Coming off an extremely unlikely, and equally
historic, triumph against Mexico in their final friendly tune up, Team Jurgen
Klinsmann now confidently enters the first of two CONCACAF World Cup qualification
matches against Jamaica but the road through Kingston looks increasingly perilous.
While the Jamaican
national team (nicknamed the “Reggae Boyz”) has never managed to beat Team USA
in the past 24 years of their squaring off, the “Boyz” have also managed to
never lose a qualifier to the Americans when playing on home
soil. In fact, in the four games played between the two teams in Jamaica, the
USA has not only never won, but they’ve accumulated an unimpressive tally of
only one goal scored.
In any case, doesn’t this winless stat raise
eyebrows, and definitely one that paints a significantly more daunting picture
of Jamaica as legitimately dangerous adversary.
As a result, Team USA needs to enter into this
game with the same thick skin and unwavering composure that they demonstrated
at Azteca Stadium last month, maybe even more so.
Going without injured players Michael Bradley and
Landon Donovan, the Americans have to look for offensive creativity and
game-controlling stability from someone else on the roster, but who should they
look to?
Clint Dempsey is a world class player and is
certainly the most proven goal scoring threat on this team, but will
he be in top match shape or form is the real question. He’s coming off a messy
Fulham row that has left him without competitive first team football for quite
some time now, and that’s never an ideal situation for a player hoping to
influence a major international match. He could be a bit rusty, or he could be
Dempsey but not knowing just adds that much more pressure on the rest of the
team to step up.
Another area of major importance is the central
midfield. Michael Bradley has always shown incredible fitness and a definite
willingness to breakup opposing team’s play in his center-mid position, but
more recently he’s also emerged as a premier game-controller and bona fide
offensive playmaker. He fulfills so many roles for the national team thus
looking for just one player to replace him is probably asking a bit too much,
so instead, USA has got to look for a combination of Jose Torres and Jermaine
Jones to fill the void. Torres brings controlled ball movement, good passing
and some potential for playmaking to the position, while Jones can play more of
that “destroyer” role due to his better physicality and speed (and he can also
contribute on the playmaking side of things, already has a goal and an assist
for Schalke 04).
Jozy Altidore probably
gives the best mix of talent and experience up top, but giving
him an appropriate strike partner will be key. This is where either
Dempsey (if he’s not used as a winger) or Terence Boyd/Herculez Gomez can step
in. While both Boyd and Gomez look solid in recent club play, I imagine Boyd
has probably earned another look after his solid performance in previous qualification
games. In addition, since scoring goals will be one of the hardest parts of
Team USA’s mission against Jamaica, having two forwards and Dempsey
stepping into the center of the field from the wing will (ideally) give them
more opportunities to score.
Finally, and maybe the team’s strongest
performing unit right now, is the goalkeeper and back line. Tim Howard is
always pretty solid, so not much to say there, but the intended backline (some
featuring in the Mexico match) of Carlos Bocanegra and Maurice Edu in the
middle and Fabian Johnson and Steve Cherundolo on the outside looks pretty
solid too.
Edu did well as a converted central midfielder
against El Tri and Bocanegra is one of the longest tenured players on this
team, so although there’s not a whole lot of speed here (something to consider
against the likes of Darren Mattocks and Omar Cummings), there’s definitely a
good deal of experience and savvy. Geoff Cameron provides depth here too, and
maybe deserves a start here or as a defensive midfielder. Johnson and
Cherundolo have also both played on the outside in numerous games now, and can
definitely be effective overlapping on what will likely be a winger duo of Brek
Shea and Clint Dempsey. With all those names on the flanks, it definitely
becomes one of the most interesting sections of the field to watch. Keep an eye
on the winger/backs interplay this Friday.
All in all, this is a game that Team USA can and
should win if they really want to show us they’re on track for a meaningful
2014 World Cup push. While a loss wouldn’t kick them out of qualification
contention by any means, it does make the remaining matches in Qualifies that
much more desperate. Kilnsmann needs to set the tone now, and make it
count when the games do too.
Posted By: Kwaku Boakye
Karikari
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