The thing to bear in mind is that it's always ugly in CONCACAF. You think the first hour of what we just saw in Nashville against Guatemala was a mess? Just wait until Honduras, Haiti and Panama are lined up across from us with actually meaningful points on the line.
The other thing to bear in mind is that this was a friendly. A particularly choppy and scattered one, and it's not like there's nothing to be taken from it. You always have to be willing to learn; that's why the games are played. Understand how Guatemala kept it tight through 60, and how the US blew it apart over the final 30.
Regardless, it's always a mistake to take too much, no matter the result or the style. In this case the result – 4-0 to the US – was great, while the style raised a few questions.
Here's the game:
1. Sine Qua Non
For the past 25 years – as long as I've really been watching the USMNT – we've been better when playing with a true defensive midfielder shielding the backline, winning second balls and helping shepherd entire sequences of possession out of trouble.
That was Mix Diskerud's role for the first 60 minutes, and let's be nice and say he's still learning it. There was one play in particular that stood out to me:
The obvious thing to note is that he got caught on the ball. The not-so-obvious thing to note is where he actually received the pass from Graham Zusi, and how his first touch did him no favors. By coming toward the ball he invites pressure on both himself and on Zusi, and sets up situation in which Zusi only has one option to play.
The circle is where Mix should have been set up to receive the pass, and the red arrow is the direction he should have immediately played it:
If Guatemala had sussed that out earlier and shut down the spreading pass, then he needs to receive with his back to the goal and play direct to Brad Guzan. A better team could have made this sequence from a telling one to an outright bad one, and both Honduras and Panama are better than the Chapines.
Receiving the ball in the right spot is one of the "little things" that Kyle Beckerman does so well, and tonight's performance kind of drove home the point that Beckerman is and remains the only real No. 6 on the team. Diskerud is very good at spreading the ball around from one flank or the other, and can be very effective in attack.
But at the back point of the diamond? I've still got questions. Say a prayer for Beckerman's hamstrings and hope that we don't need to find answers until sometime in August.
2. Casus Fortuitous
Hey look, it's always shiny when your opponent gifts you what proves to be the game-winning goal. That was a hell of a header from Carlos Castrillo.
The path the US traveled to get into that spot, though, wasn't "good fortune" or pure, unadulturated luck. It was a ball into space for a sprinting winger, which is and has been the bread and butter of this program at least since Bruce Murray put Paul Caligiuri through against Czechoslovakia 25 summers ago.
In this case it was DeAndre Yedlin getting loose:
This came moments after Fabian Johnson had gotten loose down the other flank, which led to a US penalty (that Jozy Altidore missed, and yeah, that'll be Clint's job from now on).
It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the US were better when the game was stretched out to either touchline and Michael Bradley had multiple targets to pick out. That's how we beat Germany and the Netherlands, and though they made us work to find that space, that's how we beat Guatemala.
And if we win the Gold Cup again? It'll be because we killed teams down the flanks.
3. De Minimis
The US gave up four really good looks in this one, and three of them came off of set pieces. Whether it was a quick free kick catching everyone bunched up, or Timmy Chandler losing his mark at the back post, or just the concession of a needless foul in a bad spot, there were small lapses of concentration and in-game knowhow from just about everyone in the midfield and backline.
Things got worse in the second half when Omar Gonzalez was subbed:
My guess is that, beyond anything else, this is why Klinsmann wasn't happy with the performance. The US can afford to have an off day in terms of the final ball (this was not a sterling performance from Michael Bradley, for example), and chemistry between two forwards is always a tricky issue (somehow Clint & Jozy had none).
Set pieces, though? The US can't really afford to be anything less than excellent on those.
Don't take too much away from this game, but do take that. Klinsmann will.
