The United States are coming back to a World Cup after they failed to qualify to the Russian tournament in 2018. This time around the American team boasts what they believe is their best generation of players yet. Captained by Chelsea midfielder Christian Pulisic the team has high hopes going into the tournament. Are those hopes well founded, or is the golden generation of the USMNT more like fool’s gold?
A Dynamic Team That’s Looking For Their Go-To Number 9
No offense to Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey, but we’ve probably never seen a USA team that is as dynamic as this one. Also, they have a ton of different options on the wing. Obviously Pulisic is the main focal point, but Tim Weah, and Gio Reyna are valid options. Weston McKennie coming up from the midfield also packs a punch. The team maybe relies a little too much on Tyler Adams to be both the man who gets the ball back in the midfield and distributes, but when he’s on his game he can be a real field general that can provide plenty of interesting through balls to the talent on the wings.
That number 9 spot can be one that’s concerning. None of the players that have been used at the position by coach Gregg Berhalter have seemed to feel overly comfortable in that spot. There’s an argument to be made though that with that 4-3-3 system that Berhalter insists on playing you don’t need a number nine that just sits and waits in the box like Ricardo Pepi. He could use either Weah or Pulisic in that role to make runs out of the box, and open up spaces for the players on the wing to make runs into the box in the open space.
Maybe One Of The Worst US Generations On The Back End
The big concern for the USA heading into the tournament is the fact that they don’t have a solid defense. That was on clear display in one of their last tune up matches against Japan. The team really struggled with the speed of the Japanese players. What may be comforting is that neither of the teams in the group are necessarily as dynamic offensively as Japan. The US may be able to play a frontal long ball game against at least the British national teams who are both in their group.
We’re a couple of days away from the start of the tournament, and there’s no clear starter at goalkeeper or both of the center back spots. That tells a bigger story in our opinion than anything we can say about who we feel should play in the back line. Berhalter is fixed on his 4-3-3 formation, and we understand that he’s counting on his talented wing players to make a difference for him. He may not realize though that at least in the group stage he won’t be coaching the most talented squad in at least two of his games.
Projected Group Finish
If we wanted to be optimistic we would say that the USMNT is going to find a way to place second in their group. Our main concern though is the lack of experience in the managerial chair. Gregg Berhalter seems to be married to his 4-3-3 formation. It just makes the team really unstable in the back. Japan proved how fragile the US defense really is. To be honest there’s just not enough talent on the squad to overcome those woes. Particularly if you want to play do or die every single game from the get go. We’re hoping someone can get through to Berhalter to help him realize that defensive stability should come first. With the tournament being so close though, it’s looking like it’s going to be the US’s 4-3-3 against the world. We just don’t love the odds. An early exit could be on the horizon for Team USA.
