The U.S. Men’s National Team was in need of a statement performance, and they most certainly provided one on Tuesday night.
At risk of elimination from the Copa America, the USMNT throttled Costa Rica, 4-0, to leap back into Group A contention. A loss would have doomed the USMNT to another failed tournament, but, with the win, the U.S. now controls their own destiny heading into Saturday’s group stage finale against Paraguay.
It was a big-time effort from the entire squad, but several players stood out. Jermaine Jones unleashed a Man of the Match performance, while Clint Dempsey served as the focal point of the attack. The defense, although sloppy at times, held on for a clean sheet that could be crucial should goal differential come into play.
For the USMNT, Tuesday was a telling performance, one that showed there is still plenty left to discuss and debate before they depart this summer’s Copa America.
Here are some takeaways from Tuesday’s win:
JONES REAFFIRMS HIS PLACE WITH THE USMNT
Following the loss to Colombia, many, myself included, believed Jermaine Jones was destined for the bench. His critics couldn’t have been more wrong.
Jones put forth an elite performance on Tuesday night, outrunning, outmuscling and, quite frankly, outplaying each and every player on the Costa Rica roster. He scored a goal, he robbed Costa Rica of the ball consistently and, perhaps most importantly, he provided an edge and mentality in the midfield that said “We will not lose this game”.
At 34-years-old, Jones’ days in a USMNT jersey are numbered, but, in the here and now, he remains an integral part of the current setup. At his best, Jones remains a truly world class player, one that can harass the opposing attacks and defenses in equal measure.
Jones remains a leader for the USMNT, both with his play and with the bite he brings to the game. The U.S. will need that against the world’s elite, as Jones remains among the few USMNT players that can go toe-to-toe individually with some of the world’s best despite his age.
BROOKS EVOLVING INTO TOP-LEVEL CENTERBACK
John Brooks was a star for Hertha Berlin this season, but the centerback’s international form never quite lived up to his club performances. However, the Copa America has served as what appears to be a lunching point for the young defender.
Through two games, Brooks has turned in two elite performances. In both matches, Brooks showed the poise of a true international veteran, calmly cleaning up messes while preventing both Colombia and Costa Rica from scoring from open play.
It all serves in such stark contrast to Brooks’ efforts one year ago. At the Gold Cup, he looked every bit of the inexperienced centerback, one not ready for the big time. He was unsure of himself on the top level and not experienced enough to overcome it, and it showed.
Now, just one year later, it appears the USMNT have a central defender ready to lead the way for years to come.
WOOD STRIKES WHEN MOVED CENTRALLY
Bobby Wood is a striker. The 17 goals scored for Union Berlin this season serve as evidence. And on Tuesday, Wood was at his best when given the opportunity to be just that: a striker.
Played out wide in each of the first two games, Wood was a bit wasted on the left side. Against Colombia in particular, the forward was given few chances to get on the ball in dangerous areas. Instead, a bulk of Wood’s touches came with him one-on-one with a defender with no opportunity to work towards a shot.
A tactical shift to a 4-4-2 afforded Wood that opportunity on Tuesday night. Held in check for a majority of the first half, Wood struck just before halftime. Given just an inch of space at the top of the box, Wood executed the perfect three touches: control, turn, fire. Goal.
Wood, at the end of the day, is a pure striker, likely the best in the USMNT pool. He has shown the ability to hold the ball unlike any forward not named Jozy Altidore, while also showing trickery and ruthlessness in the box. Given the chance to work in the area, Wood is lethal, and the U.S. will be better served by getting Wood in dangerous positions as often as possible against Paraguay.
FORMATION CHANGE PAYS DIVIDENDS
Jurgen Klinsmann saw it wasn’t working. Despite a lead and everything seemingly going to plan, it just wasn’t working. In response, the USMNT head coach switched things up, and the USMNT never looked back.
After emerging in a 4-3-3, the U.S. switched to a 4-4-2 midway through the first half. Despite a two-goal advantage, it was Costa Rica getting the better of the play, and Klinsmann was not content with playing with fire despite the lead.
The switch to the 4-4-2 accomplished several things. It tucked Wood inside, allowing him time and space inside the box. It provided additional cover out wide, stifling Costa Rica’s fullbacks while giving DeAndre Yedlin and Fabian Johnson the opportunity to get forward. Most importantly, it stifled the midfield, as Costa Rica, without a true No. 6, was left hung out to try as the U.S. pressed them into submission.
For all of the criticism of his tactics, Klinsmann got Tuesday’s match right, even if they additional plan did not work as expected. It provided another look for a USMNT that now appears versatile with the ability to adapt to whatever challenge lies in front of them.
KLINSMANN, USMNT STEP UP WITH BACKSÂ AGAINSTÂ THE WALL
The USMNT knew what was at stake on Tuesday night. A loss would signal the end of their Copa America and, potentially, an end of the Jurgen Klinsmann era. Even with the pressure that came with that in mind, the USMNT turned in a performance for the ages.
Let’s make one thing clear: the USMNT does not tend to lose due to lack of will. For years, the USMNT has prided itself on a lunch pail attitude and a blue-collar work ethic, especially in the face of adversity. When their backs are against the wall, the USMNT, throughout history, has tended not to fold due to lack of desire.
Tuesday was yet another example, as the U.S. showed they purely wanted it. Yes, they were more dangerous, and yes, they were more clinical, but plenty of Tuesday’s performance comes to straight up desire of players like Jones. The U.S. was first to every ball and quick to close down every opportunity, as they swarmed Costa Rica in submission.
While the players turned in a performance worthy of the occasion, Klinsmann deserved plenty of credit. Criticized repeatedly for shuffling USMNT lineups, the head coach stuck with his gut as his most recent XI was criticized vigorously following the Colombia loss. Klinsmann identified his ideal lineup and stuck with it, and it worked.
There is still work to be done. Paraguay is just days away and the U.S. is not locked into the knockout stages. However, for the time being, a team and coach that earned so much criticism just several days ago deserve the praise of getting it absolutely perfect when it mattered most.
The formation change a was reactionary, not proactive. Costa Rica started in a 5-4-1 which gave us a big advantage in the space between midfield and attack.
CR’s plan was obvious. Without Navas they knew they couldn’t repel our attack for 90 minutes, but they had a good strategy. Press high and early and try to snatch a quick goal to allow themselves to sit back and tighten the space enough to suffocate our attack and draw us into committing more numbers and leaving us weak on the back end for a second goal and potentially more.
If they hadn’t been called for the push on Wood, they very well might have opened the scoring and gone into their shell. Instead we got the first goal and they had to come out and try to play with the ball. When they pushed numbers from midfield to attack we had to bring an attacker back into the midfield.
The best part is that Klinsmann left Jones in the advanced role ahead of Bradley, who again had a pretty bad game. His quality has dropped significantly since his MLS move and he’s at an all time low as a professional. He was much better than this at Herenveen, let alone BMG and his stint in Italy.
As for the subs, I pretty much agreed with everything except Wondolowski, but I get it. I just want to see Pulisic on the field more so he can continue to show his quality. Seeing how the game went, who was subbed and who went the full 90, I expect both Pulisic and Nagbe to start the next match. The question will be does Nagbe allow Bedoya or Bradley to rest, and does Pulisic allow Zardes to sit or slot into one of those attacking midfield spots.
I think you are a bit optimistic about Pulisic and Nagbe starting. We may see Darlington for Bedoya or Zusi for Zardes, but CP won’t be starting. The subs had more to do with killing off the game than resting guys for a start against Paraguay.
The subs Beckerman, Zusi and Wondo might have increased the score by 1 or 2 point if they had been put in early. They played the way I like to see the USMNT play all the time. Bradley is still not a best player for the job.
Paraguay had an impressive 2nd half against Columbia. I think we are obviously capable of beating them (by multiple goals in my opinion) , but if they play a full 90 minutes like they played the second half against Columbia it could be a very tight game.
Just like against us. COLOMBIA just sat back and let them have the ball. If you watched the 2nd half Colombia should have had 2 more goals. One hit the post.
You could then say the same thing about our win vs CR but I don’t believe it. In an event where GD matters no one is holding back.
djdj – Colombia knew they didn’t need to worry about GD because they had pretty much secured 6 points with likely at least a point (probably 3) to gain against CR to secure first place.
Colombia’s style is defend and counter. So they didn’t even change much except their lines of pressure dropping back further and less numbers on the counter. Not “holding back” but being tactically aware of the needed result.
Cylo, Columbia could have scored more against us as well, and even hit one off the post. But we didnt have nearly as many attacking opportunities as Paraguay did. I do think Paraguay will be a tired team and wont be able to keep up their second half performance for a full game against us.
Shouldn’t the title of this article be: “USMNT 4, Cost Rica 0: The SBR Breakdown”.
SBR = Soccer By Ryan.
It’s not like Ives ever posts or writes here anymore.
You can find all the Ives commentary you like at Goal.com. Sorry they pay his bills, where this site is really just for fun, and is a good place for him when he’s in between gigs.
Or meals…
The biggest positive for me so far is how well Wood has played and for the first time Jozy has real competition. I’d like to think this will light a fire underneath him. Having an in-from Jozy along with Bobby playing at this level will give up a lot more flexibility.
Why do we even waste our time on Jozy. We already know what his about. Time to let Wood play CF.
Wait a second. I disagree with the writer here. Please correct me if I am wrong.
The formation – we switched to a 442 AFTER being up 2-0.
After we started to really get a hold of the game.
My impression was that we actually started to digress from what we built on in the center of the field before we switched. The 442 switch benefited one player – Wood. Clearly. Once you put him centrally, up top as a target striker, he scored. Amazing.
I hate seeing this guy on the wing spending 75% of his energy on tracking back. Stupid.
He is a clear replacement for Jozy. If JK had Jozy, would he be starting Clint up top?
No. I do not get it.
But I digress from my main point…..I really thought the switch to the 442 conceded the middle.
Thought that we were really doing well after that second goal.
Who switches a formation after you gain momentum going into the half?
I thought that was either overthinking things or insecurity. Probably both.
As soon as Jones moved back to pair up with MB in the “442”, Jones became ordinary.
The guy was on fire further up the field.
After being outplayed for the first 20 or so minutes, we got a break with that PK and our guys were comfortable and were gaining confidence in the middle of the park.
(I dont mean “break” as if it shouldn’t have been called. Wood was clearly pushed from behind).
I am a believer that formations are only as good as how players play.
But the more confident and comfortable a player is, the better they will play.
So why flip the script when things were going well?
Tactics are crucial to winning games.
Our players played really well last night and that was the difference.
If I am mistaken, i thought JK switched back to 433 midway through 2nd half?
The reason for the switch was to protect the flanks, primarily Matarrita was giving Yedlin fits, but FJ also had a couple of shaky moments early as well. CR was using much more of a 3-5-2 as there fullbacks were bombing up the wings, than their usual 5-4-1. Yes, it gave CR more time on the ball in the middle, but it shut down the wings as Zardes and in the 2nd half Zusi kept the FBs under control. The diamond with Clint at the point also allowed us to pressure the 3 CBs better and forced several turnovers because Zardes and Wood moved more central, a 3 on 3 matchup without having to have Jones leave his space behind. In the 2nd half it was much more a flat 4-4-2 with CD and Wood up top and Zardes and I think Bedoya on the wings. This was by design to allow CR possession, but little in the way of scoring opportunities much like what Colombia did to us on Friday. As we’ve seen in the past MB and JJ side by side in the center isn’t great for build up, but it did its job. Could we have scored 2 or 3 more goals using the 4-3-3 maybe, but we may have also given up 2 or 3. As my grandpa used to say “every once in a while a blind sow finds an accorn”, JK got this one right maybe by luck, but he got it right just accept it and move on.
J. K must go.
I feel like you, as a Mexico fan… or maybe a Costa Rica fan, are seeing the progress of the past 4 years in US soccer and are hoping JK gets the boot.
WTF? We haven’t been this far behind Mexico in years.
Just one of the many reasons most American fans want Klinsmann gone.
Not true. We lost 1 game 2-1 in extra time… and our team has gotten better since then. the US has won its qualifying group each of the past 2 world cup qualifying cycles. Face it… this is in the midst of the greatest generation mexico has ever had and the US is still closing the gap … I bet that by the next cycle (’22 WC) MX will be begging to expand how many teams come from CONCACAF b/c they can’t even make it through the playoff.
Not one of the us players make the Mexico bench.
?!? you are nuts.
“Following the loss to Colombia, many, myself included, believed Jermaine Jones was destined for the bench. His critics couldn’t have been more wrong.”
come on ryan, save the hyperbole for the headlines. an “elite” game against costa rica doesn’t erase an anonymous game against colombia.
i’m not really sure if jones should be starting or not (i’d like to see more of nagbe in any case), but these two games didn’t really help or hinder that argument: any one of our top 4 CMs easily could’ve had the same types of performances.
“Jones remains among the few USMNT players that can go toe-to-toe individually with some of the world’s best despite his age”
i mean what the hell is this? how do the past two games tell you this at all?
A “lunching” point, Ryan? Do you mean to imply that Brooks will be consuming more sandwiches??
Brooks is maturing before our eyes. He’s got a little of the old Gooch swagger, albeit a more vocal version of it.
Wondo was pretty much onside in that late run. Had the ref not called it, or had he just been an inch behind, we would have been up 5-0. For that reason, I don’t think the subs were that bad.
JK got it right, where are the haters?
Puffing your chest out after one good game I see. JK should still be fired, he should have been fired ages ago and unless we get to at least a semi, I’ll still say he should be fired.
All in all it was a good game, I can’t see the same 11 going 3 games in a row. I think now with bedoya on a yellow he might sit and I would hate to see Brooks sit also because he is playing lights out but the yellow might change things up.
You can’t bench Brooks for Yellow Card concerns. We aren’t through to the next rd. We need a result against Paraguay. the yellow was unnecessary with a late lead, but we need him playing to make it to the next round.
Photo caption: Wood chokes Dempsey while Jones runs to pull him off
haha i was thinking the same thing
I bet Wood gave Dempsey a Black eye in training, I had to do a double take, lol.
It is shameful that some of the stadiums are pretty empty. I am not sure why some of these games are not played in MLS stadiums that can seat 20k or so. And also why ticket prices are really high for first round games. I can’t image how much they would charge for world cup games here in the US. But really I prefer to see more people in the stands than for some of these games be played in nearly empty stadiums.
There were still 40k at that game which is a lot for a soccer game in any country. The issue for the Copa has been very high prices for a tournament that is quite simply not a very big deal to fans based in the US. The WC would sell out every game because a) you would have significant foreign travel (because the US is easy to travel to) and b) even casual fans recognize the WC as one of the biggest sporting events in the world and c) the amount of promotion for the WC in the country and host cities would be several orders of magnitude larger than what it has been for the Copa.
FYI, the World Cup in 1994 in the US still holds the record for largest total attendance of any World Cup. And look at the attendance when top European club teams come over during their exhibition seasons to play in faux tournaments. Teams like Real Madrid, Man U, Barcelona, etc. will often draw more than 50 k.
Lots of seats available…. never looks good on TV but….. this iteration is still outdrawing the last held in Chile. There will be 6 more matches this year which will obviously help but…. if the avg stays the same attendance will be over 2x last Copa.
Still averaging well over what attended the Copa last season in Chile. Yes, Venezuela vs Jamaica could have been played in a MLS Stadium and had better optics, but then you are also insulting those federations by saying we know you aren’t going to attract fans so play here. Also, with all the indecision on whether this tournament would even happen marketing was pretty late.
I don’t think it’s insulting to play a game in an appropriately sized venue. I think the biggest problem is the prices – they are absolutely insane. I was thinking about heading to Philly for the Paraguay game but the cheapest seat is $62 and that’s to sit in the very last row of the stadium. To sit in even midlevel seats is about triple that.
Now how many people are willing to pay prices like that to watch games like Peru v. Haiti or Jamaica v. Venezuela?
Euro 2016 tickets are as cheap as 25 Euros (less than $30).
They’d still charge the same price in a smaller stadium, maybe even more. I think its pretty apparent that they priced the tickets wrong for this event, but with really nothing to fall back on as a reference point you could see why. I can’t believe they are getting people to pay $275 for the women’s game against S.Africa that figures to be over after 20 minutes.
Attendance for Venezuela Jamaica was 25k. Can the Fire even hold that many at Toyota Park?
Of soccer specific stadiums in MLS only Stub Hub (27,000), Red Bull (25,000), and BMO (30,000) could hold that. Which as I said would just lead to even higher ticket prices.
Strange game: The US created tons of chances and scored a lot of goals, but they really struggled for long periods just to gain and possess the ball. I’m sure Paraguay saw reason for hope.
To quote Martin Rogers, this victory merely “papers over the cracks” of the systemic problems with the US team which all point to JK, In the second match on the bill, I saw a spirited Paraguay fight till the final whistle against a more talented Colombia. They nearly equalized because they had one goal called back by the ref. If the US had fought so hard against Colombia themselves, I would be more comfortable with the direction of the team. Saturday should be a good match.
You are one of those that is going to criticize JK regardless of what he does…(tinkers with the lineup) “JK never gives the team consistency, people need to understand their roles – he needs to go”, (puts out the same lineup from previous game) “JK needs to shake things up it’s not working!- he needs to go” (US scores 4 goals) “this just papers over the cracks! we were terrible- he needs to go” (critical of player selection) “JK plays Germans ahead of better MLS players- he needs to go” – How did Jones, Johnson and Brooks look last night? (and throw in Bobby Wood for good measure) Come on man! just say it – you don’t like Juergen and you are not objective!
The same Martin Rogers that was praising Michael Bradley as a hero before the game yesterday for saying “the guys need to step up and play better” than the party line of we just didn’t finish our chances. When in fact he should have said “I need to not pass the ball directly to the opposition in attacking positions over and over and over.” I don’t think I’ll put to much stock in the whines of a hack who writes for McPaper.
I totally agree with you. I think too many people on this website get too caught up in the actual result to notice the flaws in our system. We still don’t play as a cohesive unit, which after four or five years under the same coach is just pitiful. I said it in the last thread and I will say it again, a good team (like Colombia) will have no problem exposing those flaws and beating us without too much trouble
Not sure I agree with the the change to a 4-4-2 was a dramatic difference. I think it helped Wood but I actually thought it hurt the US ability to posses the ball. In both formations the US hurt CR on counter-attacks/transition. I guess the 4-4-4 helped the Us constantly have more players behind the ball.
Agree with you Clover, I understand the reasoning behind the switch and yes we scored after that but I think it was the wrong move, wood still has freedom up top when not in the 442, especially with how Dempsey roams… The switch seemed to encouraged us to sit back, which I suppose I get, but don’t like. We were playing well enough on both sides of the ball to keep going at them. Accepting and sitting on the lead allowed them to gain a little confidence and that resulted in a few chances, either way the game was more or less out of reach after the third goal so its hard to harshly judge the second half. I was glad to see Zusi contribute, hustled to strip the ball and was composed enough to let Wondo make his run and quietly slotted it home. He and Bedoya, in my eyes are a lot alike, Bedoya is probably inches ahead all around but there is good competition there for the time being. Paraguay gave Colombia a nice game, could have easily been level possibly even ahead. Both teams missed quality chances. No way are we in the clear but if we can put in a performance like the first chance I like where we are and who knows… Maybe we avoid Brasil next round.
It helped with Wood’s goal and it really turned up the pressure when CR tired at the end of the half could have been 4 or 5 nil with a little bit of better touch and finishing in the final third. It also shut down the LB from NYCFC who was their biggest threat in the first half. I wasn’t as big of a fan when it went to a flat 4-4-2 in the 2nd half, but that was to kill the game and I don’t think Clint could play that CAM for too long of a stretch anyway.
If memory serves, weren’t jones and Clint taken off once it was 3-0?
Didn’t wash sub make a big play upon entering the game?
You sound like the type of fan that just wants to complain… ??
Nope JJ played a hard full 90.
Wood came off in 70th. Dempsey in the 80th. Bedoya in 83rd (I agree with becausr of yellow and running himself to death)
Ok so jones played the 90 sure but as Johnny says above the subs, while not sexy, defiantly were the right subs to make. An argument could be made for earlier subs but that’s marginal
I also was expecting the usual Nagbe and Pulisic around minute 65 but it didn’t happen. I felt USA needed more goals in case of tie breakers. JK was never one for conventional subbing. I think it has to do with him being an ex-player and gets so engulfed in the running play and forgets that he has a game to manage.
The substitutions were a problem. Too late and odd. Old players who offer nothing going forward with the USMNT. A missed opportunity to further integrate Nagbe and Pulisic into the team chemistry.
Wanted to see Dempsey and JJ given a break once the game was in hand. These guys are not young and we will need them if we get to the knockout rounds.
I actually thought the subs were ok because the more important goal was to save some gas for players for the next game. I would have subbed Clint and bedoya earlier (especially as Bedoya was carrying a yellow from the game before). And I probably would have rested Jones before resting Wood.
Klinsmann made the right call subbing off Woods. He very nearly punched a player and could have gotten carded for lashing out after a challenge. Klinsmann wisely gotten him off the field before he could be baited into lashing out and picking up a red card that would have given CR an opening to crawl back in the game and left Wood out of the next match. As for why Wondo, people always knock him as being all hard-work and hustle but not world class as a striker. Well, to kill off a game you a forward that will work tirelessly, track back, and yet still keep the defense honest is a great weapon. And Wondo did that well, opening up the space for Zusi on the goal as others pointed out as well as looking menacing on a few other occasions. As others said, a few minutes earlier might have been better but the subs were good for the situation.
Fair, but I think Klinsmann recognized that with a big lead that might be the only opportunity for those players to come into a game this tournament. It seems like all have fallen behind Nagbe and Pulisic in the substitution pecking order. I think he wanted to reward their efforts in practice helping get the starters ready to compete. I had no problem with the subs as a reward as there is a chance none of them see the field again.
Keep the clean sheet that was the goal of the 2nd half, Zusi with his background in midfielder is a better defender than Wood, and it allowed Zardes to move up top and save his legs a little as well, Wondo is skilled at killing clock and is actually decent at tracking back defensively (it was his run that opened Zusi up for the goal as well), Beckerman is a defensive stopper you would expect to come on to kill off a game.
None of those were sexy subs and maybe they were 5 to 10 minutes late, but you can’t argue they weren’t the right subs to make.
I get where you are coming from, but I think part of the reason for leaving in players longer than you would think is due to goal differential. Although we were winning, the 4-0 scoreline was very important. In the event we draw with Paraguay, that differential could be the reason we either make it or don’t. On the other side of things, you can also look at how tired that may make our starters for the Paraguay game. It can go either way. While the subs were more defensive, that may be due to keeping the score at 4-0 and not pushing for more goals which could leave us open to attack. There is an argument for both sides, but I didn’t mind the choices JK made, even if it isn’t what I would have done, simply because I understand the reasoning for them.