Steve Birnbaum heads home for the US Sunday in the win over Iceland.
Neil W. Blackmon and Jon Levy
Coming off a fun if not largely meaningless 3-2 win over Iceland in the first of the post-January camp friendlies Sunday, the USMNT will look to put a bow on the opening camp of 2016 with a win over Canada tonight at the Stubhub Center (10:15 ET, FS1).
While it is hard to gauge much from friendlies that don’t incorporate the European-based players, it is yet another opportunity for Jurgen Klinsmann and his staff to evaluate the players on whom they have only a paucity of information. The US received solid to strong performances from a host of players against Iceland Sunday afternoon, including US debutants Kellyn Acosta of FC Dallas and Ethan Finlay of the Columbus Crew. This match affords those players, along with other young members of Jurgen Klinsmann’s roster, a chance to prove more in competition, and this time against a Canadian side that has a much fuller complement of traditional options than the Iceland squad comprised almost entirely of Scandanavian-based players the US faced Sunday.
Here’s the customary TYAC preview stuff, and then we’ll dive into specifics.
Series: 33rd meeting: United States lead, 13-8-11. This is the first meeting between the senior North American sides since 2013, and the third consecutive meeting between the senior teams of the two nations that has taken place at the end of a January camp. The Americans are 10-1-9 against Canada all-time on home soil, and hold an impressive 16 game unbeaten streak in the series. Canadians, of course, believe that streak should have ended at the 2007 Gold Cup. Read Daniel Squizzato’s great recollection of that match over at MLS.Com. Following the Iceland win, the US are now 10-2-2 in Carson, outscoring opponents 34-11 in the process.
Weather: 50’s at kick, clear. Basically a perfect evening for football in February.
Julian de Guzman is among the many Canadian regulars in this group. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Carolina Railhawks
What to Watch For From Canada:
As noted in the introduction, a good number of regulars are in this Canada team which has developed a no-nonsense defensive approach under Spaniard Benito Floro. The Canadians are without typical starters Atiba Hutchinson, Junior Hoilett, Milan Borjan and David Edgar- but they still have a veteran, largely-MLS based core and firepower up top in MLS Rookie of the Year and Orlando City starlet Cyle Larin. The plan is simple- stay at home and defend in an organized, responsible and often physical manner in Floro’s 4-1-4-1, and hope Larin’s immense talent can poach one on the other end. It’s been a reasonably successful strategy, though it may mean east coasters watching tonight should put on a cup of coffee. Tonight marks Floro’s 25th game in charge of the Maple Leafs, and the side has played to 0-0 or 1-0 scores in eleven of those fixtures. The Canadians may not will not be too aggressive getting forward, but they will defend. Given that the last two matches between the US and Canada have finished 0-0, and this is an even more tenacious and defensive Canadian team, the Americans will have to grind for a goal tonight.
As for a starting eleven, in goalkeeper, it is a wide open competition. Two options, Maxime Crépeau and Tyson Farago, have MLS and NASL credentials, and both will be looking to establish themselves as the clear #3 behind Milan Borjan and Lars Hirschfeld. Interestingly, 2012 Olympic qualifying hero Michal Misiewicz is already retired, having last played professionally almost two years ago.
In the midfield, the Canadians almost certainly will start longtime stalwart Julian de Guzman, now with the Ottawa Fury, in front of the back four. In front of him, the grouping is anyone’s guess, but will almost certainly include young FC Dallas product Tesho Akindele on one wing and Toronto’s Will Johnson somewhere. Vancouver youngsters Marco Bustos and Kianz Froese will also warrant looks, but it is hard to imagine the Canadians sitting Kyle Bekker as long as he’s called in, given his proficiency on set pieces. While they wait on Akindele to develop as a consistent international level threat outside who can draw defenders out and make it harder to collapse on Larin, Bekker is too important on set pieces to sit.
The Canadians are still searching for the right defensive combinations. Doneil Henry is in camp, but coming off an injury plagued year, it is difficult to know what to expect. Nonetheless, he’s a promising prospect and at 22, already has 14 caps. MLS fans will also recognize Karl Ouimette of Red Bulls, who mostly plays fullback for country, and should start. Wandrille Lefèvre of the Montreal Impact and Whitecaps youth academy product Sam Adekugbe are other MLS options.
All considered, this is a Canadian side that despite a woeful Gold Cup should be on the rise, even if Floro plays deploys his side at times with only a fraction of the ambition often showed by Stephen Hart’s Canadian teams.
What to Watch for From the Yanks:
Not a dress rehearsal, but a rehearsal, which is more than you usually get in an end-of-January camp friendly.
If it wasn’t a World Cup qualifying year, this game would largely be useless, with a spring training feel and a spring training crowd and all eyes on individual performances. But 2016 will feature a meaty portion of the American campaign to qualify for Russia in 2018, and as such, there’s practical value to playing a defense-first, catch you out on the break or nick you on a set piece side. That’s what CONCACAF qualifying is.
As Michael Bradley told TYAC this November, “CONCACAF games are almost always about being patient, being concise with your passes and taking the few chances you are going to get. Almost anyone we play, save two or three countries, are going to sit deep and demand we break them down, especially when we’re at home. So can you stay patient and not give up something because you are pressing and forget about your defensive responsibility? Can you stay in the game and not get frustrated? That’s what these games are.”
These games are grinds and they are often ugly grinds. And the best forward on the field, purely based on form a year ago and despite a promising performance Sunday from a trim and fit Jozy Altidore, is on the other team. Can the Americans find a goal against a team perfectly content to draw?
Position by position…
Sean Johnson is in the camp. Look for Klinsmann to go in that direction after Robles handled the goalkeeping duties Sunday. It would be telling about how far Johnson has fallen in the eyes of the coaches if David Bingham plays instead, given that at a bare minimum, Brad Guzan, Tim Howard, Nick Rimando and Bill Hamid are ahead of him when healthy.
Defensively, Kellyn Acosta has earned another look at fullback. He struggled there at the U-20 World Cup last summer, and wasn’t nearly as influential in the second half of Sunday’s game as he was in the first, but he has the requisite pace to be an influential fullback at the international level. Given the disinterest in the manager/technical director/grand exulted mystic ruler in calling up the best two fullbacks in the American soccer pool- Jon Bornstein and Eric Lichaj– Klinsmann may as well look at players with the pace to matter, especially if they are going to continue hammering away at the diamond or some modification thereof, where the team with the better fullbacks often wins. I’d go with Eric Miller on the right. He’s not flashy, but remember he plays in Canada and has even more familiarity with these guys than the rest of the MLS contingent. That’s also an argument for Tim Parker making a debut too, somewhere in the back.
Center back spots likely to go to Matt Besler (for continuity purposes) and Steve Birnbaum, whose goal and assist Sunday deserve an encore. I’d love to see second half minutes to Matt Polster, who was on my 24 under 24 ballot and I think can has the size and smarts and passing chops to be an effective CB at the international level. Cyle Larin would be a decent first examination, too.
Potential US deployment.
If the US are going to stick with the 4-2-3-1 they played with Sunday (we all know this is a huge if, given Klinsmann’s insistence on remaining maniacally inconsistent), then Michael Bradley sitting behind again will work, whether it is with Jermaine Jones doing more of the defensive work and Bradley given license to get forward a bit or (preferably) with Bradley sitting back and Darlington Nagbe given liberty to read and create. The latter is a combination that could serve the US well all cycle, and in a perfect world, we’d see it now, especially since the game gives Klinsmann a chance to play a top level personnel grouping against an opponent tactically similar to the one the US play next in qualifying (Guatemala).
The three man grouping ahead of that line of two should include Ethan Finlay, who showed promise when he made quick decisions Sunday and encountered problems when he tried to do too much. The game will likely be special for Finlay’s family, who gave him the chance, had he acquired a passport, to play for Canada.
Lee Nguyen received acclaim for his first half Sunday- and he should have- see the map in the tweet- but he faded considerably in the second half and it is that inconsistency that has plagued much of his national team career. For all the calls for more caps- Nguyen has received plenty of looks in the last year. Klinsmann loves consistency- see Orozco, Michael- and if Nguyen showed more of it, he’d be less on the fringe. Tonight is another chance to influence a game for 90 minutes with thoughtful movement and passing.
https://twitter.com/Ben_Jata/status/693915809681403905/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
I’d like Jordan Morris to get a start in the Zardes spot- the Galaxy man was a step behind the action Sunday and missed a sitter of a header from four yards. As good as his 2015 was, there are technical deficiencies in his game and the upside isn’t what you get from Morris. Morris isn’t a natural wide player, but neither is his Stanford buddy Christen Press and the reality is you find a way to get electric playmakers on the field. Morris is that dynamic.
Jozy Altidore looked hungry and fit Sunday. His energy was good and his off-ball movement was as good as I’ve seen it in a US shirt in a while. He also made aggressive runs in the final third, including the one that led to his goal.
At 26, Altidore has 32 goals in a US shirt, good enough for 4th all-time. Imagine what he can do if he brings this type of energy and passion every time out?
US Player to Watch: Matt Besler, Sporting Kansas City
After the Trinidad and Tobago draw in November, I asked Jurgen Klinsmann if in Matt Besler and Geoff Cameron, he had found the CB pairing he searched for in 2015? Was it a case of “meet the old boss…same as the new boss” for the US in the back?
“They have certainly made a very strong case,” Klinsmann said. “They have put in very strong performances (including against Kenwyne Jones, one of the best forwards in CONCACAF) and have been consistent, which is what we are searching for,” he added.
Tonight is another chance for Besler to stake his claim, again with the task of dealing with one of the best forwards in CONCACAF. Larin is a different challenge than Kenwyne Jones. He’s a bit faster, a bit less direct, a bit less polished as a finisher. But he’s also strong in the air and can power you or out-think you and you better take good angles when you defend him. When Matt Besler gets in trouble, it is almost always positionally. With Michael Bradley to trust in front, but otherwise greenhorns all around him, can Besler maintain his focus and hold the line against one of the region’s more dangerous players?
Orlando’s Cyle Larin is one of the region’s most dangerous finishers. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Jon Levy on the Canada Player to Watch: Cyle Larin, Orlando City SC
We get a lot of Canadian snowbirds down here in Florida this time of year, but most of them don’t take our soccer league by storm and force themselves into conversations with former FIFA World Player of the Year winners. Cyle Larin is not your typical snowbird. To my knowledge he doesn’t wear socks with sandals, sunburn easily, or drive like a blind person on angel dust. But we should have known he was gonna be different; he spells Cyle with a “C.” In fact my early (and erroneous) assumption was that a year from Larin being drafted first overall I’d be writing about how I still can’t get over the fact that he spells it “Cyle,” not acknowledging that Orlando City will go as far as Kaká AND LARIN(!) can carry them. But the latter is the case, and young master Larin is just as important to post-DeRo Canada as he is to his MLS team.
It’s not that Canada is devoid of talent either. Tesho Akindele can do so many things in attack, and MLS midfield mainstay Will Johnson might still be Canada’s best player. But unlike either of those guys, and like recent retiree Dwayne De Rosario, Cyle Larin can serve as Canada’s offensive focal point. Some teams run their attack through an advanced midfielder; others pump the ball forward to a powerhouse forward like Larin. It’s the soccer equivalent of a basketball team that looks to feed the post first, and relies on that big man to feel the defense before deciding to kick it back out or go to the hole. The only potential problem with this plan is it requires the young Brampton, Ontario native to take his hold-up game to the next level. Thus far in Larin’s MLS career, Adrian Heath and Kaká have simply asked that the young forward use his considerable size, tremendous power, and straight-line speed to go direct and strike for goal. That plan works for Orlando City. Seventeen goals in 27 matches is a hell of a haul, and unheard of for an MLS rookie. But Larin’s got to give even more to Canada if this team is to stay on track in World Cup Qualifying. If he learns to hold the ball and bring his teammates into the attack as easily as he drops the shoulder and bosses defenders, well, Cyle Larin will have become a Jedi. Umm, my bad. I mean, “the multifaceted forward Canada needs him to be,” not, “a Jedi.” Sorry, I’m twelve years old.
Prediction: USA 1, Canada 1. Larin gets his early. The US claw and scrap and Bradley equalizes late.
Neil W. Blackmon co-founded The Yanks Are Coming. Reach him at nwblackmon@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @nwblackmon.