March Qualifiers: No giant-slayers to kill giants

Photo credit: AP

If you are a fan of the US Men's National Team, the title of this post should say it all. Ahead of the most important game in qualifiers, Juergen Klinsmann lost 8 players, some to injuries, others to inactivity. More importantly, there will be no Howard, Fabian Johnson, Bocanegra, Chandler or Donovan.

This is the team called up for the games: 

GOALKEEPERS- Brad Guzan, Nick Rimando, Sean Johnson.
DEFENDERS- Geoff Cameron, Omar Gonzalez, Tony Beltran, Justin Morrow, Clarence Goodson, Matt Besler.
MIDFIELDERS- Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Maurice Edu, Graham Zusi, Brek Shea, Joe Corona, Sacha Kljestan, DaMarcus Beasley, Kyle Beckerman.
FORWARDS- Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Herculez Gomez, Eddie Johnson, Terrence Boyd.

It's true that Carlos Bocanegra is on his way out, so that absence may not be as significant. That the team has lost Tim Howard, the perennial US goalkeeper, and the flanking Germans Johnson and Chandler, puts the team in a potentially-messy situation. Half of the defense is gone. How does the team face Costa Rica and Mexico?

It seems like we have done the left back position story too many times before. When Fabian Johnson took the spot, it seemed to fix the problems. And yet the team has still struggled on that side. Indeed, even the much-maligned Timmy Chandler didn't live up to his Bundesliga talent at right back versus Honduras last month. So were they the permanent fixes? Are we missing Cherundolo that much? May it be that the left back is still up for grabs?

With Klinsmann's team there are always more questions than answers. One thing we may not need to worry about is talent from the midfield up. In the absence of Donovan, Dempsey has taken up the slack by scoring goals and controlling play. The American ace's absence has also given rise to players like Graham Zusi, Brek Shea and Joe Corona. Up top Jozy Altidore and Terrence Boyd are potent European-based forwards and Eddie Johnson and Herculez Gomez are getting things done in the New World for Seattle and Santos, respectively.

And what about Tim Howard? Yes, a casualty of the Premier League and a terrible loss for the US. Then again, these things are going to happen and Brad Guzan, likely to start, has seen his share of action as a starter for Aston Villa in the Premier League. Only communication should be a factor for him, his hands already know the job.

So, do we look at these upcoming qualifiers with optimism? Hard to answer. The back line sounds more like an experimental friendly-type roster as it is. Beltran, Morrow and Besler all have one international cap: against Canada in a friendly in January. Omar Gonzalez just got to know Cameron and it's likely that Cameron might be deployed on the flank, where he has played for Stoke City. 

The midfield options have a couple of defensive options: DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu. Beasley has seen his share of games as a left back, and although he hasn't shined in that spot, his experience playing in Mexico should speak volumes for him. Maurice Edu, on the other hand, has plenty of experience at center back, including a famous win last year versus Mexico at the Azteca. So a back line of Beasley, Goodson, Gonzalez and Cameron in that order isn't so bad. Not perfect but not bad.

But there are missing giant-slayers in this squad: Donovan and Howard. Without both of them we are looking at the next American national team. Anything short of three points in the next two games might make a trip to Brazil highly tenuous. There are giants to defeat: Chicharito, Guardado and Dos Santos for Mexico, Bryan Ruiz and Joel Campbell for Costa Rica. New slayers will need to rise.

First step: US vs Antigua and Barbuda

 Photo credit: Getty Images

We had wished for at least 3 goals in favor. And we got it. Today, the US Men's soccer national team had an underwhelming performance against the national team from the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda. It was a 3-1 win, yes, but it could and should have been much more. Instead, after Herculez Gomez sealer, team USA was left scrambling and overly cautious of a side made up of mainly USL (3rd tier) players.

What was unsettling today was mostly the sloppy plays by Maurice Edu, Steve Cherundolo and Oguchi Onyewu. Edu is surprisingly nowhere near his level with the Glasgow Rangers. Meanwhile, Cherundolo was being overlapped and outrun in another glaring display of talent misrepresentation. This is because Steve has been a de facto right back for the United States for many years and has done so stunningly, at points, and thankfully unnoticed at others. Tonight, his diminished pace was clear and his passes were intercepted more than once.

For Onyewu things are different. "Gooch" is nowhere near the dominant center back that signed with AC Milan in 2009. A patella tendon tear in the final 2010 World Cup qualifier derailed his progress as a player and he never quite recovered for the international level. This has been the scenario starting with the World Cup in games against England and Slovenia, and most recently against Brazil and tonight's match. His athleticism and desire are unquestionably there and he remains successful at the European club level in Portugal, but his place as a starter for the United States is no longer a lock.

Aside from some of the negatives, there were a lot of positives: Donovan and Dempsey hooked up and created chances, even if they did not come to fruition, Gomez continued his scoring ways, there was good possession and Bradley and Jones continued to forge their box-to-box roles. We have to hand it to the AB defense and the goalkeeper because there was more than one goal-line clearance and over a dozen corner kicks.

The main questions remain: Who starts at left back versus Guatemala if Johnson is not available? Does Edu and/or Onyewu continue as starter? Will the attack produce goals in a 4-4-2 formation? This next game is perhaps the most important because it lets us know just how well the team can do away from home and earn points to advance to the next phase of the qualifiers. They won at Panama and Italy under Klinsmann, can they repeat the feat in a meaningful match?

Player ratings:

Howard.............6

Cherundolo.......4

Bocanegra.........7

Goodson...........6

Torres................4

Donovan...........6.5

Dempsey...........7

Bradley..............7

Edu....................3

Jones.................5.5

Gomez..............7.5

Subs: Onyewu (3), Boyd (N/A), Altidore (N/A)

Dempsey and History: USA defeats Italy

Photo credit: ESPN

Genoa, Italy. February 29, 2012. A day in the history of the US Soccer National Team. A perfect game by the Americans that gave us their first ever win versus the Italians in 11 all-time meetings. No Donovan, no problem. Not when we have Dempsey.

So Clint did it again. A sublime pass by Altidore as the AZ attacker used his body to keep possession found a well-positioned Dempsey. The Fulham attacker dribbled slightly and released a low, well-placed shot to the right of Buffon. Goal.

Dempsey had a scintillating performance not just in the offense as he found the spaces and complemented Altidore, but also in the defensive end of play. The Furman University product stayed close to Pirlo for good stretches of the match and was effective in slowing down the talented Italian.

This national team had more than just Donovan missing. Also out were Onyewu, Torres and Timmy Chandler. But in stepped Fabian Johnson and Jonathan Spector at left back, Brek Shea on the left wing and Terrence Boyd as an option at forward. The left side struggled at times but was still able to deconstruct the Italian attack from the right flank.

This game was an affirmation that the Klinsmann system may indeed be working after all. That's 4 wins in a row and 3 away from home, two versus European sides with full squads and one away to a Concacaf foe. His positioning of Altidore with Dempsey right behind him emulates the way "Deuce" is utilized at Fulham. As forward/midfielder, Dempsey is the best option at that position.

The left back spot is up for grabs, as always, although Chandler/Spector/Johnson seem to have a good grip on it for now. Any one of those players can hold their own in that spot even if it isn't their natural position. Until a true left back option emerges, a defensive "committee," of sorts, will do.

The defensive midfield also performed quite well today. Maurice Edu and Michael Bradley were both excellent in their positioning and awareness. Bradley's experience with the Italian game (as a member of Chievo Verona) has made him grow in important strides as a soccer player. He had style today, no doubt about that.

Player ratings:
Howard..............7.5
Bocanegra...........7
Goodson..............6.5
Cherundolo..........7
F. Johnson..........6.5
D. Williams.........6.5
M. Bradley..........8.5
Edu......................7.5
Shea.....................6
Dempsey..............8
Altidore................7

Subs: Kljestan (6), Spector (7.5), Boyd (N/A), Buddle (N/A)

Truth be told: Why the US won't beat Trinidad tomorrow

At the danger of sounding pessimistic, I'm simply stating this: the US lacks the arguments to beat Trinindad and Tobago at Port of Spain. Why? Lack of communication in the defense. With DeMerrit out, it will be interesting to see what Bob Bradley does with the back line. Pearce is very far from the left back position at this point. Bornstein showed he can't quite cut it internationally and showed that vs El Salvador. Beasley was atrocious at the Confederations Cup. Bocanegra is needed to pair up with Onyewu in the center. Castillo has just been cleared to play for the US but too late for this match. Of the above, we know that Pearce, Castillo, and Beasley weren't even called up.

There is the possibility of switching Spector to the left as he's used in West Ham, but that would introduce Cherundolo on the right, where he showed difficulties in Mexico. Putting Bocanegra out wide and inserting Marshall reintroduces some of the miscommunication seen last Saturday. There's no clear winning solution here against a fast-paced and physical T&T side.

In the middle of the pitch, it might advisable to reintroduce Clark as a holding midfielder with Bradley. If he can regain his form things might fare better. Bradley needs to keep composed also. Dempsey requires more impetus from the defense in order to work as a valid option in the attack. He showed glimpses of that in the last game. Up front, barring injuries, Davies and Altidore should be the starters.

It will be a difficult match. T&T is likely to take advantage of the US early-score-by-the-other-team bug and the stars and stripes will go down 0-1 at the half. Some heroics are possible in the second half with Donovan as the orchestrator. We should also take note on the fact that a good majority of the players are carrying yellow cards and may be unavailable for the Honduras match in October, were they to get another yellow. Prediction: 1-1.