While the U.S. Men’s National Team continues to tinker with younger options throughout the team, the squad’s defense has recently undergone an infusion of youth, most notably with the emergence of DeAndre Yedlin.
The last 12 months have been a series of ups and downs for the former Seattle Sounders player, but his recent form as an outside back has earned him significant praise as both a defender and an attacker.
The 22-year-old defender attributes much of his success to his time last season with Premier League side Sunderland, citing the importance of playing against some of the world’s best talents.
“It’s been huge, “Yedlin said. “I think in that league little mistakes can expose you so I’ve had to try to cut down on those mistakes, especially positionally. I think positionally, one versus one, I feel more comfortable, but I always knew that was going to come. That’s the kind of thing that comes with experience.”
While Yedlin was developing into a star with the Sounders just a few seasons ago, the youngster opted to travel along a new path, one that earned mixed reviews in terms of how he’d be able to develop in his brief professional career.
That meant leaving everything he knew back in Seattle, and heading to a brand new country that presented opportunities but also an unknown path with roadblocks along the way.
“It’s no question that England, Germany, Spain, those kinds of leagues are the top in the world,” Yedlin said. “So as a young player when you’re getting a chance training in the first team and playing games in the first team, you see guys like Christian Pulisic and he’s shot off getting training with the first team. When you’re in that top environment, you’re going to improve.
“You have to keep your head down and be humble. That’s honestly what I’ve tried to do when I went to Europe. I’m not saying MLS wasn’t challenging to me but, in Seattle, I was comfortable where I was. I was around my friends and my family. I could go to my mom’s house and stuff like that so, off the field, I’ve really had to grow as a person.”
With Tottenham’s budding growth into one of the Premier League’s top clubs, Yedlin was sent off to Sunderland in the hopes of gaining more experience through playing consistent matches. In his time with the Black Cats, Yedlin made 23 appearances for the club, including 21 starts.
The speedy wing back also helped keep Sunderland’s Premier League hopes alive, staving off relegation in the final month of the season.
It was not always an easy transition to England, though, facing top sides like Manchester City and Arsenal on a weekly basis, but Yedlin says that challenging himself was the best thing he could have done for his development.
“I’ve just tried to challenge myself,” Yedlin explained. “When you challenge yourself you learn a lot about yourself and ultimately you’re going to get better in any field. I think when I made the decision to go to Europe a lot of people questioned, even I questioned it during the first six months. I think that I’ve learned a lot more about myself in that six months than I have my whole life. I think ultimately that has let me improve the way I have.
“The biggest thing for me was mentally, I needed to really improve mentally. Especially in England, mentally if you’re not right then you’re going to get exposed.”
USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has often expressed his thoughts on Yedlin and how other young Americans should follow in the footsteps of the young defender.
In the U.S.’ first two group stage matches at the Copa America Centenario, four of the team’s 11 starters are under the age of 25, but Klinsmann still believes that the youth of American soccer must continue to push themselves to bigger and better things, much like Yedlin has in recent months.
“What you want to see from young players: you want them to be sponges, you want them to be aggressive, you want them to be hungry for the next step,” Klinsmann said. “You want them to have a bite that takes them to the next level. We struggle, traditionally, with our 18-23 or 24-year-old generation. DeAndre is an exception. He fought his way through now.”
i’ve actually been less impressed with yedlin in these past few international games than in his games with sunderland — yes, he’s got great make-up speed, but he’s gotten beat a *lot*, and it’s cameron who deserves credit for doing an excellent job of playing clean-up this tournament. however, i think it could be just a familiarity thing, where the more caps he gets with cameron et al, the better he’ll do.
Agreed Nate. Think it is familiarity plus- t’s a pretty sure bet JK is asking him to be much more aggressive going forward than Allardyce is. His defense/one on one has been markedly improved w/ Sunderland and it shows w/ the Nats. There are sure to be bumps in the road, but with his physical tools, he needs to keep challenging himself as he has everything needed to become a legit 2 way outside back with club and internationally. Would love to see him get with Cherundolo…………… Steve’s rock solid positional smarts/savvy- knowing when to go forward with Redlines tools = absolute beast.
I think there is a bit too much praise heaped on Yedlin’s defensive performance. Against Costa Rica, in the first half, he was routinely beaten and bailed out by Cameron. Also he shanked a clearance that gave Costa Rica one of the best chances.
He needs to be more careful with the ball and he must become a more thoughtful defender, not simply relying on his speed to recover since he will face attackers who can match his speed.
When he gets forward, his crosses still need improvement, but you can say that about almost anyone.
That said, he has improved from the 2015 version of Yedlin and he has the tools to make further improvements.
Still a long way to go.
Yedlin is evidence, Klinsmann needs to go with an younger squad, give them a chance and help them get moves to Europe.
C’mon SBI. How many articles do we need about “starting in the Premier League/Sunderland has helped Yedlin’s defense”? We all know that already. Find something else to write about.
It should be shouted from the rooftops. College ball should not be seen as a legit path to the international level outside of long maturing positions like CB and Keeper. Maybe D mid. For flank and creative roles as well as forward roles, the move to overseas must happen and it must happen early. The women’s pro game is different and college is a great path for them but for the men they need to get to a top 5 league or a feeder league to as top 5 league,.
Ironically, Yedlin played two years in college. The other ironic part of Yedlin’s development is that his youth club has been at the heart of the solidarity payment debate. That’s ironic because it’s not clear exactly what that club did exactly to develop him. He has excelled because of his superior athleticism, not because of anything his youth club taught him. I am definitely for clubs being compensated when they develop great players that go on to professional careers, but I’m not sure Crossfire has too much to be proud of when it comes to the Yedlin case. I am still disappointed at the lack of ability with Yedlin when it comes to keeping possession of the ball. He has improved a lot as a defender in the last couple of years, but he still has a really long way to go in terms of his attacking skill set.