World Cup Roster React
ALL RIGHT FINE IT STARTS NOW. If you weren't around four years ago or four years before that, when the World Cup rolls around I cover the USMNT like it is the subject of this blog. I'll be interested to see if the ratio of people pleased by this to people disgusted because 'Murica has gone up.
But whatever man. It's the offseason, and I like the World Cup a lot.
Unceremonious
goodnight
That's that for Landon Donovan, who didn't even make the 23. This made me a little EMOTIONAL last night, because I mean seriously.
This man was in a Mexican lottery commercial trying to sneak into Mexico wherein he says "it's easier to win in Mexico," which brings a threat of violence until he explains he's just talking about the awesomeness of Gana Gol. And then he gets kicked out because Mexicans hate Landon Donovan.
Before the existence of Donovan it was impossible to envision Mexican fans hating any specific USA player more than he hated whatever it was the jerseys stood for in their minds, because he killed them in a way no USA player was capable of before. Because Donovan was a little weird, a little effeminate he got saddled with unflattering nicknames like "Landycakes" as soon as anything went wrong with his career. And he may even have (momentarily) lived up to that nickname when he went a little stir-crazy last year. But never forget: Mexico feared Landon Donovan.
And then there's all this other stuff.
The Analytical Hat in re: Donovan
I still don't get it unless Klinsmann's doing it for You Must Step Up purposes. Brad Davis's inclusion is solely because he can play Tiny Beckerman on set pieces and the (very) occasional cross a high-level opponent will let him swing in. He's a legit A in that department; Donovan is at worst a B+ and is also Landon Donovan.
The only thing that makes sense other than hand-waving motivational stuff is that Donovan's performance on the infamous "beep test" was so bad that they couldn't look the rest of the team in the eye and bring him. I don't mind dragging Green along since player #23 is never going to play, so locking that guy down and prepping him for 2018 is worthwhile.
Brad Davis, though? I look at this roster and see no way he's getting in a game. Might as well bring Landon.
The unquestioned man, then
Not that there was much of a question before, but minus Donovan and coming off this display of Keyser Soze-level will…
I'm also told when beep test ended Michael Bradley was still going. Only happened once b4 in #USMNT history when Donovan and Hejduk did it.
— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) May 22, 2014
…Michael Bradley is the engine the team is built around. I mean.
"This will be a World Cup where teams that do well will suffer. We want to be the team that can suffer the most."
This is a man with an armband whether he has it or not.
I've expressed my opinion on this repeatedly elsewhere, but to reiterate: the USMNT looks its best when Bradley is paired with an outright holder and allowed to range upfield as far as he wants. With someone else maintaining a screen to help prevent breaks, Bradley has the fitness to recover when the US is caught out. When Bradley can become part of the rushes upfield on the regular, his passing, vision, and late runs into the box give the US attack verve it lacks otherwise. Bradley also does excellent work providing the kind of high pressure that leads to dangerous turnovers and central backs hoofing it upfield. There is no substitute.
Unfortunately, Klinsmann fave-rave Jermaine Jones is around and likely to start despite his inability to be that player. When paired together it's Jones flying up the pitch more often than not, and generally to little effect other than taking a long shot. Bradley stays back and plays well, but has much less impact on the game. And at this point it's clear that Klinsmann either can't or doesn't want to rein Jones in.
I would prefer Cameron or Beckerman, but with Goodson cut and Gonzalez shaky Cameron is at least the #3 center back and will compete to be #2. Meanwhile Beckerman struggles mightily against speed. The thing he has going for him is that the US has clearly focused on having quick outside backs, which may allow for Beckerman to do his positioning and passing thing as others cover for his lack of range.
Outside backs: fast
Yedlin also brings hair to the table, so much hair that GIS asks you if you'd like to search for not just "Yedlin hair" but "Yedlin hair 2013."
The US cut Parkhurst and Evans to include DeAndre Yedlin, a 20-year-old with one cap to his name, and Timmy Chandler, who hasn't been on the team in six months. And, yeah. Had to do it. Evans and Parkhurst were consistently exploited by low-level players because they simply could not keep up with them, and since they were no less likely to get skinned by the likes of Ronaldo you might as well roll with the guys who can catch up to him after.
Pair with DaMarcus Beasley and you've got a set of gentlemen who can keep up when pressed. Are things going to go spectacularly well there? No. But Evans seemed like a disaster waiting to happen at the World Cup level and I'm saying there's a chance things are okay with Chandler and Yedlin.
Again, I would prefer Fabian Johnson at right back but with the cut of Donovan he is the most obvious choice for left wing. In fact, he is about the only choice.
Who's on the left?
Johnson and Beasley have played a lot on the left side of the US formation. Nobody else on the roster has. And nobody else on the roster seems like a natural fit there. Bedoya and Zusi are right-sided players, Johannsson and Green are striker types, Diskerud is a central player… what happens if injury or cards knock out either one of the presumptive left sided starters?
A: the other one plays left back and the US tries something along the lines of what it was doing with Eddie Johnson playing "left wing" as an in-cutting player trying to get a shot off with his stronger right foot. That could be Dempsey if the US is in a two-striker formation with Bradley its defacto attacking mid; it is most likely to be Johannsson, who has a combination of speed and deftness on the ball that no one else on the roster does except possibly Green, who is… wait for it… really green.
Johannsson does have experience on both wings, and while he says he wants to play closer to the box, in-cutting wingers opposite crossing specialists (hi, also hi) are very close to strikers anyway.
The only thing about that in-cutting formation is that it does place demands on your left back to be a high-placed defacto winger… and demands on your right back to be quite good defensively. (Like the 4-3 under is halfway between a 4-3 even and a 3-4, a setup like this is kind of halfway between a 4-4-2 and a 4-2-3-1.) In the event that Johannsson ends up as a left winger that might be a spot where you play Cameron at right back.
Chance to start against Ghana rankings
- Michael Bradley
- Tim Howard
- Clint Dempsey
- Fabian Johnson
- DaMarcus Beasley
- Matt Besler
- Jozy Altidore
- Jermaine Jones
- Graham Zusi
- Geoff Cameron
- Timmy Chandler
- Omar Gonzalez
- DeAndre Yedlin
- Aron Johannson
- Kyle Beckerman
- Alejandro Bedoya
- Mix Diskerud
- Julian Green
- Brad Guzan
- Chris Wondolowski
- John Brooks
- Brad Davis
- Nick Rimando
WAG at what it looks like
Don't take this bit too seriously, as Klinsmann has shown a penchant for changing things based on opponent. Bob Bradley would settle on a thing and roll it out over and over; Klinsmann has been experimenting.
But the most likely things is the 4-2-3-1 he's been rolling out on and off since his arrival:
Altidore
Johnson Dempsey Zusi
Jones Bradley
Beasley Besler Cameron Chandler
I would prefer something like the 4-4-2 diamond they tried out in a recent friendly, with Bradley dropping back when faced with opponent possession and Dempsey moving under Altidore to provide an outlet and link to Altidore up top.
WITH THE BALL
Altidore Dempsey
Bradley
Johnson Zusi
Beckerman
Beasley Besler Cameron Chandler
WITHOUT THE BALL
Altidore
Dempsey
Johnson Zusi
Beckerman Bradley
Beasley Besler Cameron Chandler
I do think the Johannson-as-left wing scenario is in the mix, in which case Johnson would likely bump Beasley at left back and Cameron may flip to RB and allow Gonzalez to enter.
How I'm feeling
Nervous, man. This was supposed to be the last hurrah for this generation of players, but there are only five guys on the whole team who were at the last World Cup. This is uncharted territory for everyone save Dempsey, Bradley, Beasley, and Howard. I mean:
The last time Landon Donovan didn’t start for the US in the World Cup, Thomas Dooley was the captain and Preki came off the bench.
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) May 23, 2014
But I guess I'd be nervous anyway.
The importance of technical proficiency has only gone up as modern fitness and training standards have changed the game. You watch WC games from as recently as the '82 world cup and you see players with a lot more time and space to operate in. Players then were in nowhere near the shape they are now. Most of the Clockwork Orange team smoked heavily as did Socrates, and I'm sure a bunch of other guys. Players just couldn't run and press to the extent they do today. With less space, the ability to have an immaculate first touch and close control is ever more important, particularly with games that are compressed into 30 - 40 yards of space around the ball.
This is why, if you go to youth games today, you see mostly small sided games in small spaces, where players get a lot of touches and have to work on technique rather than the kind of kick and run games I grew up in. (There was a great recent grantland article about how the Belgian national team trains like this today)
Two Words:
Denard Robinson.
Brian clearly knows a lot about the game. It's a shame he wastes futball posts on an increasingly irrelevant entity like international play and the mediocre USMNT instead of European club play.
You provide an interesting template.
_Human_ knows a lot about the game. It's a shame he wastes _sport-I'm-passionate-about_ posts on an increasingly irrelevant entity like _league-I-don't-particularly-care-for_ and the mediocre _team-I-don't-particularly-care-for_ instead of _the-vastly-Superior-League-I-care-about_.
Seems like a lot of opinion-bashing for something a person has decided to care about. Let's try it out on something a bit closer to home:
Brian clearly knows a lot about the game. It's a shame he wastes football posts about an increasingly irrelevant entity like the B1G and the mediocre Michigan team instead of the Glorious SEC.
EDIT: The post I was originally replying to appears to have gone the way of the buffalo.
Dos a cero! clap clap clapclapclap /repeat
It's a complete mystery to me why they can't get Jermaine Jones to play the #6 role (sitting in front of the back four, screening the centerbacks, and providing a passing link/pressure release between defense and players further up field) but he's never proven willing to do that.
Beckerman is severely limited athletically, but he plays that role very well. If Jones is unwilling to discipline himself and stay at home as a defensive mid, I really hope we see Beckerman (or Cameron, who would probably be even better there) in that role. It so frees Bradley up to drive the attack and to conserve his energy (Bradley's one fault is a tendency to chase so much on defense that he both gets out of position and wears himself out by the 80th minute), and a transcendent Bradley is the US's best chance to advance.
The other really scary position is that second centerback. Besler seems fine but Gonzalez is good for one terrible mistake every game, plus he's recovering from a knee thing. The coaches have to hope that Brooks gained a lot of experience over the second half of the Bundesliga season.
I am pretty surprised that Goodson didn't make the team more so than Donovan. Brooks hasn't played much for us and Cameron has been playing as a full back or midfielder so there is not much depth there in my eyes.
Let me preface this by saying I don't follow soccer all that closely, though I do enjoy it.
Can someone tell me why Eddie Johnson isn't on the team? Is he hurt or not as good as I remember from my infrequent viewings.
Also, keep it up Brian. Definitly enjoyed following the 2010 WC on this here blog
As a DC United fan I was super pumped to get EJ from Seattle (he more or less forced a move out of Seattle to be the #1 guy and more importantly get paid like the #1 guy) but he's been pretty mediocre since coming to DC. DC was a buring train wreck of a team last season (already we have more points in 10 games than we had in 34 last year) that rebuilt on the fly by signing a bunch of good MLS veterans that were too expensive for other teams to keep (we had the cap and allocation room) and so it's basically a brand new team (only returning starters are our keeper who is the 4th keeper for the US despite being 23, our defensive midfielder who often captains the U-23 teams, and one of our attacking midfielders). EJ has not fit in very well with the new crowd and doesn't look particularly sharp. Before scoring his first goal last week he hadn't scored in the first 8 matches of the season AND he didn't even threaten to score in those games. JK decided between being out of form and being a somewhat selfish player (who else makes a money sign and says "Pay Me" after scoring?) that he wasn't needed on this squad. Personally, talent wise, I think he's a way better player than Wondo but he won't run through any brick walls for anyone, especially when a new contract isn't on the line.
Thanks for helping me out
The United States while inexperienced has more weapons than ever before. Michael Bradley is a world-class player who will control the center of the pitch. Dempsey is still a dangerous goal scorer and while Altidore had a rough year with Sunderland he still scored tons of goals for the US in the past 2 years and is a freak of an athlete.
Combine those three with Zusi, Fabian Johnson, Jermaine Jones we have a very powerful attack that should score plenty of goals. Having Julien Green on your bench will be a blessing. Speed kills and this US has more speed than any other US team before.
The defense is young and truthfully not very good but the outside backs have speed to jump into the offense and have the ability to catch their opponent if they get burned.
Lastly, goalies play huge roles in soccer games and Tim Howard is a world-class goalie and will be the best goalie in the group.
Ghana has defeated us the past 2 world cups but their 2014 squad is much worse than 2010 and 2006. US is the far better team and should win this game by a goal or two.
Portugal has Ronaldo who has the ability to take over any game. Yeldin is part of the 23-man squad just to follow Ronaldo the whole game because he has the speed to keep up with him. Control Ronaldo and Portugal is beatable, they always underachieve in the world cup.
Lastly, Germany. Playing the Germans in the final game could be a blessing if they already have 6 points and are guaranteed a spot in the knockout stage.
Cant wait for June 12th for the greatest sporting event in the world to start. Go USA.
but there is no way i see hypothetical matchup between ballon d'or winner ronaldo and 18 year old mls defender Yedlin being anything but doom.
Well, you probably won't see that match-up...
In almost every other group I'd say Howard is the best keeper, but Manuel Neuer is better than Howard. Without Neuer, Bayern doesn't have anywhere near as good of a season as they did this year.
That being said, Germany has a ton of injury problems right now (Lars Bender is now out with an injury) and Neuer also has a shoulder injury from the Deutsche Pokal final against Borussia Dortmund. That game is getting progressively more winnable as Germany's players continue to drop like flies.
Neuer is proably the best keeper in the world at this point (Courtois being right there with him).
Portugal also has a really good keeper in Rui Patrico. If he played outside of Portugal people would realize this. His ceiling is just as high as Howard's but both can be inconsistent at times. It'll really depend on their form that day to see who the better keeper is.
With that said, the US has 2 keepers that could start on any of the AFC, CAF, or other CONCACAF teams. In Europe and South America it's a bit trickier but I'd say Howard and Guzan could both start for Argentina (Romero isn't special), Brazil (Julio Cesar is still good but he's playing in MLS now and hasn't played much in the last year or so), Chile, Colombia (not saying much), Ecuador (also not saying much), Uruguay (I think Muslera is way overrated), Croatia (their biggest weakness IMHO is in net), England (no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no more dandruff is the most inconcistent keeper in Manchester and that's saying a lot with De Gea playing down the road), the Netherlands (Vorm is good, especially playing a sweeper type role, but Howard and Guzan are better), Greece (how they continue to get into these touranments is a mystery to me), Russia (Akinfeev has plateaued the last 2-3 years and needs to get out of Russia to develop more), and Switzerland (I like Benaglio but Guzan is better than him).
Last point is key. Root really hard for Germany against Ghana and Portugal. We really want them to have 6 points going into the final game so that they rest some guys, particularly since the US will be coming off an incredibly physically draining game in Manaus.
Incredibly biased. Bradley is good. He is nowhere near world class, by any reasonable definition. Have you ever even seen guys like Xavi, Yaya Toure, Alonso and Ozil play?
Howard better than Neuer? Seriously, get the eff out of here. That is offensive ignorance.
"control ronaldo"
Love the casualness of that remark.
"Guard Jordan and the Bulls are beatable", said an internet message board poster back in the mid 90's
But I cannot agree with a lot of things you said.
Hope you are right in the end though.
Also, playing germany is never a blessing. Their mentality in soccer is to score as much as they can whenever they can. They will not rest starters even if they have the group won. I will put money on it. That team is like a bunch of soccer playing cyborg death machines.
Maybe Jurgen can whisper sweet nothings in their ears in German.
But I cannot agree with a lot of things you said.
Hope you are right in the end though.
Also, playing germany is never a blessing. Their mentality in soccer is to score as much as they can whenever they can. They will not rest starters even if they have the group won. I will put money on it. That team is like a bunch of soccer playing cyborg death machines.
I enjoy watching my kids play soccer, and it IS the off season . . .
I'm just afraid that this is the start of a slippery slope that will end with 24/7 Quidditch coverage.
Don't live in fear man! It's only once every 4 years.
I live on the other side of the pond now and have come to appreciate the excitment that the 'finality' of the WC competetion brings. It's so different from our American sports that seem to keep adding extra playoffs, extra races, extra playoffs for the playoffs...
There's something about knowing you have to wait 4 more years for another shot that adds that extra measure of exhilaration. (or extra agony for my adopted country!)
Julian Green was tied to the United States when he filed his one-time switch with FIFA. Immediately upon doing that, he could never play for Germany again at any level.
He didn't need to play for the US against Mexico to be cap-tied and certainly didn't need to go to Brazil for eligibility purposes.
My favourite part of mgoblog's 2010 World Cup coverage was the guy who would show up to say "get this crap off of my mgoblog" in the comment sections. Telling the founder, proprietor, and main content contributor of the blog what he can and can not post whileclaiming ownership of said blog takes balls, man.
As for the 2014 World Cup, I am an Irish-Canadian and like usual have no rooting interest. So much fun.
However, the next couple of World Cups look even less appealing to go visit than Brazil. Qatar and Russia bleh. Qatar is at least going to be in winter so fans won't feel like committing suicide when they leave the air conditioned hotel but no alcohol? What's the World Cup without drunk fans? Russia sucks even more for obvious reasons. If you're plane doesn't crash who wants to shell out money to be threatened because you're an American. Good job FIFA. You fucked up both decisions. A joint Belgium/Netherlands or Spain/Portugal tournament would have been super fun in 2018 (beats Russia anyday) and Australia in 2022 would have been sweet (if the US didn't win).
Guess it means 2026 here I come! A joint US/Canada deal is possible, Colombia wants in (super safe I'm sure) as does Mexico (again super safe). Any South American destination seems unlikely with Brazil getting this years (2038 is my bet for the next South American tournament and it'd likely be in Chile or Argentina). I'd like to see Europe get one soon, maybe Italy or England. A British tournament with games in Scotland, Wales and England would be sweet. The question is, does China make a bid anytime soon? They suck at soccer but FIFA has continuously pushed awarding new emerging markets with the World Cup.
As a huge USMNT fan and an American Outlaw, I'm terrified for the cup. I think we're in trouble, and I just don't want to deal with the anti-soccer people using this as proof that America is bad as soccer.
1-1 Ghana
0-2 Portugal
1-3 Germany.
fans around the would respect US soccer? I'm inclined to think no. We are the wealthiest and most diverse country in the world yet we cannot field an elite soccer team to save our lives. Meanwhile Brazil produces the best talent in the world despite having 120 million less people than we do and no where near the financial resources.
When it comes to the World Cup I always list the teams I want to win: Italy, Germany,and England. I never factor in the US because I know the US is to the World Cup what Northern Illinois is to College Football
It is hard to overcome when the soul and nostalgic nation dont want it to succeed.
You don't want the US to win because they're not as good? Wow.
You know, this, I think, is a small part of the problem the US has in soccer: no other country in the world has so many of its residents rooting for other countries instead. I doubt that sort of thing goes unnoticed abroad.
"I just don't want to deal with the anti-soccer people using this as proof that America is bad as soccer. "
Well, uh . . . Yikes.
This is pretty much how I see it going:
- GER 7
- Portugal 5
- USA 2
- Ghana 1
Although...beat Ghana, tie Portugal and lose to an already qualified Germany by only 1 = slide through on goal differential?
- GER 7
- USA 4
- Portugal 4
- Ghana 2
The thing about tough groups there are no easy games for anybody. You can weasel your way into the #2 with a little luck.
Your 2nd scenario is spot on. In reverse order:
1. Park the bus against Germany
2. Fight like hell and draw Portugal
3. Beat Ghana like they knocked us out of the last two Cups (wait...)
Not a US fan but that's pretty much how I can see the US getting through. Beat Ghana (easier said than done...) and fight out a draw with Portugal. Don't get smoked by Germany and US can grab second.
Sounds so simple on paper, but it was a terrible draw.
If we win though, I'm sure someone will tell me and I'll be glad to know the USA is good at another sport. If not, for a non soccer fan like me, it won't change my day at all.
With that said, here is for hoping we do well for those of you that like soccer.
Right there with ya, buddy.
But then you see things like this http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2014/soccer/wires/05/23/2050.ap.soc.wc… including the elder Klinsmann's reaction (obvious lies) and you think maybe the personality thing is what it's all about after all..And the German-American thing. I've read other explanations but none seem even 1/10 as likely as personal stuff.
one small request: can we have jumps in the soccer posts?
Johannon
Dempsey
Johnson Zusi
Mix Bradley
Yedlin Besler OG Cameron
If you're going to bring the kids, you might as well play them.
It sounded to me like some of the ESPN radio guys were intimating that Donovan was unlikely to be a positive guy on the bench, comparing him to Kobe in that regard. Others suggested he wasn't a guy JK "understood". I have zero reason to think that's true, just passing it on.
As for soccer on the blog, obviously it's your blog. But, there are a lot of sports fans out there who can appreciate a big event and be appreciative of some additional color even if they're not a fan of the sport during the regular season. For me, I'm half way between that guy and you guys who abbreviate the US team as USMNT and can compare options at left midfield. So, I'm all for it.
But, I'm not rooting for Germany. I still haven't recovered from the 1982 semifinals.
What's happened to Mix the last year plus - about 18 months ago he was a bit of a boy wonder with some sweet playmaking skills and actual 1 v 1 ability. Now he seems an afterthought.
As I have stated on another piece in the discussion board - that center defense is so scary I just don't see much happening even if they were in an easier group. I think JK is building for 2018 in Russia, and this is sort of a throw away tournament. I do like our midfield if they are on point but lack of striker (as always) and that scary defense will negate world class GK and pretty solid midfield corp. Maybe we go like Spain and just go no striker ;)
I think JK is, in his mind, doing everything to win now, not in 2018. That said, his mind doesn't quite seem to be aligned with what most other people are seeing. If he were thinking of 2018 instead of 2014, he should be fired on the spot.
I agree with you to some extent about the central D. Although if we were in, say Mexico's group, I'd still say we'd be favorites to make the round of 16, even with Besler and whoever. TBH I'm equally worried about the outside defenders. Beasley... can he really keep it up? He did all right in qualifying but constantly looked one play away from giving up a gamebreaker. And on the right... I don't even know. Midfield and goal are the most important positions in soccer, and we are solid there - our two traditional American strengths. But you gotta have something on D, and our guys scare me there.
Looking forward to watch the WC. I know just a little about soccer and I could use Brian's commentary to help me better understand. Borges isn't coaching the US team is he?
One of my daughters played serious club soccer in the 90's and she met most of the US Women's team plus saw a couple of games in Chicago during the Women's WC. It was an awesome experience. Great atmosphere, good drama and plenty of excitement. Highly recommend attending a WC game if you have the opportunity.
I think we have a decent shot of advancing. I would honestly put it at 90% Germany, 40% for both the US and Portugal, and 30% for Ghana as far as advancing goes.
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