USA vs. Ireland: A Tumultuous 2014 for USMNT Comes to a Close in Dublin

The United States Men’s National Team wraps up 2014 Tuesday against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin (2:45 EST, ESPN2/Univision). As far as friendlies go, this is mostly — if not entirely — meaningless. Jurgen Klismann’s team enters play today at the Aviva Stadium with a 6-4-4 record in 2014, so no matter what the year will end with a winning record, for whatever little that is worth.

As we know, 2014 in U.S. men’s soccer will forever be judged on the World Cup. We’re five months removed from the loss to Belgium in the Round of 16 and still at the stage where you ask 100 different Americans about the team’s performance in Brazil and get 100 different responses. Reconciling the fact the U.S. advanced from the so-called “Group of Death” (with a 1-1-1 performance), before losing in extra time to Belgium, 2-1, despite being out-shot 27-9 is tricky.

All these months later it feels like a “yeah, but …” scenario. Yeah the U.S. did better than anyone thought — results-wise — to get out of the group, but the game against Belgium left a bittersweet taste especially with Chris Wondolowski’s late miss in regulation.

Practically, there’s no sense looking back to the past. Klinsmann, MLS be damned, is here for another World Cup cycle. Landon Donovan, officially, will not be after retiring from international play last month. Next summer we’ve got the Gold Cup on the horizon with it’s ticket to the 2017 Confederations Cup waiting at the end, making it an important tournament in an otherwise “off” year.

Although today’s game vs. a Robbie Keane-less Republic of Ireland match will be forgotten almost the second it finishes, the U.S. has won three of its last four year-end friendlies: South Africa (2010); Slovenia (2011) and Austria (2013), although with a 2-2 draw with Russia in 2012. For comparision’s sake — if only to illustrate how much can and will change by June 2018 — here’s the lineup then-U.S. coach Bob Bradley used vs. South Africa four years ago:

Three of those players (Guzan, Bedoya and Diskeud) made the 2014 World Cup roster. Granted a coaching change will facilitate these sort of sweeping transformations, but just remember the time between World Cups is long … very long and subject to change.

Three Quick Things:

Disturbing Trend: This is not, how you say, good.

Not all that long ago, the U.S. made its bones by scoring late goals. Landon Donovan’s late-winner vs. Algeria in 2010 immediately springs to mind, but there were also times in friendlies vs. the likes of South Africa, Russia, etc. where the U.S. managed to eek out results thanks to charging hard until the final stoppage time whistle.

The current trend of allowing late goals vs. Ecuador, Honduras and Belgium last week is somewhat explainable by the nature of friendlies, which allow six subs meaning you’ll get guys at different energy levels playing in the closing minutes. Even so, Klinsmann needs to find players who can remain mentally and physically sharp over the entire match. The late goals also happened in a game that counted at the World Cup when a bad giveaway at midfield turned into a pinpoint cross from Cristiano Ronaldo and a goal that turned a potential 2-1 win vs. Portugal into a 2-2 draw.

Forward Thinking: Klinsmann, it would appear, is still playing the ‘what if’ game in his head about Jozy Altidore’s hamstring injury that happened 20 minutes into the U.S. game against Ghana in the 2014 World Cup opener.

Four or five goals from Altidore during the World Cup was wishful thinking, to put it mildly. Colombia’s James Rodriguez finished with six goals to win the Golden Boot, followed by Germany’s Thomas Müller with five, to illustrate the company Altidore hypothetically would have been in.

The U.S. didn’t have a like-for-like replacement on the roster in Brazil with Aron Johannasson and Clint Dempsey not suited to play the lone, physical forward role. Dempsey, yes, provided goals in Brazil but wasn’t quite the option atop the U.S. formation to help relieve defensive pressure and hold up play when the defense tried to clear the ball out of its own half.

Going into 2015 Klinsmann is casting as wide a net as he can for U.S. strikers. Post-World Cup he’s extended chances to newcomers like Rubio Rubin, Miguel Ibarra, Jordan Morris and Bobby Wood. Figure any American-eligible striker who is scoring goals at the club level will get a look as the CONCACAF Gold Cup approaches on the horizon.

Altidore’s club situation with Sunderland in England remains firmly unsettled, so relying on the now 25-year-old next summer isn’t a guarantee, despite Klinsmann’s new-found faith in him. Fortunately 14 of his 25 international goals have come against CONCACAF opposition.

Good Mix?: In some sports we might think of a 24-year-old player as “young” but that’s hardly the case with soccer. U.S. midfielder Mix Diskerud is now 24. The Norway-based player has hung around the fringes of the squad for a couple years — he made the trip to Brazil but didn’t play. Klinsmann gave him a chance vs. Colombia last week and his influence on the game was minimal.

Is Diskerud an attacking player? A holding midfielder? A potential guy to play alongside Michael Bradley in the center of the field. An option to replace Kyle Beckerman or Jermaine Jones when age catches up on the hirsute pair? (Diskerud did sport a terrific mustache vs. Colombia last week, it must be said.)

Diskerud’s made 24 caps for the USMNT, but despite four goals they’ve been mostly undistinguished. 2015 will be a huge year for the Rosenborg player, as Klinsmann decides whether or not he’s a core player to build around as we move into the 2018 World Cup cycle, or a player that although very solid, is lacking that extra edge needed on the international level.

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[Photos via Getty]