A really defensive approach by Klinsmann but it obviously paid off. Very interesting and I think it could work during qualifiers when the US is playing as a visitor. Cameron was great, really dealt with Hernandez very well and was solid throughout. I thought Williams was absolutely awful and maybe a guy Feilhaber could provide a bit more attacking wise. Edu did well I thought. Mexico did literally nothing with the possession they had and Hernandez had an off game. Apart from the result and the solid tactical display by the defense and the midfield, I'm not sure how much the US got out of this game. One of the worst US - Mexico games I can remember although it is nice to see both teams respecting each other and moving past the animosity of yesteryear. Not thrilled about the fans at Azteca booing the US national anthem. Kudos
In addition to his secondary assist, Shea did a better job of managing the lead unlike his big mistakes in the U-23 game where he made quite a few with the lead. He also made a great cross that Shea almost got on the end of. Orozco Fiscal was blamed in other threads for being lazy in getting back and that's why he was even in the box. On 2nd look I watched for it and he really didn't have time to get all the way back. He started to and then Beckerman got the ball and from that spot he did the exact right thing. He was also adequate defender after his goal. Nothing fantastic, but not bad either. Overall as a team, after the 89th minute shot, the US managed the game well.
It's a system to be used in extremis. For quals in the Azteca, and for that game in the R16 of the World Cup when facing teams much stronger on paper.
A few things stood out to me on second viewing: 1. Mexico was able to create very little centrally. This link shows key passes in the final third. Only one was from their starting enganche, Reyna. This seems to be Klinsmann's design - force Mexico wide and make Mexico beat the US from there. It also speaks to Beckerman's defensive effectiveness. He does a good job of cleaning things up, cutting out passing lanes, and picking Mexico's pocket when they do play centrally. 2. That same link shows how much more dangerous Elias Hernandez was in the second half. A number of things could explain this. Hernandez appears to be a better player in breaking defenders down on the dribble than Barrera. Castillo may have tired in the second half. More than anything, I think it speaks to Donovan's defensive work in the first half. When he came off, that side opened up for Mexico, and they were able to initiate a few opportunities from their right side. 3. Williams was almost playing as a second right full back, helping to cover Guardado and the overlapping Torres Nilo. Again, this seems to be Klinsmann's design. While watching Williams struggle in the attack was frustrating, he does provide good defensive cover. 4. Mexico created two really clear opportunities. Chicharito missed wide left on an open header in the 76th minute, and then Howard made a fantastic save in the 89th minute. Klinsmann's scheme does a reasonable job of reducing Mexico to a lot of half chances and shots from outside the penalty area. Mexico took a lot of shots with defenders in front of them, including Chicharito's deflected shot Howard saved in the 85th minute. The US got pretty lucky with the number of shots Mexico put off target. Guardado's free kick was similar to the free kick Guatemala made to tie the game in the qualifier. When the game opens up, US players have to be more careful with fouling. As good as Cameron was, he needs to be careful not to get caught upfield. His defensive positioning on some plays was his one flaw. Overall he and Edu were both good. 5. The US did little in the first half. The first half midfield struggled to hold the ball or even complete simple passes, with Jones and Donovan looking especially off. Torres did not show to the ball enough to comment on his play on it, and I think played himself out of Klinsmann's plans as a starter. 6. The second half was more fun to watch, but the US defense - particularly on the flanks - was more exposed. So Klinsmann leaves this game with the same riddle he has been unable to solve for a while. How does the US add more attack to its game without opening up the defense? Or, does he accept a more open game and continue to rely on creating chances in transition, a higher goals against average, and Howard making 1-2 key stops per game (the Bradley strategy)?
1st half. Castillo was excellent. 1v1 defending was on point. Played combinations out of the back well. Donovan, Jones, and Castillo combined well along the left side creating dangerous opportunities that could have been cashed if a more attack oriented right mid playing off the far post were used. Daniel Williams. I understand the utility he brings as essentially a touchline defender, but at some point I'd like to see a player like a Pontius, Deleon, Herc Gomez, Spector, or an Eddie Johnson get an opportunity there. Mexico played a mid-tempo half-court game attempting to get the ball in to chicharito from possession. Edu and Cameron ate this up. Beckerman and Jones did a good job pushing the attack from deep central midfield. 2nd half. The US added another striker and went to a 442. That and Mexico adding a 2nd striker opened up central midfield and thus the game. The class and lungs of New Mexico showed here with the US being forced into emergency defending and Tim Howard being forced into several great saves. The goal against the overall run of play was the result of a sweet piece of class by Shea and an sweeter piece of improvisation by Boyd.
Observations: Jermaine Jones: I'm not so sure he's a starter in the team. His mentality in a US shirt seems to have him trying too much with the ball. Against minnows this is mostly OK. Against stronger teams especially in the 2nd half of games getting caught out of position and making dangerous turnovers. Zusi and Beasley brought nothing to the table. Beasley stayed busy but didn't really disrupt the flow of Mexico's attack up the US left flank. Zusi was worse. Both allowed in dangerous crosses that on another day would have been converted. Torres. Brings depth to the team at LB, LM, and CM. Not starting material against a stronger opponent. The team needed better defending and better possession in midfield in the second half. This is mostly an issue of evolving the personnel, i.e., picking other players.
I think part of the answer to the "riddle" mentioned in point 6 is that we have players who can play the "Williams" role who are quite good on defense while not being the offensive non-entities that Williams is. Donovan for example. He helped lock down the left side in the first half. Fabian Johnson has shown his defensive chops and also has much more creativity and offensive skill than Williams. Beasley has traditionally been a good defender and brings more to the table offensively than Williams. Brek Shea puts in a robust defensive shift most of the time and brings a lot more to the offense. So it seems to me there are ready solutions to the Williams riddle. We have the tools to be a better attacking team without unduly opening up the defense.
The JK 4312 is a key formation against good teams. The right back will be Europe based I think. My concern is the Danny Williams position: He was tried several times as the right sided/D-mid/wide mid. But he will no longer play there anymore I suspect, because he is offensively challenged. Klinsmann cannot be blind to the obvious. While Williams is a good defender, no attacking talent there creates a big hole in the attack that has adverse ripple effects for the entire team. (Expect Williams to supplant Beckerman against the best teams.) This is where I think the unexpected wild card will enter the picture by '14. Zusi or Sal Zizzo would be great attacking options but their defense is not strong enough. Shea would be excellent there but I doubt JK removes him from the left side. Donovan can't take people on so, no. Beitashour, Chance Meyers, S. Wiliams might be an option, but they don't shoot well from distance and I think we can do better. Jones, no. .............. The obvious guy is Stu Holden, but we cannot assume his successful return. So that's why I think it will be a wild card. I fully expect the 4312 in the world cup to be something like this Altidore Boyd Dempsey Bradley Williams ??? Johnson Cameron ? Lichay Who the 3 question mark guy is.... is up for speculation.
Looks like LD tweaked his hamstring 10 minutes into this game. Explains a lot: http://www.lagalaxy.com/blog/post/2...s-question-metapán-match-due-hamstring-strain EDIT: Bet Bruce Arena was super happy LD played that remaining 35 minutes.
I think that walking out of this game knowing we have two centerback options that we can turn to when needed might have been more valuable than the win. Finding defensive stability was a huge quest going into Juergen Klinsmann's tenure, and I think we've taken a huge step towards it. I think the next question is finding a fourth attacker to go with Donovan, Dempsey, and Altidore. A lot of people are okay with Gomez, but I think we need a player who can create as well as score goals. That's the key in a possession side. Offer different attacking threats and different points of attack all over the field. I posted a thread about Fabian Johnson being moved into the midfield, but it's a tad risky to do that with Edgar Castillo looking at least a tad sketchy at left back. If JK ever warms up to Eric Lichaj, then that is a definite possibility. Chris Pontius has looked quite good for DC United this season. Brek Shea has yet to get a shot with both Donovan and Dempsey ( as opposed to the guys at FCD), and it might just help his game to be around guys who can see the game that well. Sacha Kljestan has yet to get a serious chance. Freddy Adu usually makes some things happen when he's in the side. I just think it's important that we have four main attackers able to run off of one another. Landon Donovan has scored/been involved in some of our best goals when he's had a player to move off of and take advantage of his explosive pace.
Landon is also a quite good defender, and he showed it in that first half, reinforcing Castillo and the whole left side. That Mexico didn't get a single shot on goal was due, in great part, to the defensive work by Beckerman and Donovan, two MLSers. Actually, LD could play LB/RB, IMO.
Pretty much agree w/ the rest of your post. Not with the above. I don't think Edu/Cameron has been tested at all. It was a low tempo, high altitude game, playing in the backline of an ultra defensive formation. In my opinion this was not a real test for any of the defenders. EDIT: And in a meaningless friendly, albeit one involving rivalry.
Can't think of a much better test than a more talented opponent at home where they have a significant home field advantage in a rivalry game. Sure, maybe playing Spain in a competitive situation, but that's not going to happen.
I'm not sure if Spain would be a better test, as Klinsmann would opt for a bunker strategy again. Home field advantage? Mwah. The atmosphere was 'tame' at most and the opponent didn't seem to care much about the result.
Agree and especially because of the altitude. FC Dallas had a similar game against RSL this week. Bunker, don't use all your energy early and give up leads late but conserve and counter late. Feel sorry for Torres as part of his problem is the rest of the players. He should be a tweener center mid with a #10 in front and destroyer behind but the team would also have to be better at keeping possession. He is not good against good teams because his teammates aren't good enough at possession against those teams to use him correctly. He's a luxury they can't use against better teams where bunker and counter is the plan. He is useful against minnows because possession is easier.
The main takeaways for me are the broadening of the pool of reliable cbs; the return of Brek Shea; the emergence of a viable left back in Castillo; coalescing of a strategy for dealing with a elite teams(Mexico is 'elite' at Azteca). The team already has a stable of reliable attackers in Gomez, Johnson, Altidore, Dempsey, and Donovan. there are still a lot of hurt feelings over the change.
And this is supposed to support your claim that we didn't bunker, that we created many chances, that we totally deserved to win, that the tempo of the game wasn't extremely slow, that it wasn't a meaningless friendly, that the crowd wasn't tame, that the stadium wasn't far from sold out, and that Mexico in fact did really really wanted to beat us? And that therefor the Edu/Cameron performance is an accurate reflection of how they'd perform as CB's in any other game? Wake up buddy.