A Look at the U.S. Men’s National Team on the First Night of the Gold Cup’s Knockout Stage

Date: July 19, 2017

By: James Justice   @JamesJusticeIII

Much like the Euros, the CONCACAF Gold Cup has become a tournament where suspense and meaning have been delayed until the knockout stage of the tournament. With eight of twelve teams making it through to the knockout stage, the group stage serves more as a warmup for the bigger nations than a real, competitive first round.
But tonight begins the Quarterfinals, and the stakes will be much higher for the United States when they take on El Salvador at 9pm ET at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. It’s a game they simply have to win, there is no two ways about it.

Changes have been made to the team since the group stage: Tim Howard, Jesse Gonzalez, Darlington, Nagbe, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore are in. Brad Guzan, Sean Johnson, Alejandro Bedoya, Christian Roldan, Kelyn Rowe, and Dom Dwyer are out.

Firstly, how much do we read into the people who were voted off the island by Arena? On a scale of one to 10, the relevance of each exclusion varies.

Goalkeeping Situation, nine. I do think something can be said for the fact that Bill Hamid has maintained his spot in the squad, and Brad Guzan has not. Hamid, 26, played much better against Nicaragua, than Guzan, 32, did against Martinique. Hamid looks more like the future, whereas Guzan looks more like the present that never was.

- Bedoya Baby, 1. Alejandro Bedoya’s departure is on the complete other end of the spectrum however, as he was forced to leave the team for the birth of his daughter, who he welcomed into the world on Wednesday. His absence will hurt the team to a moderate degree, but his place moving forward is rock solid.

- MLS Borderline Players, 6. Christian Roldan and Kelyn Rowe did not do enough to keep their place in practice and in games, and their departure could signal that the likes of fellow MLS attacking counterparts Chris Pontius and Juan Agudelo, who seemingly entered the tournament at a similar fringe level, may be leaving the tournament more favored by Arena than the former.

- Dwyer Straights, 3. Dom Dwyer’s dismissal from the team is really peculiar. Dwyer, English born and breed, but recently married to Canadian-American, and U.S. women’s national team player Sydney Leroux, at long last gained eligibility for the U.S. men’s national team. He scored and looked lively in his debut, but leaves.

Maybe Arena saw what he wanted to see, but then why not keep him?
Perhaps also noteworthy is that no defensive field players were swapped out, which signals to me that this roster makes up the entire discussion of national team defenders playing stateside or in Mexico, including a sprinkle of overseas players. I don’t see any name emerging outside of this group of Matt Besler, Matt Miazga, Jose Villafana, Graham Zusi, Omar Gonzalez, Eric Lichaj, Justin Morrow, and Matt Hedges to contend for a spot on the U.S. backline. Again, this doesn’t include those playing overseas, such as DeAndre Yedlin, Fabian Johnson, Geoff Cameron, Tim Ream, Danny Williams, and Timothy Chandler.

So the question now becomes what lineup Bruce Arena puts together with this finalized roster of players. There are two ways I could see the USMNT lining up tonight. One is a 4-5-1, with Dempsey behind Altidore:

Hamid
Lichaj – Miazga – Gonzalez – Villafana
Acosta – Bradley (slightly ahead)
Zardes – Nagbe 
Dempsey (just in front)
Altidore (just behind)

This lineup puts Clint Dempsey, still a player that can make magic happen for the USMNT, on the field. He still works brilliantly in that second striker role, and should impose his will on the shaky Salvadorian defense.
That being said Dempsey is just coming into this camp, and despite this being an all-important knockout game, the USMNT could afford to not play Dempsey at all against this El Salvador team if they needed to, and certainly can rely on a trio of players to step up, and allow Dempsey to be a second half nightmare sub for Los Cuscatlecos. So I could also see a 4-3-3 to the tune of:

Hamid
Lichaj – Miazga – Gonzalez – Villafana
Acosta
Bradley – Nagbe (three mids rotate, but these two stay more advanced for most part)
Morris – Zardes
Altidore
I keep Bill Hamid in goal because I think this game, specifically, could be a great test for him as the potential next-in-line to Howard. El Salvador should not be too imposing, but the pressure will be on the experienced, yet still relatively young and internationally inexperienced Hamid. I understand it may make little sense to call Howard into the camp and then not play him though, so Arena’s decision can go either way.

The backline could also look different, but I keep it consistent with Lichaj, Miazga, Gonzalez, and Villafaña across the back. Almost certainly Villafaña will start, and same goes for at least one of those two centerbacks. Lichaj is up in the air, he was a part of the team that struggled mightily against lowly Martinique, but was actually one of the better performers in that game.

Bradley steps into my midfield despite no previous action because that is where Michael Bradley stands in the current national team hierarchy. Questioned and ridiculed by many national team fans, but he demands the respect of those around him. And when he is on, he is definitely one of the two best central midfielders in the United States’ pool. I most prefer him in the 4-3-3 where he can share defensive responsibility with a hard-working Darlington Nagbe and Kellyn Acosta, but perhaps we see more of a 4-5-1 to again, get Dempsey on the field from the start.

Similar situation up front with Jozy Altidore. Jordan Morris had a coming-out game against Martinique, doubling his national team tally for goals. If it is the 4-3-3 I keep Morris in, but if it is the 4-5-1 he is the odd man out with Dempsey playing behind Altidore. Altidore, like Bradley, demands a spot for the upside he can provide.

Regardless of lineup the United States should take down El Salvador comfortably. This game is essentially an extension of the group stage, with El Salvador barely a notch up in talent from the Nicaragua team that they took down on Saturday 3-0. And with the influx of veteran talent, even if some of their roles are limited, the U.S. should win by a wide margin. I’ll go with a 4-0 score, goals by Altidore, Dempsey, Morris, and Zardes.

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