Acyually they were trying to cheat Robbie more forward first half (they do not expect strong runs from Orosco like they do with Wynne. That did not work so they played a more traditional 4-4-2 sceond half that corrected the issue.
The Dutch are one of the iconic nations of the game, and Freddy loves playing against those sorts of teams. I expect he will do better in this match.
I totally agree. especially in youth tournaments, you go with the hot hand, and Davies has stepped up this season. He gives that pacy quality that could work as a starter alongside Jozy or as a sub w/either JA or BmcB. He really must get some minutes in both of the remaining prelims. Also, I'm becoming a believer in Holden too ( I picked him & Davies as breakout stars in the OPlymic tourney). Maybe you don't start in all the prelims but he should see the field in every game. His clutchness is reaching Deuce-like levels.
Which is why Robbie got more forward in the second half then the first? Rogers did not defend well all game.
That's not necesary, as he doesnot get fed like at Heerenveen. Unless you come up with a Sulejmani and Pranjic type of players that Feyenoord will jump at to hire.
I hope you feel the need to foul Babel alot at the 20-25 meter goaldistance. Then de Guzmann can show his freekick qualities.
I don't think a Canadian can score against this side. Not in Nashville, and not in China. If I were you I'd keep DeGuzman on the bench, just having a Canadian on the field against a US team is real bad luck for the Oranje. Kidding aside, I agree with you. I think we can take the game to the dutch, but I am really going to eye the play of Bradley. BB tends to hand out reckless fouls when the game gets open, and I can totally see a situation where the US dominates only to be deflated by a Dutch Set-Piece on a momentary lack of common sense. Of course feyenoordsoccerfan, I hate to break this to you but the US team won't consistently give your side possession by whacking pointless shots from 40 yards out like Nigeria did.
They did that because they lacked the steam to move another 30 yards to get a better shot. How were the condidtions at the time the USA played their match? The Nigerians and the Dutch had a 35 C temperature with over 50% humidity to cope with and neither team could give full throttle. Remeber that the clash with the Dutch is going to take place at the same time as the Nigerian - Orange match, so running like mad is....well mad
I'll be very surprised if Feilhaber starts, I don't think he's fit to go 90 minutes, that said clearly Sascha was our weakest player, so he gets replaced likely by Szetela or Mccarty. Either Holden or Rogers rests whomever is most banged up from the first game(both suffered hard tackles late against Japan). Again Szetela or Mccarty. Altidor gives McBride a rest( I think that was Nowaks plan all along) Feilhaber subs in the second half, hopefully earlier then the Japan game for Bradley( 60 minute mark, Bradley will need the rest) Davies subs for Altidor or Adu whoever is sucking wind Ianni and Seitz ride the Pine unless there is an injury
-----------------------------Altidore-------------------------------------- Rogers------------------------Adu---------------------------------Holden -----------------------Szetela--------Bradley----------------------------- Orozco-------------------------------------------------------------Wynne ------------------------Parkhurst------Edu-------------------------------- --------------------------------Guzan------------------------------------- I like this lineup, but for it to be successful, Guzan can't just bang balls forward like he did against Japan. One reason our possession looked pretty bad against Japan was that he was taking forever to distribute and then would just hit the ball to an isolated McBride, who did as well as he could, but it was never going to be high percentage. It was almost impossible for the US to retain possession with that approach out of the back. With this lineup, long balls are going to be even less successful. Neither Altidore, Adu or Rogers is particularly good at winning and controlling high balls with their back to goal. Guzan's got to be much quicker and much shorter (or at least more varied) in distribution, and the US has to build through the CBs and Bradley and the other central mid (whether it be Szetela or Benny) or it's going to be a constant wave of Dutch possession and attack.
Well that certainly sounds like Houston weather -- Stuart Holden might want to wear long sleeves. I read on these boards a couple of weeks ago that the BBC had a football show where the host asked which club team in the world has the warmest average temperatures at kick off. The host guessed some team in Spain and his staff guessed somewhere in Saudi Arabia. The hottest they could find in Spain was 29; the hottest they could find in Saudi Arabia was 32 and the hottest they could find anywhere in the world was Dallas, Texas at 34.
Rogers did not look as good after a studs to lower leg Japanese tackle late in the game plus his 90' will prompt Nowak to sit him. Think Feilhaber instead. Davies can certainly change the game late. He is a foul target and when the Dutch are tired, he'll be dangerous. Adu could get us a set-piece goal. Prior to game 1, I only gave us a chance if luck and generous refs prevail. With the "weakening" of the Dutch roster, I am feeling ebullient.
I'm leaning toward Holden at left mid for this one. Orozco is going to need a good bit of help on defense, and Holden is an excellent help defender and has good recovery speed. Don't expect much offense from Holden. He'll have to work hard on defense and then try to get forward only in counter attack scenarios. I'd play Szetela on the right. With no traditional wingers on the field, our offense is going to have to come from through balls. That calls strongly for Benny. Adu drops further back this time. Wynne opens things up with occasional runs up the right flank. Bradley has far more freedom to crash the box with cover from Holden, Danny and Benny. This lineup is built for the lethal counter attack, with Benny, Danny and Freddy supplying the deadly passing and Altidore and Bradley being the likely goal scorers: ----------------Altidore------------------- ------------------Adu-------------------- ----Holden--------------------Szetela----- -----------Bradley-------Benny------------ ----Orozco--Parkhurst---Edu--------Wynne
Nowak is going to go for broke early. I see him releasing the hounds, pushing up soon rather than later and try to build a 2 goal lead, then hold on if we can. That means Adu, Jozy, McBride/Davies, Rogers, Holden will all play up high and put as much pressure as they can early. I think the Dutch will be shocked with our speed for the first 15min. If we can get a goal early they will open up to counter attack. I am calling Jozy with two goals. We might get whipped 4-1, but I dont think Nowak plays this close to the vest. Also, I think Japan will beat Nigeria.
If, as seems likely, both Holland and Nigeria beat Japan, it looks like the US will need a win over either Holland or Nigeria to advance. Two draws would leave a 3-way tie for first, with the U.S. having the lowest possible goal differential. In order for the US to have a shot at advancing without another outright win, Japan likely needs to beat either Holland or Nigeria. All of the above suggests that the US cannot play for a draw in this match. It has to approach it as a must win.
I'm assuming Nowak will play his freshest players for such conditions. Meaning, Guzan Wynne-Edu-Pkhurst-Orozco Szetela-Bradley-Feilhaber Davies-Adu-Altidore Might Nowak play as a 4-3-3 with these players rather than a 4-4-2 and does it matter?
Hopefully the Dutch will get a healthy dose of Altigol, and I can't recalll Freddy doing that much running in the first game, so he should be fairly fresh. These are all young guys, while they will naturally tire in game conditions, fatigue shouldn't be huge factor after one game.
The Nigeria-Japan match will be played before ours, so we'll have additional information before we play. Nevertheless, I agree we should play for the win, regardless of the outcome of the other match. We are here to win the gold medal, and while that may be out of reach, we have to play as if that is a realistic goal. Step one in our quest is winning our group, and beating the Netherlands would be a huge step in that direction. And, as noted in the dreaded 5-5-5-0 (Win-Draw-Draw) group scenario, a draw with the Dutch will still quite likely require us to beat Nigeria to advance. So go for the win in Game 2 and - failing that - go for the win in Game 3. We're off to a good start, so let's do our best to win the group.
Did you enjoy watching our midfield get overrun in the last 10 minutes of the Japan game? Because that's what will happen if we only play 7 guys committed to defense against Holland. Assume the same back 4 and the trident you mentioned above up top. Who plays in the midfield? Rogers-Bradley-Holden from left to right? Bradley-Feilhaber-Sztelea as a pinched-in three in the middle? Edu-Bradley-McCarty as a triple destroyer? I could see your attacking three (I like all those guys) late in the game if we're either down a goal or need keep the Dutch honest on the counter. But for 90 minutes? I think it's too imbalanced.
Yes, see my last post. An additional problem is that you leave the left side entirely exposed. Orozco doesn't attack, and none of those midfielders or attacking guys prefer to drift out wide.