What we Learned from the “Send-Off Series”

The United States had their first training session in Brazil today at the facilities of Brazilian club Sao Paulo.  As the world prepares for the kick off of the World Cup on Thursday afternoon (Brazil and Croatia match up at 4:00 PM EST), i figured this would be a good chance to reflect on what we learned during the three preparation matches these past two weeks.

First, set pieces are so important to the success of this team.  Of the six goals scored in the three World Cup warm-ups, three of them were created off set pieces.  Both goals against Azerbaijan were off Brad Davis balls.  The first, a free kick from about 40 yards out that was kept alive by Diskerud, struck towards goal by Bradley and then buried finally by Mix.  The second goal was a fantastic header by Aron Johannsson off of a corner kick.

Oh, and that beautiful Michael Bradley chip that assisted Fab Johnson’s fantastic half-volley goal against Turkey?  That was an extension of a Brad Davis free kick from about 35 yards out.  The Davis ball was not cleared and found its way to Jozy’s foot on the right side of the box.  Jozy then played it back to Davis who played it further back to Fab and that is where the run started.  A couple touches led to the pass to Bradley which led to the cheeky chip over the head of the defense and back to the left foot of Fab Johnson.  The whole process took 20 seconds from Davis kick to Johnson strike.

Set pieces will allow the Americans to take advantage of their athleticism and larger bodies.  Free kicks and corner kicks become such a large part of the game on the international stage.  And as we’ve seen in the preparation friendlies, it may not be the first, second, or third ball off the set piece that leads to the goal, but just the positioning and extension of play that can come from those opportunities that can allow the Americans to strike.  All three of the Americans’ opponents in the group stage will often control possession and the tempo of the match, so it is extremely vital that the Yanks take advantage of those set piece opportunities when they are given.

Equally important, however, is defending set pieces.  Portugal and Germany can be extremely dangerous from a free kick opportunity, and the US cannot afford to give up goals in that manner.

Next, it is pretty apparent that DaMarcus Beasley and Fabian Johnson should be starting at the outside back positions.  They both add experience, especially Beasley who is headed to his fourth World Cup at 32 years old.  Johnson, although only heading to his first World Cup, has been a regular in the fold since Klinsmann took over the reins of the USMNT and saw plenty of time in qualifying.  Each are a threat going forward (Johnson used to be deployed as a wing midfielder under the 4-2-3-1 formation) and can be counted on for their speed and decision-making.  They are also much better than the alternatives.  Timothy Chandler, who is just playing in his first competitive matches since tearing his meniscus in early February, was horribly ineffective against Turkey.  He was constantly out of position, very often being found very far outside or very far inside, and his mistake late in the game led to the PK and goal from Turkey.  The other alternative is DeAndre Yedlin, who is just a yellow card waiting to happen.  I love his aggression and physicality, but it often comes in threatening positions in the defensive third, where a tackle that just misses can lead to a set piece and a goal.  He is so speedy and has great touch on the ball, but he is simply not ready to play 90 minutes at this World Cup.

One thing that struck me, which others I’m sure will not agree with, is the need to have Jermaine Jones on the field.  At the world’s biggest stage, his European Champions League experience will show.  He can handle the midfield pressure of the Ghanas, the Portugals, the Germanys of the world because he has been there for his club.  We have seen that he can make mistakes, or get too hot-headed and earn a quick yellow card, but the three send-off matches proved to me that he is huge to the success of the control of the midfield.  Michael Bradley will be out there for 90 minutes a game, every game.  The question en route to Brazil has been who will be there with him?  Kyle Beckerman made a strong case for himself over the last few months heading into the World Cup, but Jones is the guy in my opinion.  His experience in high pressure, high intensity, and high quality soccer is unrivaled on the USA squad.

Next, Mix Diskerud will be a fantastic asset off the bench.  Unfortunately for the 23 year old, he is the fourth string central midfielder on this team, but in my opinion he is also the 12th man.  He may be the most important man coming off the bench and we saw how he can change a game in the Azerbaijan friendly.  Coming in during a 0-0 tie and what had been a very boring performance the last ten minutes of that match, Mix immediately added energy to the US attack.  Six minutes after entering the match, Diskerud had buried one in the back of the net.  He played about 20-25 minutes of each warm-up match and I think those minutes will continue in Brazil.  He will have the task of being Klinsmann’s spark plug and will have to add energy to the American midfield heading into the very crucial points of matches.

One of the obvious lessons to me was how important Jozy Altidore is to the American attack.  Another obvious fact is how important those two goals against Nigeria were for Jozy’s confidence.  A massive storyline behind the preparation for Brazil has been Jozy’s poor performance in England this club season and his lack of goal scoring prowess over the current calendar year.  However, in the last chance before Brazil, Jozy scored a brace, including an upper corner, near post blast in the the second half, which was the eventual game winner.  But even when he is not scoring goals, he is vital to the offense.  He is the only member of the team who can play the target forward like Klinsmann wants.  His strength and size make him tough to defend for any defender in the world and if he can successfully receive balls against the backline and hold while the Yanks move forward together, it can set up great transition opportunities for the US.  Another great asset of Jozy is his ability to draw fouls.  Jozy drew nine fouls in the first two Send-Off Series matches, including seven of those coming against Azerbaijan and the one that led to Diskerud’s goal.  For a target forward like that to draw fouls in the attacking areas for the USA is huge, especially after we talked of the importance of set pieces.

The most obvious lesson that was learned well before these three matches: the importance of the Ghana match.  The match against Ghana on June 16 is the most important match for the United States, since, well, the Ghana match in 2010 in South Africa.  The United States has never beaten Ghana in a major tournament, but that is exactly what they must do to have a chance at advancing from the group.  Heading into the matches with Portugal and Germany with three points is the only option.  They will be hard pressed to get three or even four points out of those two matches, and you have the same chance of winning the lottery as getting six points from Portugal and Germany (I hope I’m wrong).  The US must beat Ghana and then hope for a German win against the Portuguese.  If the United States could then scrape a tie from Portugal and the Germans proceed to beat Ghana (which is highly likely), the Germans may choose to rest some of their top players with the guarantee of advancing, which would hopefully allow the US to get another tie or win from Germany, getting them out of the group.  However, none of that is possible without beating Ghana.

As the United States men’s national team rests easy in a hotel tonight in Sao Paulo, Ghana and Portugal are preparing for their last friendly matches before the World Cup.  Ghana kicks off against South Korea at 7:00 PM EST tonight at Sun Life Stadium in Miami.  Portugal’s last warm-up will be tomorrow night at 7:45 PM EST against Ireland at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.  Both friendly matches are available to be seen on ESPN3.