USMNT vs. Trinidad and Tobago: 5 key questions
By Dan Voicescu
The U.S. Men’s National Team face Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday, June 8 in Commerce City, Colorado. Here are five key questions ahead of the match.
The USMNT are in fourth place in the Hexagonal after four games, and trail leaders Mexico by six points. Winning the group is probably already be off the table, but a top-three finish, and automatic qualification for the 2018 World Cup, is well within reach. To do that, however, Bruce Arena’s side can’t afford to slip up against Trinidad & Tobago, the worst team in the group, in Colorado on Thursday. Here are five key questions ahead of the match:
How deep will Michael Bradley drop?
No matter how you look at it, the Bradley decline is upon us. Game after game, it becomes clear his best days are behind him. Case in point: the game against Venezuela when Bradley was one of the least effective men on the pitch. Dropping (too) deep and playing almost as a de facto third center-back, Bradley lost more 50/50 balls than he won, mastered the (ineffective) back pass to one of the four men on the backline and did very little in terms of contribution in the offensive half.
The 2017 Bradley is a far cry from those masterful performances leading up to and in the 2014 World Cup. A month away from turning 30, Bradley’s game has become quite limited in scope. He aims to become a shield in front of the back four, but without the steel and bite of, say, Jermaine Jones, Bradley risks becoming a shell of what a modern defensive midfielder looks like. The U.S. need a win against Trinidad & Tobago at home and will need a version of Bradley closer to the tireless box-to-box midfielder in his heyday. It will be interesting to see how long of a leash Bruce Arena offers Bradley in the event his game continues to be limited to trotting around in front of the backline without any significant contributions in the buildup.
How will the backline react in John Brooks’ potential absence?
Just as the center-back pairing of John Brooks and Geoff Cameron was starting to click, Brooks becomes questionable to play following a hip injury in the friendly against Venezuela. It will be interesting to see whether Arena decides to play it safe with Brooks and ensure he’s ready for the Mexico game on Sunday, or whether he starts him anyway. In the event Brooks is out on Thursday night, it appears Matt Hedges has moved up the pecking order and is first in line to replace Brooks and pair up with Cameron. Those two have never played together as a center-back duo. Chemistry between the center-backs matters significantly. How Brooks’ absence impacts the backline may become a key factor.
What will Cristian Pulisic’s heat map look like?
Will Pulisic be free to roam and drift inside or will he be assigned stricter tactical instructions to stay wide? Judging by the performance on Saturday night against Venezuela, it’s pretty evident no one provides the creativity and ability to take players on one-on-one like the young phenom from Hershey, PA. The tying goal in that match was a direct result of Pulisic’s freedom to drift in the center behind the two forwards, receive the ball on top of the 18-yard box and make some magic happen. Depriving your most creative and incisive midfielder of using the full width of the field to make his mark on the game would be a disservice. Pulisic playing a more central role, however, begs the following question:
Will DeAndre Yedlin become a de facto wing-back?
The USMNT need all three points on Thursday night. As such, it would make a lot of sense to use Yedlin’s ability in the opponent’s half to create numerical advantages. His speed and ability to beat his man with pace, as well as provide service into the box could be a true asset against Trinidad & Tobago. With Pulisic presumably allowed to drift inside from his starting right midfield spot, there should be enough space opening up on the right wing for Yedlin to take advantage of. This would make a lot of sense, especially given Bradley’s penchant for dropping back in a more defensive position of late.
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What is the USMNT’s most effective forward duo?
On Saturday against Venezuela, Arena went with the dynamic duo of Bobby Wood and Clint Dempsey, constrained by Jozy Altidore’s unavailability. The chemistry between the starting pair was unconvincing at best. The two have a fairly similar skill set, neither of the two being a classic number 9, able to play with his back to the goal and serve as a target man. It’s fairly obvious Altidore’s return to the lineup will benefit the 4-4-2 formation. Dempsey will probably maintain his starting spot given his recent performances for the USMNT in the March qualifying games. In the event the USMNT have trouble breaking through the T&T defense, it will be interesting to see if Arena opts to bring Wood off the bench as a straight swap with the aging Dempsey or to load up the frontline with three attackers. For now, the Altidore-Dempsey starting forward line seems like a given. What’s less certain is how the dominoes may fall if the U.S. have trouble putting the ball in the net.