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T&T match presents unique challenge for USMNT defense

 

Trinidad & Tobago is far from CONCACAF’s most dangerous team. A quick glance at the Hexagonal table will tell you that, but that does not mean that the U.S. Men’s National Team does not need to remain open and alert to certain situations on Tuesday night.

The U.S. knows that a draw will most likely be good enough to leave T&T with a World Cup ticket in hand, so any sort of clean sheet would be enough to book a spot in Russia. Bruce Arena is not likely to completely pack up shop but he also won’t go pedal to the medal to chase goal after goal like he did on Friday night. If Friday was about asserting dominance, Tuesday is about keeping things cool and simply taking care of business against a lesser team.

That lesser team does have weapons, though, and the U.S. will need to deal with them. To be more specific, the U.S. defense will need to be ready for several challenges, some presented by T&T and others presented by the environment.

Now, T&T’s main weapon is speed. Players like Kevin Molino and Joevin Jones remain the most talented players on the Soca Warriors’ squad. They are fast, technical and creative, and they have the ability to make life hard for defenders at most levels. However, Molino is suspended, aiding the U.S. quite a bit.

That said, the conditions on Tuesday could play a major factor. The rain-soaked pitch will turn the match into an ugly mess of a game unless something very drastic happens to the drainage on Tuesday night. That means we’ll see very little of anything resembling soccer and something that something much more comparable to middle school kickball.

T&T has the ability to go route one, and they found success with it against Mexico. The Soca Warriors put a scare into El Tri with a ball over the top, one which was finished by Shahdon Winchester:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9A1sOe-4qE

It’s a formula as old as the game itself. Ball over the top, head it down, run onto it, score, rinse and repeat. The U.S., in particular, struggled with individual mistakes against Costa Rica and Honduras, and those individual moments will be what T&T will target. They won’t try and beat you tactically or with numbers. They’re going to kick the ball in the air or down the line and make you deal with it. You need to win those headers and those foot races or, at the very least, handle them in a way that prevents an easy opportunity.

While those long balls will come into play, the best chances will probably come via set pieces. The USMNT has been notoriously hit or miss on set pieces all cycle, dating all the way back to the late loss to Mexico last fall. The absence of Kenwyne Jones takes a big target away from T&T, but those dead ball situations will still be major moments.

The good news as the U.S has the bodies to handle it. Omar Gonzalez remains a force on set pieces. Geoff Cameron, Costa Rica aside, makes few individual mistakes. Matt Besler and Tim Ream aren’t as physically imposing, but they’re both smart and experienced. The U.S. can’t afford a mental lapse on those types of situations.

Other than that, things are fairly straight-forward. T&T isn’t going to ole the USMNT to death because they don’t have that in them. The U.S. will have a bulk of the possession and, if they can use that possession meaningfully and limit bad giveaways, T&T will struggle to create save for the odd moment of magic.

With that in mind, the U.S. remains favored to take care of business and book a spot in Russia, but in order to do that, they’ll need a composed defensive performance worthy of a team bound for the World Cup.

Comments

  1. Mexico had many more chance that was about it for TnT, could have six or seven to one. We just need to finish our chances like we did on Friday.

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  2. The US has outscored TnT 6-0 in three matches this cycle. Bradley has started all three matches and Jones has played in one. The US played a diamond in both home matches and a 5 man back line on the road under JK until subbing on Nagbe for Ream to try to steal a road victory.
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    They are 0-1-8 in their last nine matches, if we can’t at least get a draw we don’t deserve to be in the World Cup anyway.

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  3. “Trinidad & Tobago is far from CONCACAF’s most dangerous team.”
    “Now, T&T’s main weapon is speed.”
    “They are fast, technical and creative, and they have the ability to make life hard for defenders at most levels”
    “You need to win those headers and those foot races or, at the very least, handle them in a way that prevents an easy opportunity.”

    • Exactly and they are going to exploit that area we are lacking in ESPECIALLY IN THE MIDFIELD (and make Kevin Molino and Joevin Jones look like superstars)
    • Yedlin, Acosta, Pulisic and wood are the only guys with decent wheels on the team, Nagbe can hold his own, so can Arriola and Besler
    • We have no physical midfielders anymore like Jermaine Jones to break up plays
    All I can stay is “IN BRUCE WE TRUST” 😀

    Reply

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