If you had to guess which US player had the most touches in the game against Ghana, who would you guess? If you guessed Tim Howard, you are both incredibly cynical and correct. It’s no secret that the US was incapable of maintaining any sort of possession against Ghana, and, despite the win, the US will need a drastically improved performance on Sunday to get points off Portugal and have any chance of advancing out of the group.
So what went wrong in the Ghana game? Why did our offense look so anemic, and what can be done to remedy the situation before the Portugal game? For that, we turn to the opta chalkboard.
First, the raw numbers— The United States gave up the ball 126 times, and 74% of the time, this came off incomplete passes.
If we look to the charts, we can see exactly where on the field the United States gave up the ball the most.
On the offensive side of the ball, there are two major clusters on the wings, the biggest of which occurs on the left involving Jermaine Jones, Clint Dempsey and DaMarcus Beasley.
One may look at this chart and feel positive that the US was able to maintain possession in the center of the field; however, if you look at the combined passing charts of Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, and Kyle Beckerman, you can see that with two defensive mids, Ghana was able to funnel US possession to the flanks and stymie any chance creation from the middle.
And as you can see from the following incomplete pass charts from the same 3 players, the type of balls that look to unlock a defense, simply weren’t on target.
What happened to the US was simply a matter of math. Ghana played a 4-5-1 with two defensive midfielders, giving them a numbers advantage in the center. This forced the US to go wide; however, when Jozy Altidore left the match with an injury, the US lost its target forward, and thus its outlet for both the center mids and the wings to use to relieve pressure and bring other players into the attack. In essence, this completely isolated the wings, and with defensive midfielders constantly shifting over to cover them, the bulk of the US’s possession was lost here.
So what was missing in this game?
For starters, Michael Bradley needed to step up his game. Yes the US was outnumbered in the midfield, but Michael Bradley did not look sharp in this game and was not able to deliver that killer through ball that unlocks the defense.
Another aspect of the game where the US needed to improve was the combination play on the wings. As Mathew Doyle pointed out in his breakdown of the game, the Dempsey goal came off of quick combination play from Beasley, Jones, and Dempsey, to work past the defensive midfielder and put Dempsey one-v-one against the defender.
Of course, the Dempsey goal was aided, in part, by Altidore making a slight run to the far post, creating just enough space for Dempsey to cut into, so this improvement is easier said than done in the game against Portugal since Altidore has been ruled out.
But with no Jozy Altidore going forward, what can be done?
USA vs Portugal
Luckily, from a tactical standpoint, the Portuguese will line up very differently from Ghana. On paper they are a 4-3-3; however, with Ronaldo playing mostly tucked inside and unwilling to defend, this isn’t exactly one of those 4-3-3s that transitions into a 4-5-1 on defense. This means that, at most, the US will evenly match up 4 v 4 in the midfield, and when Nani pushes up, the US will have a man advantage. Furthermore, barring any radical lineup changes from Portugal, Veloso is their only true defensive midfielder. For this reason, I do not see the US having as much trouble holding the ball as they did against Ghana.
This is not to say, however, that the US will look to win the possession battle in this game. Considering the near rainforest like conditions in Manaus, Cristiano Ronaldo’s ability on the counter and Portugal’s proven inability to break a bunker, there is really no good reason for the US to look to take the game to Portugal. The US will look to absorb pressure and break on the counter. Remember, this is essentially a “must win” game for Portugal, while a tie would be a great result for the US. The longer this game goes 0-0, the harder Portugal will push for a goal. And, as we learned from the England-Italy game, teams that do not conserve their energy in Manaus will be completely drained by around the 60th minute. This gives the US a perfect blueprint for success: the rope-a-dope. If the US can successfully absorb pressure and keep the game scoreless, Portugal will be forced to press harder and harder, ultimately tiring themselves out in the rainforest-like conditions in Manaus, leaving them vulnerable for the US to hit them on the counter.
With all this in mind, look for Klinsmann to send out the same defensive diamond we saw against Ghana and Nigeria.
If the US is to succeed, Michael Bradley has to have a much better game on the offensive side of the ball. Without a true target forward, his ability to release players into space and play that killer ball are more important than ever. At the same time, Clint Dempsey is going to have to make a concerted effort to emulate Altidore’s hold up play whenever possible. Demspey needs to allow Aron Jóhannsson to run the channels while he holds the ball and tries to bring others into the attack.
The biggest question mark is whether Zusi gets the start over Bedoya. In this formation, the right mid’s job is mostly defensive, so I give the nod to Bedoya, who is an absolute engine. That being said, Zusi is also known for tracking back well, and he certainly makes the US more dangerous on set pieces, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Zusi get the start either. In my opinion, this is actually the game that Landon Donovan will be missed the most. If you replace Bedoya or Zusi with Landon Donovan, whose work rate is tireless and is the US’s best player on the counter, then this counter attack based offense becomes a lot more dynamic. Unfortunately, Klinsmann failed to bring him in for personal reasons, so the US is left hanging.
With all this being said, I think the US’s chances of coming away from this game with at least a point are quite good, and with Portugal’s -4 goal differential, this would all but ensure the US passage out of the group of death.
Heatmaps and tactical illustrations courtesy of MLSsoccer.com, and used with permission, all rights reserved.
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