1. The Armchair Analyst caught this already, but the Cameron own goal shows how the narrow formation can be exposed by better quality opposition. Torres converged with Bradley to take the ball off MacArthur, but was called for a foul and then caught out when Brown played it quickly. Torres then for some reason went central instead of left to help Edu, and neither could stop the cross to Miller. I'm not trying to be overly critical of Torres, as Cameron and Cherundolo should have done better on the cross. But it's a warning of the type of sacrifice made in this formation. 2. Passing stats and possession: USA (all players) 411/476 passes completed – first 64:10 minutes of the match (until 4-1, after which the US took its foot off the gas) 52/72 – last 25:50 minutes plus stoppage Scotland (all players) 280/343 – first 64:10 minutes of the match 220/246 – last 25:50 minutes of the match This is a great example of how just looking at the possession % (48% for the match) and aggregate passes completed can mislead.
I would be surprised if JK used this same formation against Brazil, even with the same players available. Scotland was the type of team where the USA needed to attack and dictate the game. Against Brazil this will have to be done more cautiously since they will easily exploit the wings where Scotland was not able to, and they will be able to penetrate the midfield, which Scotland also could not. Perhaps, saying the formation will change is too strong, but the positions of players within the formation will be more like what we saw in the last 20 minutes against Scotland with the US looking for a counterattacking opposrtunity.
NBCSN rebroadcast the match this morning...on the second viewing, I was amazed at just how quickly time after time we made the transition to the break in serious numbers without resorting to Route 1 football...
That ability I think will be foundational to our success this cycle, and it's not all that different from the way that Germany played in Klinsi's cycle in '06. But it requires the ability to press high, make quick decisions on and off the ball, and of course the technical skill to do so quickly in tight spaces. Athletically, it requires a team full of guys who are quick and extremely fit, and also possess some soccer IQ and grit, and a couple need to be creative on top of that. With our full complement of guys, we do possess that, at least to the minimum degree necessary to make it work against most teams (outside the top 15 or so). But missing too many key guys, I'm not convinced that Klinsi-ball will work. And we need to approach the top 8 or 15 (Italy and Brazil, for example) quite a bit differently. If reasonably successful, I think the Brazil match will look something like the Italian match except in the way that Brazil will attack us will be quite different (using a lot more flank play and not relying on a single deep-lying quarterbacking maestro like Pirlo).
I have watched this three times already. It's the first game to be labeled "Keep until disc full" on my DVR since the 2010 World Cup games...
to me this was one of the nicest, most noticable changes. If it holds, it's really an improvement. Our counters and breakouts were fast, but controlled. Not the frantic "have to hit the streaking receiver" type of ball, but more a "here we go, all together quickly." We shall see if this composure holds against teams that break up the counter/break out more effectively.
Second time around Torres shined even brighter. He was spectacularly simple and his defensive work rate was better than I've ever seen him put in. I really want to know if he can repeat this effort against a team like brazil. Also Johnson is going to be a fantastic lb for us. His runs we're great. Still needs to sure up his one v one d and like Torres can't wait to see ifhe can replicate this against brazil. Boyd showed he had skills and can push Jozy but he still has work to do before he is ready to start for us. If everyone is healthy and good to go I wanna see how this line would play against brazil... ---------------------- Jozy Dempsey------------------------------donvovan --------------Torres----------jones ---------------------Bradley Johnson----boca---------cam--------dolo ----------------------Howard I wanna attack Brazil. Take the game to them. Yes it could and probably will backfire and cost us the game but I want to see if we are capable and how much further we have to go.
Also wanna add cam is the fastest cb we've played in a minute I want to see more of him in qualifying cause I pray to good Goodson isn't our starting cb come world cup. Same for gooch and boca maybe one but not both.
Watching again, this game came down to the 4 horsemen, Jones, Donovan, Bradley, and Torres. They were phenomenal and were pretty much the only ones allowed to touch the ball. It's testament to our dominance that Edu could have been replaced for the first half by a fit 45 year old retired player. He stood out for turning the ball over under minimal pressure and had next to nothing to do defensively except stand/jog in the right place. After the 40 minute mark he got himself more involved with tackles and runs. Boyd looks like a decent player but he didn't really do anything effective other than the somewhat subjective "good runs". He didn't set up teammates or get clear shots off at the rate one would expect given how often he was near the ball. Fabian Johnson looked amazing on his occasional forays, even if he didn't end up affecting the scoreline. Great control to go with that pace on the ball. Gomez and Beckerman were immediately effective upon entry. Scotland fired numerous crosses "at" our box, but they seldom even made our backs have to challenge attackers for the ball. They had almost zero touches in our box other than the Miller goal, which was enabled by a dubious foul call in midfield and a restart a couple of yards ahead of the foul while Bradley and Torres jawed with the ref.