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Coming off the U.S. men's national team's Gold Cup opening 2-0 win against Canada, head coach Bob Bradley has a quick turnaround before Saturday's Group C match-up against Panama. He will have just a few days to decide whether to stick with the lineup that beat Canada, or make some changes.
There weren't many negative performances among the starters vs. Canada. In fact, there were more standout matches than there were worrisome ones.
What changes could Bradley make? None really standout. Maurice Edu looked solid as a substitute in his brief appearance against Canada, but the combination of Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones was so dominant it's tough to see them not starting together again.
The truth is it seems like a safe bet we'll see the same lineup against Panama, with a win basically clinching the group and making the third group game against Guadeloupe a match Bradley can rest starters.
What lineup would you like to see against Panama? Think Bradley should start the same group?
Share your thoughts below.
This would be fun to tinker with on the video game console of your choice, but it will never happen in actual competition. Bob will trot out the same lineup we saw against Candada, (and he should). The team is just starting to show some understanding and continuity, (Bradley and Jones, Goodson and Ream, etc.) and now is not the time to experiment with wild lineups and formations. Go wild on FIFA11 with the fantasy lineups though…
If I give you some money…would you send me a box of Romeo Y Julieta short Churchills?
You can’t have Lando and Dempsey both on the right side…sorry Charlie
OCheck this out, just for s&g, id love to see this lineup(and yes im aware its psychotic and would never happen):
Timmy
Dolo, boca,lichaj(or whoever bb thinks best)
Altidore,bradley,jones,bedoya(or edu)
Adu
Donovan, dempsey
Crazy?more like psychotic, but let me rationalize abit.
First, keep in mind this is panama not spain that we r playin. Would this defense get scored on in this game? Most likely, but not often so no problem.
Heres my thinking: with bradley, jones in the middle still our defense will have all the help it needs against the likes of panama, as well as solid play switching from defense to offense. Imho altidore has always been most impressive when he has the ball at his feet driving down the rt sideline where he usually either puts in a decent cross like vs canada and vs costa rica Rt after cd9 accident, or he drives to the baseline then passes to the penalty spot. Bedoya would probably be just as serviceable on the left.
then you have adu who I have never seen have a bad game for the mnt despite club form, and who was fantastic vs spain and argentina two years ago and qould probably be quite effective with ld and deuce to combine with.
As for ld and deuce, we know deuce can play forward wonderfully, and donovan is a natural second forward who always plays rt wing for the mnt cuz there are no better options.
Honestly, I feel a lineup like this vs panama would end the game with something like a 6-1 scoreline.
No I wud not do this if I were coach, but id sure love to watch wat mite happen if bb did do this.
outcome would either be huge win, or disappointing loss after which bb gets canned,. Either way its a win-win!
Your thoughts?
Washington Post said he was the best player in camp.
Agreed to above and below. same starters, subs in the 60th minute.
This is actually the team I am most concerned about. They will park the bus but they are very fast on the counter. Just marginal enough to be not taken seriously but god enough to punish you for it.
I’m looking for a bit of a slow start and maybe Panama getting an early lead, but I think the boys will stay patient rally and put their mark on things, hopefully going a long way toward gelling for the coming rounds in the process. Come On You Yanks!
Jones had a great game… the guy was a work horse, it wouldn’t be dumb to sub him
add “and Holden” after “Chandler” and you get a +1
I think if Panama thinks it can bunker and counter they are mistaken. Didn’t Guadeloupe score 2 goals against Panama when Guadeloupe were down to 10 men? (or do I have the wrong game?)
Against a bunkered defense, I think Wondo would be a better choice than Agudelo simply because he has a knack for getting onto the end of service into the box in a crowd.
*an asset…..
I suspect we will see Gooch in this game. He is rested after game one, and Perez and Baloy are HUGE players, and throw their size around on set pieces. Gooch’s size would be in asset in this game.
Don’t think you bring a player to a tournament just to assess where he’s at with his attitude. Each player is there because Bradley sees them as offering something to the team.
Adu is creative, that’s why he’s there.
I thought Sasha did better than the other subs. Also, he looks more comfortable now in making decisions to release the ball rather than keep it through indecision.
It seemed to me that in the past he was not sure what to do with the ball and ended up holding it in spots that did not call for that. The result was that he ended up either dribbling until he lost the ball or waited to make a pass until he was pressured into just getting rid of the ball.
The only exception was when he scored 3 goals, but then there was no decision really, he just took a touch and went to goal. When that did not present itself, he hesitated which is deadly in the international game.
Same 11. A win moves us to the knockouts and pretty much guarantees winning the group. With three somewhat new pairings (CB, CM, and ST), this team needs the minutes working together against a decent squad.
A Bradley yellow would be nice . . . I am pretty sure he can manage it.
We’ve got some older veterans coming off long seasons.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Boco, Dolo, and Deuce getting rest in the 3rd game. We need them at top gear for Costa, Hondurez and Mexico.
really good point. gotta think that quick triangles between most of our best creators excluding holden would find its effect, though. thats if they choose quick triangles. and dolos crossing from overlaps will probably be better, it wasnt as awesome as usual last game.
yall, bedoya is brick-footed either due to nerves or to lack of natural touch. pay attention to his touch the next time he steps on the field and then stop calling for him.
sacha was fine last game, his possession was fine and he played a simple game that was tactically appropriate for a 2-0 lead. just cause he wasnt taking people on in the middle of the field doesnt make him “invisible.”
wondo is more intriguing than he gets credit for. his touch and his soccer mind are good and youve got to take that over speed every time (or just bring in eddie johnson). he could be just the calm finishing/possession guy that we need. with that said, he didnt seem very in touch vs canada. but id still like to see more.
Same 11 makes sense.
But do we need any different kind of players to unlock the defense if Panama intends to park the bus?
U realize he still sucks when he plays for the yanks
Same 11 IMO – get on to the next round for sure and then there’s plenty of time to get cute for Guadeloupe. You don’t want to even potentially risk the scenario where we need a W in the final game and get a bogus red or something similar. Let’s get up 2-0 at half and bring on subs quicker.
I think it is likely to be the same line up as in the game against Canada with the possible exception of Jones, who seemed to pick up a small injury at the end of Canada game. At least, I saw him signal to the bench to indicate that he needed to be subbed out.
Not quite, but I partly agree with your assessment of peoples emotional draw to Adu. A rookie QB hasn’t much experience in the NFL level, where as Adu has played at the MNT level before.
I think the other scary thing is that we see how uncreative we are without Dempsey and Donovan, and those guys are now 29 years old. Kljestan, Edu, Bedoya, Feilhaber, even Diskkerud, etc aren’t going to fill those holes like we hopes they would. Only young guys who really spark stuff are Bradley and Chandler.
Wouldn’t mind seeing Spector in the mid for MB in game 3. Give MB a rest and see how Spector operates.
I’m no sacha fan, but I have to say he’s improved. he is playing quicker and making better decisions.
with that said, he’s still not good enough.
No Adu. Bring in Lichaj and Bedoya, and I’d like to see Spector in the midfield after playing well there for the Hammers.
Same Starting 11, Go for the Win and the group. Then against Guadalupe trot out some of the more fringe players like Adu, Wondo, Bornstein, etc. For the Panama game build confidence and Cohesion. Subs I’d like to see Bedoya and Edu, the third not too picky about.
exactly. should have read your post before I replied. i like your thinking, rob.
thank you…
anyone who honestly would choose Adu over Kljestan atm is moronic and they really dont know what they are talking about. Im not saying Kljestan is deserving of playing, but atleast over Adu atm
Understood regarding the lineup and profanity.
But, why not go up a few goals early and cruise rather than squeaking it out (or worse giving up an early goal as we are prone to do).
I like the idea of ENSURING that the third game is a training session rather than risking having to play our studs in three straight games (whether starting or not).
Just my two cents.
I like this too, Gets Dempsey into game more. Given our preference to overload right to bring ball up.
damn, I look stupid. I remember now. thanks for the heads up.
I like this. We could push Dempsey up or bring in Aguedelo if it doesn’t work well. That is a dominant midfield and it’s not as if our forwards score a lot anyway.
I think all this Jones vs. Edu talk is off base. When you look at the way they play, Jones is a much better distributer and passer of the ball than Edu. Edu is better at getting forward which is more akin to the role Bradley plays in the two man holding midfield role we are going with.
I think we are lucky to have three good players to put in the middle of the field but I think for now, Bob has it right. Bradley is a little better than Edu. But lets be realistic, once “Baby Bradley” misses a game due to his typical yellow card accumulation, Edu will slot right in.
I don’t buy into the bad league argument either – Edu plays in all the Old Firm games as well as Europe on a regular basis.
Never ever ever play Bornstein. Might as well get Damarcus Beasley back while we’re at it.
oh and if it is the gaudelope game… Change the names to the ‘b’ team 😀
I could see Edu for Jones, as Bob tries to see which combination works better.
I could see Wondo for Agudelo; he’s showed enough for a longer look.
I suspect, however, that we’ll see the same lineup.
I wouldn’t be surprised if wondo gets a start over Agudelo. It’s not a natural replacement, but Juan wasn’t as sharp as he needed to be in the Canada match.
At some point, I think we will see the 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 again….2nd half or in the guadelope game.
—-Jozy—-
Deuce—-Bradley–Lando
Edu—jones
Boca—Ream—Goodson—dolo
Timmy
Well, the only real news we got about practices indicated he scored two goals in a 7 v. 7 game. Doesn’t really tell us how he is doing the rest of training, but it’s hard to infer from this tidbit that he is struggling big time.
Having said that, Adu is just that rookie backup QB that everyone wants to see “for change’s sake.”
same starting lineup…same subs…except bedoya or adu over klejstan
Same lineup. Secure 3 points. Make sure these are the starters you want in the elimination games. Earn rest for a meaningless 3d game.
you realize sacha actually played in a real league, got pretty serious minutes and for the most part looked pretty good for a team that is perennially playing in europe
yea you have to wonder why he didnt even make the 18 against Canada. Fitness not up to the USMNT standard? I’m sure we’ll see him sometime but I would agree that almost all the other players on the roster seem more deserving of the pt right now. whats frustrating for me is it seems as though he possesses attacking vision and skills that we desperately need, but cant do whats necessary to get on the field.
That also included 1 stand out player, Stuart Holden. Bedoya-Edu-Kljestan-Spector does not contain anyone near as potent. You would have to at least put Bradley and Cherundelo in there.
Well, the weakest player on the field against Canada was Boca, and I still rated him a 5. I think it depends upon matchups. If the other team has a fast right-sided winger, we may need to put someone faster in.
Like this.
Apples and oranges.
Defensive mids need to be against top competition to be on top of their game. Especially when they are still learning the game. The best defensive mids tend to be older than 25. They need experience and poise that comes with it.
Forwards come in all ages. Michael Owen and Raul arguably hit their peaks before they turned 23.
Adu has always had the ability. For me he just needed to be playing at a decent level and have some confidence.
If you don’t understand that, than maybe you don’t really understand soccer.
Now if you see Adu as a midfielder I understand your point. But I see him as a second forward. In fact, for me that’s the only position he can play.
Now before you just look at one thing I wrote and rashly reply with something snide, please read everything.
JMHO
I agree….Wondo reminds me of Tayler Twellman “light.” A decent enough player, but not someone who is going to make a difference for the Nats.
interesting thought
Understand your point, but you want to ensure passage to the next round before resting starters. Remember Panama in the 05 final was no pushover and you never know what can happen. This is also the Gold Cup that “matters” as opposed to 09.
I agree. Freddie has been gifted a lifeline by simply being included. It’s *not* “yanking him around” by not playing him (as some have asserted). His greatest issue in the past has reportedly been his maturity and attitude, and BB has made it abundantly clear that his inclusion this time around has been to assess his growth in those areas. At best he may make the bench for Panama, and be inserted as a late sub (essentially take the same minutes that Sacha got vs. Canada) — and based on that, may garner some additional PT in the Gaud match, if we have truly clinched the group.
Even if he doesn’t play another minute in the Gold Cup after that, he should still walk away with an appreciation of having worked his way back into the fold, and hopefully impressed the coaches and senior members of the team enough to have earned more significant inclusion in the future.