Five Points: USMNT search for the right balance against Netherlands
AMSTERDAM
United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann took a few moments to assess the merits of the opposition. He cited Netherlands’ run to third place at last summer’s World Cup and touched on the importance of those performances to the side. He then turned to a matter of great interest to both himself and his Dutch counterpart Guus Hiddink.
As Klinsmann ticked off the Dutch strengths, he focused on the ability to count on the depth of the squad. It isn’t just about one or two players, he insisted. It is about how the strength of the group allows the team to function.
“It’s just an enormous quality in that team,” Klinsmann said. “They can feed from a bench that is pretty even to their starting team. This is the big advantage of the big soccer powerhouses around the world. It’s not down to the first 11. It’s a deeper pool of players that they can call in. If Arjen Robben misses one game, they have two or three out there who are almost at that level. For us, it’s great to experience that. They know we respect them a lot.”
Klinsmann and his technical staff spent much of this past year working toward that objective. This friendly at AmsterdamArena offers them a high-profile chance to measure the progress with the CONCACAF Gold Cup right around the corner. This edition of Five Points assesses the challenges ahead and contemplates how Klinsmann might tweak his options to meet them.
1. Keep an eye on the adjustment period …
The number of absences within the ranks -- Jozy Altidore (hamstring), Alejandro Bedoya (knee), Clint Dempsey (waiting on the birth of his fourth child) and Jermaine Jones (groin) are all unavailable -- provides plenty of chances for players to state their cases for Gold Cup inclusion.
Klinsmann spent much of the past year blending old with new as he tested out the options. Kyle Beckerman and Michael Bradley supply plenty of experience in midfield, but the rest of the side is relatively inexperienced. It is now down to these players to locate their footing quickly without the reliability of several touchstones to lead the way.
“In the last few camps, there were always different faces,” U.S. defender Fabian Johnson said. “It was a different kind of group. I think our team is pretty easy with those kind of things. We adjust to it very quickly. We’re just trying to have fun and have a good result.”
2. … and watch Klinsmann forms his defense
Many of those adjustments must arrive in defense with Jones injured and World Cup starters Matt Besler, Geoff Cameron and Omar Gonzalez left out. There are considerable choices to make in central defense (will Ventura Alvarado or Michael Orozco partner John Anthony Brooks?) and philosophical questions to answer at fullback (is this game suited to an adventurous approach or is more caution required?).
Netherlands presents an intriguing challenge for the reconstituted back four with its varied approach play. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar leads the line with prototypical target play, while Robin van Persie tucks into the spaces behind him to benefit from his hold-up work and exploit the gaps. Throw in the inevitable forays from Memphis Depay as he bursts out of midfield and the Americans will have plenty of varied threats to manage over the course of the 90 minutes.
3. Depay’s threat steers Netherlands up the left…
Depay looms as a particularly potent threat from his expected berth on the left. The promising winger earned a move to Manchester United earlier this spring after impressing under United manager Louis van Gaal at the World Cup and topping the Eredivisie scoring charts with runaway champions PSV this campaign. His blend of pace and timing makes him particularly difficult for opponents to track when he cuts infield as he often does.
Hiddink builds on Depay’s inverted menace by often deploying Daley Blind behind him. Blind featured most often in central midfield for the Dutch last summer, but he presents a threat on the left with his willingness to provide support in possession and switch the play with diagonals.
In order to cope with those concerns, the Americans must choose their moments to attack wisely. There is a need to press forward to force both players to defend, but those opportunities must unfold at the right times to ensure the shape of the side is not placed in peril.
4. … while the placement of Fabian Johnson might indicate the American intentions
Johnson continues to float from berth to berth with the national team as Klinsmann assesses where to fit him into the side. His placement -- right back at the World Cup last summer, left midfield in both friendlies last fall, left back in Denmark in March -- reflects the versatile nature of his threat and the quandary of his best berth for this side.
Klinsmann’s deployment of a diamond in Switzerland indicates Johnson might once again end up in the back four. If Klinsmann sticks with that setup (and the results in the first hour were encouraging), then Johnson must find a way to influence the game from a likely role at fullback. His runs -- both through the channels and on the overlap -- comprise an important component going forward. It is incumbent on Klinsmann to find a way to make the best use of them as this side takes shape.
5. Opportunity knocks up front
Johnson’s threat assumes a greater importance with Altidore and Dempsey both absent up front. The loss of the preferred front two strips away the reliable cadence of the attacking movements -- Altidore leading the line and trying to get through the line, Dempsey dropping off to mine the spaces and Bradley searching for those clipped balls over the top -- and ushers in a chance for other players to state their claims up front.
AZ forward Aron Jóhannsson looms as the likely first-choice option for both friendlies. It is a deserved nod given his torrid form to end the Dutch season (four goals in his final three games) and his status as the most established striker in the pool. He offers a different look than most of his teammates: his game is predicated on his pace and his willingness to get in behind first and foremost.
“It’s a huge opportunity,” Jóhannsson said. “Both of these games are against top-five teams in the world. It’s a huge opportunity for me, personally, to show before the Gold Cup that I should be in that team. I just have to play at my best level and as well as possible to show to the coach that I should be in the starting XI.”
The identity of Jóhannsson’s partner is a bit more uncertain, but Juan Agudelo probably fits the bill best. Agudelo’s ability to combine neatly in tight spaces and facilitate the play dovetails well with Jóhannson’s desire to surge behind the line. Those qualities must rise to the fore quickly with Jordan Morris (included after his spell with the under-23 side in Toulon), Bobby Wood and Gyasi Zardes all scraping to make their Gold Cup cases.
