Which Lineup Should Jurgen Klinsmann Use the Rest of the Gold Cup?

The group stage is over for the United States at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Although Jurgen Klinsmann’s team finished with seven points to win the group, the less said of the actual soccer played by the team, the better. On that note, I’m an admitted idiot who spends way too much free time watching and thinking about soccer, and as I write this Tuesday morning I’m trying to think of any salient memories from the 2013 Gold Cup group stage –or anything from the tournament beyond Brek Shea’s winning goal vs. Panama in the final (which Fox showed 2-3 times Monday night) and Stuart Holden injuring his knee.

Let’s agree the U.S. didn’t exactly wow anyone with these three games and the defensive combinations that Klinsmann experimented with struggled mightily. Also remember the team crammed three 90-minute games in six days, including flights to and from the Midwest to the East Coast — the team will fly to Baltimore for Saturday’s quarterfinal, likely against either El Salvador or Guatemala.

And the U.S. will need to make changes by necessity.

Jozy Altidore hinted he’ll miss the rest of the tournament via a tweet Tuesday morning.
John Brooks, who started in the middle of defense vs. Honduras and Panama, will miss the quarterfinal due to yellow card accumulation.
Tuesday afternoon Klinsmann made three changes, Alan Gordon for Altidore; DaMarcus Beasley for Greg Garza and Joe Corona for Alfredo Morales.

Before going into what my (all-important) opinion is for the best lineup for the rest of of the tournament, let’s pause and take a step back — crazy, I know. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that the weather, temperature, field conditions, etc. are big factors. That’s why it’s wise not to dwell on Monday’s 1-1 draw with Panama played in 90+ degree heat in Kansas City.

The forecast for Baltimore on Saturday is 89 degrees. Call me a layman or whatever, but when I walk to my car in this kind of weather I’m drenched in sweat and feeling like a heart attack is right around the corner, so playing 90 minutes of high-level soccer repeatedly sounds exhausting in and of itself — even if you’re a professional.

Under the best of circumstances, the U.S. isn’t a cohesive, one-touch, possession passing team. At some point this century that might happen, but to expect this group of players — pending additional call-ups by Klinsmann for the knockout rounds — to transform into that on a hot July day at M&T Bank Stadium on a temporary grass field is akin to finding a unicorn while standing in a line for a cup of coffee.

So with that in mind, the U.S. should play more to its strengths and go at its opponents and take advantage of the pace of players like Gyasi Zardes and DeAndre Yedlin, along with the continued guile of Clint Dempsey. Michael Bradley is adept at delivering passes near midfield that allow teammates to run into space. Take it to the opponent, not vice versa. That said, Saturday is an elimination game so Guatemala or El Salvador could decide it’s best to play defensive soccer, pack 10 players behind the ball and hope to catch the U.S. on the counter or grind it into penalty kicks.

However it shakes out, based on the three games of the Gold Cup group stage and various friendlies throughout the year this is how I’d line it up the rest of the way to get the best functioning XI on the field, not necessarily what I think Klinsmann will end up doing …

Notes:

Beasley’s recall into the team (and out of international retirement) is the biggest wild card, in that it means Johnson could shift either from left back to right back or into right midfield, meaning Timmy Chandler — a Klinsmann favorite — heads to the bench. Brooks takes over for Gonzalez should the team qualify for the semifinals in Atlanta next week.
At first glance a right side of Yedlin/Johnson might seem too offensive, but they’re 21 and 27 respectively and firmly in squad. Eventually we’ll have to see if they can function together, right? It wouldn’t surprise me if Johnson started in right midfield with Brad Evans at right back, allowing Yedlin to play a super-sub role, running at tired defenders. Graham Zusi also could see time.
The rest is self-explanatory. Zardes in front of goal vs. a “target” guy like Chris Wondolowski or Alan Gordon is much more appealing. Aron Johannsson is the first guy off the bench. Bear in mind Dempsey is 6-foot-1, an inch taller than Wondowski so he can conceivably link up play through balls on the ground or winning headers in the opposition’s penalty area.

The goal here is to win the tournament, but of course since everything MUST be an argument these days unless Klinsmann finds a way for the U.S. to do it in style, there will be complaints. Reckon the XI I’ve cobbled together gives the team an equal shot at both.