For the US National Team, from 1990 through the last world cup winning has always been a question of defending like crazy and hoping a goal comes from somewhere. This has changed. Now we have a good combination of speed, power, and creativity in our first team that means we can score against any team in the world. Bradley Sr. really just needs to get the defensive tactics correct - which happened pretty much by accident in the Confederations Cup - and we need to keep possession a bit better (above 45%, minimum, even against the very best opponents). In contrast, the Gold Cup final showed us what can happen when the tactics are wrong.
Let's look at the US attack. Altidore and Davies present a real threat and cause defensive problems with a combination of speed and power. Speed always kills in international football, simply because defenses don't play together enough to deal with it using teamwork as effectively as they often do on the club level. Filling out the roster, Ching isn't an attacking substitute you'd like to see when you're down a goal, but I can see him as a useful substitute when you have the lead with 30 minutes to go, are facing pressure and need more posession. I just don't see Conor Casey as a good option at the international level and hope Cooper excels at his new German club and relieves him of his spot prior to the World Cup.
Luckily, the versatality of our attack-minded midfielders makes the lack of quality off the bench at forward less of a problem. Dempsey has shown for the US and Fulham that he has a gift for finding space and scoring important goals. He easily can slot in at forward in a more conservative starting eleven or to cause problems late in the game. He uses a freer role more effectively than Donovan, getting in position to score himself rather than just setting the table.
Save against Mexico and the CONCACAF minnows, I've always considered Donovan something of an underachiever at the international level. However, he finally impressed me during the Confederation's Cup and began to show he's capable of playing both ways against the best opposition. Hopefully this is a sign that he's developing the footballing intelligence to go with his technical skills, because his tendency to kill promising moves with questionable decisions is enormously frustrating. He seems to do better when given more defensive responsibility in midfield because it puts him in position to better use his speed with the ball in attack. Given the delayed developmental path American players take, these two players are just entering their prime.
His early performances suggest Feilhaber might just be embarking on his break-out season, and could be an option to start or be a killer sub when spaces begin to open in the final 30 minutes of a match. I've not seen Torres play myself, but many rate him highly as the type of player that could help keep more possession. A big plus for Torres is he plays in these conditions every week in the Mexican league. Holden is a decent option off the bench in wide midfield. These are the type of promising young players, which we might see off the bench.
Now let's consider our defense, starting with the back four's cover in central midfield. Bradley and Clark are both combative midfield "destroyers" rather than true holding players. Once suspected to be a beneficiary of nepotism, Michael Bradley has more than proven himself as the best destructive option in central midfield on this roster. Ideally Bradley should partner with a more attacking player that can create and keep possession while he stays at home or a true holding player giving him free reign to play the destroyer role and apply pressure in midfield. When he and Clark play together they have a tendency to over-commit, both pressuring the ball, leaving the sort of space in front of the back four that was exploited by Giuseppe Rossi for Italy in the Confederations Cup.
Bob Bradley, however, seems to like deploying 2 destroyers, even though it restricts our ability to keep possession under pressure, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Clark. Given there's no true holding midfielder in this roster, the only other option seems to make it a choice between Torres and Feilhaber playing in midfield along with Bradley. With the upcoming arrival of Jermaine Jones into the mix as a true holding player and the expected return of Maurice Edu from injury, Bradley has a wealth of tactical options in central midfield, all capable of playing at a high level.
In the back four, the central defensive partnership is set: Onyewu and DeMerit. There is really no need to discuss it - they work well together with Gooch bringing the muscle while DeMerit brings the tactical awareness to sweep up danger. Out on the wings, Bob Bradley has to realize, we no longer need to have fullbacks overlap to score goals and it may be a bad tactical choice against good counterattacking teams with quality up top. Unlike the teams that successfully deploy wing backs, we tend to be erratic in maintaining possession and we don't have a true holding player to fill the exposed gaps. Fullbacks should be instructed to be conservative in their runs and maintain the defensive shape, even if we fall behind. They should rarely venture further forward than the sort of spots where Spector's deep crosses led to a pair of Dempsey goals in the Confederations Cup. The fullbacks sudden urgency to get into advanced positions and get a goal back left our centre backs completely exposed and was the prime reason we conceded 5 goals against Mexico in the Gold Cup final.
On this roster, Bornstein is really the worst offender in this regard. His speed tempts him to be tactically naive, leaving all that space and hoping it won't be used effectively. It's not as if his crosses will be missed and he tends to congest things on the left. When he gets beyond Dempsey, as he does far too frequently, there's no longer any support from the fullback to help maintain possession. Passing options break down, leaving Dempsey to take a defender on, or attempt a difficult pass, often losing possession and putting the left side under pressure. This leaves some fans frustrated with Dempsey when it's more a consequence of Bornstein's ill-advised forward runs. Much better for the left back to simply stay at home and support the midfield in maintaining possession, especially under the conditions at Azteca.
To a large extent, this explains the sudden defensive improvement when Bocanegra took up the left-back position. I think Bradley has a quandary here - Bocanegra will be more conservative, but he's a central back playing on the wing against a speedy Mexican attack. A more disciplined Bornstein with clear instructions on how far forward he's allowed to venture may be the best option here. We won't really know unless one or the other of them is exposed. There is a similar predicament with a toss-up for the other fullback position with Spector and Cherundolo in competition for the spot on the right. Given their respective performances in the Confederations cup and Gold Cup, I'd say that's Spectors spot to lose.
As for defensive options left off this roster, Frankie Hejduk on the right has all the downsides of a Bornstein but his work rate makes it look like less of a problem - it still leaves the centre backs exposed. I'm hoping that Edgar Castillo is a bit more disciplined than Bornstein, can keep possession out of the back more effectively, put in more threatening crosses when he does get forward and becomes the more attacking option at left back.
As for the 3 Houston player on the roster. It may annoy the people who feel Bob is putting loyalty to certain players above fielding the best team, but given the weather we're likely to face at Azteca, these guys do play under the most similar conditions. It even almost makes sense considering the conditions. If we see Bornstein start, this is probably the reason why. He needs clear instructions not to run beyond the left midfielder. I think we may see Torres start as well. I feel like Bradley might want to hold one of his best players back. I would almost (but not quite) like to see Holden start on the left with Dempsey coming on 15 minutes into the second half. Alternatively, we could see Dempsey at forward with Altidore and see Davies for Holden and Ching for Altidore with Dempsey dropping back to midfield. I think it's just as likely we'll see the starting line-up from the Confederation's Cup.
Here's my formation, starters and potential substitutes:
| Altidore | |||
| Dempsey | |||
| Holden | Torres | Donovan | |
| Bradley | |||
| Bornstein | Onyewu | DeMerit | Spector |
| Howard | |||
Possible Tactical Substitutes:
Attacking:Davies for Holden/Altidore at 60-70 minutes.
Feilhaber for Torres/Holden at 45-60 minutes.
Defensive:
Bocanegra for Bornstein at first sign of trouble.
Ching for Altidore/Holden at 60-75 minutes
Clark for Torres at 75-80 minutes
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