With the absence of Landon and Brek, F. Johnson will be pushed up the field to provide wing service. Castillo, who performed well enough to earn this chance during the win over Mexico, will replace the leftback spot that Johnson vacated.
Gomez takes on the role of "striker" but will be free to interchange with Dempsey, who floats wherever his skills on the ball are needed. The midfield 3 can all interchange fairly effectively with Deuce on the wing to give him the chance to wreak maximum havoc wherever the opponent is weakest.
Zusi and Sacha were a toss-up, but I went with Zusi because Klinsmann seems to like him more. Either would do a decent job at the 3rd midfield role. Just link the back with the front, overlap wide when space opens up, and hustle back to contain on defense.
This set up would tactically seek to play a high defensive line that allows for control of the midfield early. The front 6 take shots in the space that Dempsey's 1v1 flair creates. Either we score early and the game opens up into a goal-fest, or Antigua & Barbuda bunkers down into a tight zone to later get punished by players switching and breaking up the organization of their zonal marking lines.
Later in the game, EJ can come in to run at them and tire them out, and Gordan can come in to be a physical presence in the box to out-jump and out-muscle the tired A&B defenders in the signature style that's been his hallmark this season.
The beauty of the set-up is that it doesn't have to change for Guatemala as long as no one is tired or injured (knock on wood). The away game in Guatemala should have been a solid win if it weren't for poor finishing from the Yanks and a dumb foul that gave away the free kick that tied up the game.
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CrazyMike366
about 12 years
With the absence of Landon and Brek, F. Johnson will be pushed up the field to provide wing service. Castillo, who performed well enough to earn this chance during the win over Mexico, will replace the leftback spot that Johnson vacated. Gomez takes on the role of "striker" but will be free to interchange with Dempsey, who floats wherever his skills on the ball are needed. The midfield 3 can all interchange fairly effectively with Deuce on the wing to give him the chance to wreak maximum havoc wherever the opponent is weakest. Zusi and Sacha were a toss-up, but I went with Zusi because Klinsmann seems to like him more. Either would do a decent job at the 3rd midfield role. Just link the back with the front, overlap wide when space opens up, and hustle back to contain on defense. This set up would tactically seek to play a high defensive line that allows for control of the midfield early. The front 6 take shots in the space that Dempsey's 1v1 flair creates. Either we score early and the game opens up into a goal-fest, or Antigua & Barbuda bunkers down into a tight zone to later get punished by players switching and breaking up the organization of their zonal marking lines. Later in the game, EJ can come in to run at them and tire them out, and Gordan can come in to be a physical presence in the box to out-jump and out-muscle the tired A&B defenders in the signature style that's been his hallmark this season. The beauty of the set-up is that it doesn't have to change for Guatemala as long as no one is tired or injured (knock on wood). The away game in Guatemala should have been a solid win if it weren't for poor finishing from the Yanks and a dumb foul that gave away the free kick that tied up the game.