Jozy Altidore returned to help the US breeze past St. Vincent and the Grenadines 6-0 in World Cup qualifying.
Neil W. Blackmon
The United States defeated St. Vincent and the Grenadines 6-0 Friday afternoon in Kingstown, St. Vincent in Fourth Round CONCACAF World Cup 2018 qualifying action. The win spoiled a national holiday in the tiny island nation and puts the Yanks on the edge of the final round HEX which will determine which CONCACAF sides advance to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The US can advance to the HEX as early as Friday evening, should Trinidad and Tobago defeat Guatemala in Port-of-Spain.
Entering Friday afternoon’s contest, the US under Jurgen Klinsmann had struggled in World Cup qualifying against Caribbean island nations, with a defeat at Jamaica, a draw with Trinidad and Tobago and 90th minute winning goal against Antigua and Barbuda among the results. And for nearly half an hour Friday, it looked to be more of the same. Then Bobby Wood curled a shot from the top left corner of the area past a diving Lemus Christopher and the US were off to the races.
Four thoughts on the American victory.
Sacha Kljestan was a difference maker for the United States midfield.
Back in a US camp for the first time in 2 years, Sacha Kljestan made an immense difference.
Much was made in our preview of the fact the US would, for the first time in a decade, be playing a meaningful soccer game without at least one of the trio of Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey available.
Without Bradely’s precise diagonals from deep positions, Jones’s marauding runs, and Dempsey’s ability to drop deep to link the American center to the top- the US 4-4-2 could seem disjointed and flat. And while Jozy Altidore and Bobby Wood have had productive moments for the United States, neither is a like for like replacement for Dempsey. The lack of the Texan playmaker demanded the US add a more technical, creative facilitator to link to the top and get in between the lines and pressure the Vincy defense.
Unfortunately, in the first half, Jurgen Klinsmann rejected the most obvious option- Sacha Kljestan- in favor of an old guard midfield grouping of Kyle Beckerman and Alejandro Bedoya, slotted central. Bedoya’s a fine ball mover, but he’s not as creative an option as Kljestan, and as a result, the US was left with little bite in the center of the pitch.
US passing map through 20 mins. Who needs central midfield anyway? #SVGvUSA pic.twitter.com/HLHqljON17
— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) September 2, 2016
Instead, the US attempted to cycle the ball to the flanks, moving the ball to an advanced (finally!) Fabian Johnson and asking him to do a lot of the work in pressuring and drawing out St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ defenders. To some extent, Johnson looked like a player batting 100 degree heat and coming off heavy Champions League and league schedule. But he executed well enough to allow the US plan to half-work:the US generated a pair of good early chances but St. Vincent adjusted quickly, acknowledging that the US had little centrally.
In many ways, it was fitting that the US breakthrough came the old-fashioned way- route one football with Altidore dropping deeper to receive the ball in Zone 14 and cycling it quickly towards an incutting Johnson, who appeared to misplay the ball but see it fall conveniently to Bobby Wood, who curled a well-placed shot into the net.
It was a beautiful goal earned more with grit than tactical nous, but it opened the floodgates.
The second US goal- a sentimental one scored by Matt Besler on the day his daughter Parker was born- was a product more of shambolic defending than anything else, and the final US goal of the first half- a well-struck Altidore PK, was also more about St. Vincent’s lack of technical quality than anything else.
In the second half, the US struggled again, looking disinterested defensively and out of ideas offensively until the insertion of Sacha Kljestan and Christian Pulisic. But it was the Red Bulls man’s presence in the center of the pitch that had the largest influence.
Oh weird?! @SachaKljestan is good?!
— Benny Feilhaber (@b_feilhaber22) September 2, 2016
Kljestan’s ability to see and understand space, find it, play passes into it and transition effectively from distributor to attacking fulcrum, are qualities in short supply in the US player pool. And playing in the midst of the best season of his career, in a position that finally suits him, appears to make all the difference.
The Americans’ fourth goal, a quick possess and turn flick pass from Kljestan, sent from his off foot to Christian Pulisic, running into space, was as attractive a technical goal as the United States have scored in some time.
GOOOOOAAAAL!
@cpulisic_10 nets a fourth for @ussoccer. 0-4. #Russia2018 https://t.co/ZciAVHb7o0— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) September 2, 2016
It’s worth remembering the plays came against a team of diminished quality, to say the least. But that’s not anything Sacha Kljestan can control. What he can control is whether he improves the play of the US when he’s on the field, regardless of opponent. And he did that without question today.
Jurgen Klinsmann needs to help his defense by settling on a goalkeeper.
The US Needs to Settle on a Goalkeeper for the HEX to help the defense, especially on set pieces.
Most the US defensive lapses Friday afternoon were about communication, and most came on or just off dead balls. Part of this is about the continued American goalkeeper rotation.
Tim Howard and Brad Guzan are different goalkeepers. Each have different manners and ways of communicating with their defensive line, organizing for set pieces, positioning and commanding an area. The US train with both, which limits the ability to get comfortable with either.
Set piece defense was a problem at the Copa America, and a new training camp doesn’t appear to have corrected the problem.
The problem was evident on more than one St. Vincent and the Grenadines set piece, and when Brad Guzan tipped away an Oalex Anderson header in the 26th minute after a miscommunication between Geoff Cameron and DeAndre Yedlin, it almost put the United States in a hole.
Tim Howard will start Tuesday night against Trinidad and Tobago in Jacksonville, which may or may not be a mere formality. Either way, the US defense will have to deal with new cadences, commands and positioning, and the risk of confusion is high.
It’s understandable for Jurgen Klinsmann to want to keep Tim Howard and Brad Guzan in the fold, and choosing one over the other for the Hex certainly risks alienating the odd man out. But Howard has already shown a capacity for serving as a backup keeper, doing so with dignity and aplomb at the Copa America this summer.
For the betterment of the side, Jurgen Klinsmann should again decide between the two.
It was good to have Jozy Altidore back.
Healthy and playing some of the best soccer of his career- Jozy Altidore scored a goal and helped create another for the United States in Kingstown Friday afternoon. Altidore has been one of the best players in MLS since the league returned from the Copa America break, and in the absence of Clint Dempsey, his role in these two matches was always going to be critical.
It was nice to see him show off the improved passing, mature hold up play and improved work rate that have been the hallmark of the season he’s having in Toronto. The goal- his 35th as an American at only 26 years of age- was a nice reward, and it vaulted him past Eric Wynalda and into an impressive third on the all-time US international goalscorer list. The only two players ahead of him? Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan. That’s a good day’s work.
Finally, after his two goal day, Christian Pulisic hype right now is basically the Mother of Dragons.
https://twitter.com/nwblackmon/status/771821953711677440
Onto Jacksonville then. A win would secure the group for the United States, and assure that they open the HEX with a match this autumn against Mexico, likely in Columbus, Ohio.
Neil W. Blackmon co-founded The Yanks Are Coming. Follow him on Twitter @nwblackmon.