USMNT preferred formation and XI snapshot

Posted on 9/7/16 at 4:24 pm

Posted by Broski

Member since Jun 2011

79747 posts

Posted on 9/7/16 at 4:24 pm

We're less than two years away from the World Cup and now just 2 months away from the Hex. While there is still PLENTY of time for players off the radar to still make a case for a ticket to Russia, we are now starting to get into the real part of this cycle.

With that in mind, I'm interested to see how everyone here feels about where the US is right now in terms of formations, tactics and talent.

For me, it starts with the full-immersion of Pulisic into the squad. There was a tweet by Shinguardian last night saying how he couldn't recall a time when players were actively "looking" to get a player the ball like the US did for CP last night since Donovan in 2002 WCQ cycle.

A little hyperbole sure, but not much. It's near insane to levy these expectations on a 17 year old, but it's getting to the point where it may be unavoidable. He makes everyone around him so much better and with a playmaker like that in fold and it gives us lineup flexibility.

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I feel like when we roll out a 4-3-3, this is our ideal XI. Bradley is your dedicated 6, it plays right into Jones' game, giving him free roam as the 8 with a reborn-Kljestan as the 10. I get that it was just 2 games against one shitty CONCACAF team and another against a mid-level CONCACAF team, but Kljestan was still impressive, particularly with his chemistry with Pulisic. I don't know if he can keep it up all the way to Russia, but so far in this cycle, him and Nagbe have been pivotal in linking up play form one third to another, and right now Jurgen is favoring Kljestan.

What I don't like about the 4-3-3 though is that, I really want Bobby Wood on the field with Jozy, but shifting him out wide isn't the ideal spot for him. Wood is so damn good at making runs that won't necessarily make him open for a pass, but it'll make someone else open. We saw a lot of that last night against T&T. Playing him out wide on the wing where he will often have to tack back for Yedlin, it would seem a tad counter-productive for what Wood is. Honestly, Gyasi Zardes would be a legitimate option at that spot, as well as Bedoya due to their workrate making up for technical abilities.

Which leads me right to the 4-4-2.

Only real change is shifting Wood inward and putting Bedoya in for Jones. Bedoya does the dirty work up and down the flank, it won't get noticed, but it allows cover for others to do what they do best. Every team needs players like him for true success.

What's crazy is that I think we're finally entering an era where we don't "need" Dempsey, which is kind of sad considering the circumstances of his health and how good he was for us in the Copa, but it may be time to move on, at least in terms of him being an automatic spot in the XI. Also, I think we'll be seeing the debut of Lynden Gooch really soon and his versatility can spell doom for guys like Bedoya, Jones and maybe even Bradley.

I've done enough rambling, what say the SB?