradley does best, which is sit deep and ping balls all over the park.
The US also continued to leave too much space between the forwards and the midfield in possession. It’s a longstanding issue, and last night only Fabian Johnson seemed interested in solving it. In fact, the first American shot came on a Johnson run off Altidore where he had tucked behind. No other American midfielder was in the final third. It was a telling moment within a moment.
Jurgen Klinsmann addresses the media Tuesday night
Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler should be the working CB pairing for the cycle.
One is in form in the Premier league at the position on a side that defends a ton. Reps won’t be an issue. The other is a World Cup veteran and quality MLS defender who has chemistry with Cameron and the confidence of both Tim Howard and Brad Guzan, who for now remain the side’s 1A and 1B goalkeepers.
And on a night when the US clearly benefited from the return of Tim Howard and his ability to command an area to the starting lineup, the Everton goalkeeper was happy to have a familiar CB pairing playing in front of him.
“I thought defensively we were good, didn’t give up too much,” Tim Howard said. “Aside from the goalkeeper rotation, the idea is to make sure we have a solidified back four, get guys to establish themselves and play all the time. Brad and I both have a ton of confidence in those guys and it was good to see that partnership continue.”
These two also understand how to win in CONCACAF, which at present is the task at hand, Howard added. “They handled a different beast tonight,” the goalkeeper said. “It wasn’t just the ticky tacky stuff or deep balls in or through, it was aerial battles and having to clear a line and they did well. And that’s something you have to be ready for in our region.”
Klinsmann, who tinkered endlessly with his CB combinations all year, agreed with his goalkeeper’s assessment when asked if Besler and Cameron had pulled ahead as the top CB pairing.
“I think they deserve a huge compliment, both of them,” Klinsmann said. “They had Kenwyne Jones pretty much completely under control. He’s a guy who can score at any moment, especially when you don’t expect it. For both, it was a very good performance. They made themselves a strong case, no doubt about it.”
Finally, Jozy Altidore played a very good soccer game last night.
Asked to win long balls and hold things up, Altidore did well, winning his fair share of 50/50s and making Trinidad and Tobago’s physically capable CB pairing of Sheldon Bateau and Radanfah Abu Bakr work. What was even better was when he dropped off that line and made himself available in wide positions.
Tough run from Jozy there. You have to guy that out after 90 in this heat and he did well
— The Yanks Are Coming (@YanksAreComing) November 18, 2015
The US best goal-scoring chance, a perfectly weighted ball to Gyasi Zardes running untouched outside the six, was such a moment, but the most impressive to me was a smart run off Bobby Wood in the 90th minute, which saw Altidore win a race for the ball, turn a defender and then another and earn an American corner. The US squandered the corner, but to make that intelligent a run in the 90th minute, in the Caribbean heat and after dropping deeper than usual to help the Americans calm the passing lanes defensively, that was a great moment to see and a terrific way for Altidore to finish a tough 2015.
It’s easy to forget that due to injury and fitness issues, Altidore has only played three full competitive matches for the United States since the end of the last qualifying cycle. The US are still wildly better when he is in form and perhaps a good night in Port of Spain can get him moving back in the right direction.
Comments are yours.
Neil W. Blackmon is co-founder of The Yanks Are Coming. He can be reached at nwblackmon@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter @nwblackmon.