This week in US Soccer: The USMNT are back on track

The USMNT slugged out a tough road draw at Panama on Tuesday night in World Cup qualifying. It was ugly, and frustrating, but they did what needed doing.

“Win at home, draw on the road.”

We’re all familiar with this heavily used soccer axiom. It turns out it’s heavily used because it’s correct.

After steamrolling Honduras 6-0 on Friday at home, the U.S. Men’s National Team drew 1-1 with a feisty Panama side in Panama City on Tuesday. If the USMNT keep winning at home and drawing on the road — heck, even if they just win at home — they’re going to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

As the above graphic shows, the four points earned by the U.S. in their last two CONCACAF final round games has bumped them into fourth place in the Hex, raising their likelihood of qualifying for the World Cup to 82 percent. In short, Bruce Arena did what he was brought in to do: get the USMNT back on track.

In long (is that a phrase?), the results were good, but there’s still a lot to work on. The win against Honduras was euphoric and cathartic, but probably raised the expectations for Panama a bit too much: it felt like the U.S. would go into Panama City and house the home side. That just doesn’t happen on the road in CONCACAF.

Defense

It was hot and muggy on Tuesday night, and Arena had a depleted roster to choose from. For instance, the defense didn’t contain any first-choice starters. Jorge Villafana was fine at left-back, but, and especially with the performance of the midfielders, Fabian Johnson is clearly the best choice at the position going forward.

The Tim Ream-Omar Gonzalez center-back pairing was less than ideal. The lone Panama goal was a result of Ream failing to clear a ball into the box; he ended up deflecting the pass into the path of an onrushing Gabriel Gomez, who buried it past Tim Howard. It was an unfortunate deflection, but a center-back has to take charge and attack a ball like that. Ream turned his head and appeared to close his eyes and that was that. The Fulham man didn’t do himself any favors on Tuesday night.

If there was any question of what partnership is preferred at center-back before these two qualifiers, we have our answer now. John Brooks and Geoff Cameron are the U.S.’s two best central defenders. Their availability for selection is of vital importance as the USMNT finish out this World Cup Qualifying campaign.

While we can all applaud Graham Zusi’s efforts, he’s clearly not an international-level right-back. Granted, he didn’t receive much help in a few key situations — more on Jermaine Jones later — but Zusi can’t be considered as an option in the future. By my count, the Sporting KC midfielder is the sixth-best option at right-back for the Yanks behind DeAndre Yedlin, Eric Lichaj, Geoff Cameron, Fabian Johnson and Timmy Chandler. Of those, only Cameron was available on Tuesday night. The USMNT back line will look completely different when, if,  Arena has all his options available.

Finally, Howard showed why he’s been the best goalkeeper in CONCACAF, and one of the best in the world, for a decade last night. He’s the clear U.S. number 1 for the remainder of this World Cup cycle. The save he made in the 60th minute against Panama salvaged the draw.

https://twitter.com/ussoccer/status/846955472385163264

That’s the Timmy we all know and love.

Midfield

Christian Pulisic gained some valuable experience on Tuesday night: he had a target on his back in a road Hexagonal match. A few different Panama players took shots at the 18-year-old, but he remained determined and effective. These types of matches always tend to get chippy, and the refs in these types of matches always tend to swallow their whistle. This was certainly the case in Panama City as the home side hacked down multiple USMNT players on multiple occasions. Not a single card was shown all game (LOL).

Pulisic and Darlington Nagbe continued to demonstrate how valuable they are to this team. Arena employed a more traditional 4-4-2 against Panama, with Pulisic and Nagbe on the wings. They clearly have different skill sets — Nagbe may be the best possessor of the ball in the entire U.S. player pool while all Pulisic does is create scoring chances — but when combined they are undeniably important to the success of their team. Keep them on the field together, Bruce.

Nagbe’s rise is of particular importance considering the current state of the left-back position. He allows Fabian Johnson, even if we would all love to see him in the midfield, to shore up that full-back position when he returns to the team. Against Panama, Pulisic overcame the nagging fouls long enough to provide the moment of magic the USMNT needed. He discarded two Panamanian defenders, one being Seattle Sounders defender Roman Torres, before perfectly setting up Clint Dempsey for his fourth goal in his last two games.

That’s a masterpiece. Put in a museum.

On the negative side, Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones didn’t have a good showing in the center of the park. Bradley covered his normal 8,000 miles and helped on defense, but his passing was once again lackluster. He simply gave away possession too many times. And, to be blunt, Jermaine Jones isn’t up to the task at this level anymore. He’s had a great USMNT career, having played an important part in many important U.S. games, but he no longer provides any benefits to his side when he’s on the field.

Dax McCarty and Kellyn Acosta both appear to be better options next to Bradley right now. And players such as Danny Williams and Perry Kitchen also deserve some reps at center mid. Thank you for your service JJ, but that will be all.

Forwards

The Dempsey-Jozy Altidore pairing is one of the most prolific striker partnerships in USMNT history. But after his fine passing performance against Honduras, Altidore failed to make any discernible impact on Tuesday night. Again, it was a road CONCACAF match, and the U.S were not getting any calls, but the Toronto FC man has to find a way to contribute in these kind of matches.

Altidore’s struggles highlighted the absence of Bobby Wood. What kind of striker alignment will Arena go with if Wood is available? Has Jozy done enough to retain his starting spot? Dempsey clearly needs to be on the field; his tally last night leaves him one goal short of leader Landon Donovan on the USMNT all-time scoring list. And with the chemistry Deuce and Pulisic have developed over these last two matches it’s hard to see where Altidore fits in if Wood is healthy.

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In the end, Arena and the USMNT did what needed to be done. They’re right back in the thick of things in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying. It was a simultaneously exciting and calming experience for USMNT fans as they saw their team perform at a high level while at the same time removing much of the anxiety and dread that had taken hold after those first two dreadful qualifiers.

The U.S. will face last-place Trinidad & Tobago at home in their next 2018 World Cup qualifier on June 8. They follow that up with a daunting trip to Mexico on June 11. Securing another four points from these matches would complete the USMNT turnaround. Let’s hope for fewer injury concerns come June.