photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
If this summer's slate of matches were indeed meant to replicate a tournament, the U.S. men's national team would be in must-win territory.
Fortunately for the Americans, this is not a tournament and their visit to BMO Field in Toronto to take on Canada on Sunday is not a win-or-go-home scenario. But that does not mean the Americans won't be looking for a victory, not when they suffered a lopsided defeat to Brazil on Wednesday and not with more fine-tuning needing to be done before World Cup qualifying begins next Friday.
"We have to improve still, absolutely," said U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann after the loss to Brazil. "We'll discuss that tomorrow as a team. There are areas where we've got to get closer to the people, we've got to push forward a little bit more, we've got to be smarter playing out of the back."
One other area Klinsmann has readily admitted needs improving is finishing. That aspect is one which the Americans thrived at in their 5-1 triumph over Scotland in their first match of the summer last Saturday, but struggled with in the 4-1 loss to Brazil this past Wednesday.
The United States could get a boost in their attack should Clint Dempsey be deemed fit enough to start after recovering from a groin injury. Dempsey's creativity and nose for goal against the likes of FC Cologne defender Kevin McKenna and Chivas USA's Ante Jazic would surely help a U.S. team that has been inconsistent in front of goal since Klinsmann took over.
"We're not scoring enough goals yet," said Klinsmann. "We've got to give that message to our strikers to go for it."
Defending is also an area that will need to show improvement. Canada may not boast the attacking quality that Brazil has, but the Americans' northern rivals do have talented players capable of unlocking defenses. From reigning MLS MVP Dwayne De Rosario to Norwich City forward Simeone Jackson, the United States' back four will have their hands full.
Passing out of the back will need to be more crisp against the Canadians. Brazil pressured the U.S. team high up the field and the Americans struggled to deal with that, especially in the opening 20 minutes.
One player in particular who struggled with that was Oguchi Onyewu, whose start against Brazil marked his first with the U.S. team since last fall. If Onyewu should start again in the clash with Canada, an improved performance will be needed in order for him to solidify his starting place in the American back-line.
"It took him time to get into the game (with) his passes out of the back, also kind of in certain situatons, one-against one," said Klinsmann. "He found them more and more into game. The second half was much smoother, much more controlled. The first 20 minutes he had some problems there and that's what we also addressed at halftime. We said 'You know guys, we got to be cleaner, more clinical coming out of the back. Be calm don't be too hectic."
Another aspect of Sunday's game that many will be keeping an eye on is how U.S. team responds to Klinsmann's desire for playing nastier and less naive while also continuing to progress in his more proactive style of play.
Midfielder Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley will go up against Julian de Guzman, who is known for his hard tackling. And how they fare against him and the rest of Canada's midfield could go a long way in determining how the Americans' final tuneup goes.
Still, the match against Canada will provide the Americans one more opportunity to adapt to Klinsmann's preferred style of play before qualifying begins. And they insist progress is being made.
"We're getting better, it feels better as a player," said goalkeeper Tim Howard. "The rhythm and the tempo which we're playing at feels better."
oh yeah i feel better now
Cameron cant even perform consistently at CB for his club. How long are us fans going to pretend George John doesn’t exist?
He’s a better defender then Cameron, stronger, bigger, yet just as fast and skilled dribbling and passing..judge for yourself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8IY-phTEW8
John is the future and the now of the back line and while I was hopeful Cameron would be his partner I have doubts now, Cameron might be better suited for Dmid
Truer words na’er spake.
Si – lo dudo.
Si el partido se jugara en el Azteca – la altura le daria ventaja a Mexico.
Pero en cancha neutral, es otra cosa.
Donovan is a big fish in a swimming pool. Throw him in the ocean and he gets gobbled up. His only move is to kick the ball and try to outpace his def. He ALWAYS dissapears against teams with speed.
WAS, WAS, Was…. Not IS ! The Wu gave up three goals in this game. He needed to be pulled at the half. He is not what he used to be. He had some good moments before his knee injury, but his time is past with the nats. MOVE ON.
+1 exactly
He plays in Portugal for a top side, I find it hard to believe they would start him if he wasn’t at least somewhat comfortable on the ball. It is a more technical league is it not? Granted I don’t watch much of Sporting or their league.
Beitashour has to be w/in a shout at this point. He’s quick and his crosses are brilliant. Still needs fine-tuning on specific defensive aspects, but the guy is solid.
George John was rejected by West Ham in the championship. He is pretty low on the depth chart. As for Omar, if he had proved himself in Germany he would be an option but he shouldn’t even be considered as of now. How long did it take gooch to come back to full fitness and he is a proven centerback.
Are you saying Gonzo has the necessary ball skills? And that he is speedy?
I guess I missed soemthing.
Then how come Scotland, who had a lot more EPL guys playing than we did, lose to us?
By your rationale England should have massacred us in the World Cup.
i’d rather have 5 wins…but now 4 is more reasonable
USA 7 Los Mojados 0
I don’t think Beitashour would want to play for the Iranian terrorists. If he decides to play for Iran, i’m sure homeland security will have to revoke his passport. I’m sorry, but it’s true…
El Mojados had more trouble with Bosnia than I expected, I don’t think they will find it easy against the Brasilenos…
Franco, this is totally irrelevent, but I can’t help myself. If this was a tournament, I would argue that the USA would need to either draw or win to advance. I’m betting that Brazil would beat Canada & Scotland for 9 points; we would be on 3 points with a +1 goal differential, and worst case Scotland would have lost to Canada, giving Canada 3 points. The first tiebreaker would be GD, and I also believe that if Canada played Brazil & Scotland their goal differential would be no better than zero, therefore sending us through with a draw.
So let’s get that draw! Just kidding.
Herculez!! I want to see him consistently get time. He is on fire and we need to take advantage of that.
I like the George John option after looking at that video. Definitely can handle the ball out of back like Klinsmann is looking for. Looks pretty fast too so he can run down those pesky Brazilians in 2014. Omar Gonazalez is still out there. Look what happened to the Galaxy without him in the back. We’ve got some options to work in before the cup.
I have issue with the same back four. Does anyone really think Onyewu will ever be comfortable with the ball. Time to give the other Cb’s as many games that gooch has had to underwhelm consistantly.
Subotic teamed with Brede Hangeland.
That was Demerit with Gooch and Boca on the left. Gooch and Boca have never partnered well in the center of defence. Gooch has always had the same pros and cons (athleticism and strong in the air…but lacks awaremenss in space and doesn’t distribute well). Unfortunately, if he is in there, he needs to be paired with someone who is both a good communicator (to help him with his positioning) and has some pace…Boca can do 1 but lacks the other, which makes it a flawed pairing.
Not if hes not on the team he doesn’t and as of right now…he’s not
Jermaine Jones is the Pablo Mast of this cycle.
He doesn’t need any more edge but does need to learn how to play hard without collecting cards
Certainly we need to be realistic and work hard to develop other options at RB, but writing off Dolo after this match is premature and not taking into account he was dealing with the 2 best players on the pitch that night…. shoot, Neymar and Marcelo are 2 of the best on most any night- both freaks.
As for dreaming of Chandler, the guy has speed and raw potential, but is hardly a finished product and inferior to Dolo defensively, a step up at this point going forward. It may have helped if he could have put Marcelo on his heels a bit, but Neymar would have absolutely schooled him.
Lets see how El Tri does against Brazil on Sunday. Watching them play that game is almost as good as playing them ourselves.
If Mexico manages to win, I will be a bit worried
Lichaj is very inexperienced? ok, what about F.Johnson? If he’s good enough he should play. I agree with the ppl saying Dolo is done. He will get the job done in concacaf except for maybe Mexico, but he can’t hang with the top teams and should at best be a backup in WC2014
Cause Donovan isn’t rested, he might just decide to rest himself
Well what I would do (when coaching youth soccer) if my star player was being shut down by a defender was move him to the opposite side to get him away from that player. Not sure why something like that wasn’t done to get Donovan into the flow
On the other hand, Donovan has a long habit of no shows sometimes. Maybe it was just a no show night?
They are on these boards…. In fact.. I keep reading Ream’s name and to the best of my knowledge….HE WASN’T INVITED
Agreed.
Creo que no.
Yes, you play like a Schweinehund and you’re going to get a red card and then what have you accomplished?
The Canada game would be a good chance to give Guzan a rare start, especially since he’s on the market and could use the visibility. It could be the last chance he as to start for some time, and it would Howard a break before qualifying begins.
Be more aggressive around the goal for sure. Aggressive like the Kampf Schwein all the time? Bad idea.
LOOK PPL LICHAJ Has a better chance stopping neymar than any other R back we got
Period
Morales or D. Williams possibly
The last thing Jermaine Jones need to hear is “be more aggressive”. He is a solid player, who usually holds his own against punks. I think the concern of JK was addressed to others who had more respect for Brazil. Any more aggression from JJ and he would be taking an early shower and we would be a man down. JK should have just said “be like Jermaine”.
As long as we’re playing the ‘If’ game, If we only had Marcelo, Donovan may not have been marked out of the flow.
In other words…Chandler is not with the team, learn to live with it.
Canada 3 USA 2
Nice comment. You convinced me (that he deserves a second chance against team that is not rated in the top six in the world).
I agree. On two early chances Landon just stepped on the ball, neither moving forward nor passing. It was bewildering as he just waited for Marcelo to take the ball away.
Played
So when was the last time he paled better than Goodson?
I agree, the game was very winnable. If not for a couple of players being off, the USA could win that match. When you analyze a game you don’t look back and add in a previous performance. Donovan doesn’t get a 6 for Brazil because he had a 9 rating against Scotland. Sports is in the moment. Donovan played like a 4, and there’s no averaging out in sports.
That was kind of funny. Canada hasn’t made the WC since 1986. That’s one big conspiracy.
Good luck on Sunday, who knows, if JK rotates his team you might even get a positive result. But the US soccer program is way ahead of Canada’s right now, it’s pretty evident when you look at each squad’s player list.
He is on JK’s short list. We’ll probably see him sometime soon.
El Tri will beat Brazil on Sunday.
Didn’t he recently get dumped by a second division team in England? Is he back in Dallas now?
Yes. That’s why they were both pulled in the Brasil game.