The US Men’s National Team suffered a demoralizing defeat last Wednesday at the hands of a Denmark team that failed to advance to the World Cup last summer on the back of Lord Bendtner’s hat trick. This Tuesday the USMNT face Switzerland, a team ranked 13th in the world and who made it to the quarterfinals of the World Cup, losing to eventual runner up Argentina in extra time.
In order to capitalize on the few positives from last week games, and to minimize many of the errors the USMNT conducted, below is a list of the 5 things the USMNT must do to achieve a quality result.
USMNT 5 Keys to Victory against Switzerland
- Possess the ball more
Denmark possessed the ball 60% of the time against the Americans, but whoever created those stats were being generous to the US. Denmark was able to control the ball for the good part of the game, and as a result US often played chase. This not only prevented the US from putting their imprint on the game, but also caused the US to lose form and tire themselves out. One could argue the 2 late goals from Denmark were a result of heavy legs caused by not maintaining possession.
Historically, the US has always struggled in possession. However, Jurgen Klinsmann has stated time and again that the US needs to develop a style of play to be known for. The time is never too late for this. The onus of responsibility will be on Michael Bradley, who played light years better than in the World Cup, but must have the vision, patience and pragmatism to encourage possession amongst his team. As the great Pele said, “He who controls the ball, controls the score”.
- Improve Drastically on Defense
As stated before, it is hard to possess the ball when you can not control the tempo and are always chasing. The best way to hold onto the ball is when you start from the back and control the momentum. The US failed to start well out of the back and it is largely the fault of the back 4. Garza and Chandler played especially poorly but it was a backline that never played together before. Players were continually out of position and man-marking was atrocious. Every goal Denmark scored could have been stopped by better marking, and the innumerable amount of chances Denmark had could have been narrowed by a defender who communicated, corralled and commanded the Defensive line.
- Start Tim Ream and Danny Williams
A remedy for poor communication and leadership is a veteran defender who has started continually for a strong side. Enter Tim Ream, who has played and started for the Bolton Wanders for the better part of 4 years. He has played across the entire defensive line and even in the central midfield, playing against the best of the best in England.
His strongest asset is his passing, something that would be warmly welcomed in step 1 to encourage possession. Additionally, his veteran leadership would facilitate communication amongst a backline which should ideally include Brooks, Orozco and potentially starting Alvarado to see what he can do.
Besides Ream, an additional point of help would be Danny Williams. Williams also played in the Football League Championship for Reading. He has been revitalized since a string of injuries that forced him to miss the World Cup and has been starting for Reading for some time now. He is also a very adept passer with great vision and solid tackling ability. His partnership with Bradley could be extremely beneficial, as Alejandro Bedoya, who started alongside Bradley against Denmark, looked utterly lost. Ream and Williams together could provide strong building blocks towards an improved overall game against the Swiss. While the US can improve possession and organization through these two changes, ultimately the USMNT will need to score to win and this is where a strength the US already has will need to be continued.
- Exploit the budding partnership of Jozy Altidore and Aron Johannson/Jordan Morris
Aron Johannson and Jozy Altidore used to be teammates for dutch side AZ Alkmaar. While they were often substitutes for one another rather than a pairing, it is clear there is a strong relationship between the two. This was seen in the 2nd goal the US scored against Denmark, and is a relationship that will need to continually strengthen in order to stand a chance against the Swiss. Johannson and Altidore are 24 and 25 respectively, and will be in their ultimate prime when Russia comes around in 2018. If this partnership keeps getting stronger, they could be a lethal tandem by then. Johannson has been quoted saying he prefers playing the withdrawn forward and as Altidore possesses the strength and speed to be a hold up forward, this natural connection can create all sorts of problems for the Swiss. The more interplay these two have, the better they will get to know each other, and the more they can anticipate each other’s moves and tendencies, the higher the percentage the US will capitalize and score. UPDATE: Aron Johannson has a Toe infection and will be out. Jordan Morris and Rubio Rubin will now play the counterparts to Altidore. Rubin has 3 goal and 5 assists through 15 games for FC Utrecht in the Dutch league. Jordan Morris is returning to Stanford University to complete his education but is also playing for the Seattle Sounders reserves. Whether the US plays 1 striker or 2 is now up in the air with this recent announcement.
Now that we have looked at how to improve defending, possession and scoring, the only thing left is to…stop one of the better attacks in Europe.
- Stop Shaqiri, Xhaka and Inler for the Swiss.
Switzerland’s strength is in their midfield. Shaqiri plays for Bayern Munich, Xhaka for Borussia Mönchengladbach alongside Fabian Johnson and Inler plays for Italian side Napoli. If the US plays a 4-4-2 again, the US will need their wing midfielders to keep the Swiss honest, and Bradley and Williams will need to play 90 minutes box-to-box, covering Inler and Blerim Dzemaili while picking their spots to go forward. The wing midfielders will not be able to cover Shaqiri and Xhaka alone, and will need the strong support of the US Defense or else the Swiss will have a field day.
The US must be up to the task on Tuesday to stand a chance against the Swiss, but the Swiss are susceptible. The Swiss beat Estonia 3-0 last week but prior to that haven’t played together since March, where they tied Poland 2-2. The US can win but not without possession, an organized defense, and formational integrity to find their chances to win. Coach Klinsmann ultimately will use this game to help further shape the roster for the Gold Cup this summer. Before the Gold Cup in July, the US will play Mexico in April and the Netherlands and Germany in June. The next few months will go a long way in determining whether the US are primed to one day be elite, or are destined to remain simply mediocre on the World’s stage.
