SAN JOSE, Calif. – The United States have rung in a number of changes to the national team over the last year, creating a renewed optimism after a forgettable 2015.
But the key players for the US in the upcoming Copa América Centenario – where plenty will be asked of them defensively – may well be a couple of guys who have been with the program for a few years now, but are only truly starting to find their feet as regulars and starters.
Both center back John Brooks and right back DeAndre Yedlin have established themselves as likely inclusions in head coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s lineup ahead of the USA’s tournament opener against Colombia on Friday evening (9:30 pm ET, FS1), largely on the back of stellar seasons for their respective club teams.
For USMNT veteran Geoff Cameron, who is anticipated to join the duo in manning the US backline for the Copa América, their progress as US national team players has been nothing short of remarkable.
“It’s night and day,” Cameron told reporters of Yedlin’s progress over the last year. "You see his tenacity, his aggressiveness, his thought process on the ball. He’s got the experience.”
Yedlin joined Tottenham Hotspur in January 2015 after two successful seasons in MLS with the Seattle Sounders, but was loaned to fellow Premier League side Sunderland ahead of the 2015-16 season after making just one league appearance for Spurs. Although he initially struggled for playing time, with his coach even saying that he wasn’t experienced enough to start during a relegation battle, Yedlin eventually earned the confidence of the Sunderland coaching staff and was a fixture in the starting lineup as the Black Cats battled their way to survival, and another season in the Premier League.
“He’s been fighting relegation pretty much all season and that changes you as a player because it’s do or die – the fact that you either lose your contract or go down to the Championship, or you stay up and that brings the team together or it doesn’t,” said Cameron, a fellow EPL player with Stoke City. “Sunderland ended up bringing the team together, they worked for one another and he got a lot of experience on it, and that’s helped him and it will help him in his career.”
Brooks, meanwhile, was once again a first team regular for Germany’s Hertha Berlin as they secured Europa League qualification with a seventh place finish in 2015-16 Bundesliga season. Cameron said Brooks' continued presence in the Hertha lineup was a big factor in his improvement and his newly-established role as a US regular.
“He’s a guy that kind of plays the same style as me – I like to play the ball out of the back, he can dribble with it forward, he sees space, and he releases pressure really well,” Cameron said. “And he knows when he can just kick it out, and step the line up.”
“That’s the experience he’s gained in the last couple years playing in Germany … He’s confident in his own ability, he’s technical on the ball and you never see him get rattled when people are pressuring him.''
US goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who will wear the No. 1 shirt for the United States this month, expressed similar confidence in the men who will be playing immediately in front of him against No. 4-ranked Colombia.
“I think those guys have been fantastic in terms of coming in and looking to do a job,” Guzan told reporters ahead of US practice on Tuesday evening. “I think DeAndre playing consistently at Sunderland had been very beneficial for himself and I think it shows in his game. Same thing with Brooks and Geoff. And obviously Fabian [Johnson, US left back] has already established himself. So for all of them to now get a couple games under our belts going into Friday, it’s a game that we look forward to.”
