You lose width, sure, but with an incutting dos Santos and Guardado orchestrating, Mexico is trying to get central anyways. And who actually scares you from Mexico on the overlap?
The Bradley-Kljestan double pivot gives you options. Play them high (as in diagram) or withdraw them-- might take Bradley off the ball too much-- but the distribution skills of these two are worth that risk, IMO, b/c Mexico is vulnerable to quick-passing counters.
Gomez HAS to hug the left flank here, and Dempsey is a bit isolated, but he'll roam centrally anyway, especially if given support from Cameron, or better yet, from Altidore, who has a mismatch on the counter against Reyes, and can dish or shoot.
Alternatively, you could withdraw Dempsey and play him in the space between Altidore and Gomez- which might even make more sense, and eliminates the risk he's too isolated in buildups.
Copyright ©2012-26 American Soccer Now LLC
The Yanks Are Coming
about 13 years
You lose width, sure, but with an incutting dos Santos and Guardado orchestrating, Mexico is trying to get central anyways. And who actually scares you from Mexico on the overlap? The Bradley-Kljestan double pivot gives you options. Play them high (as in diagram) or withdraw them-- might take Bradley off the ball too much-- but the distribution skills of these two are worth that risk, IMO, b/c Mexico is vulnerable to quick-passing counters. Gomez HAS to hug the left flank here, and Dempsey is a bit isolated, but he'll roam centrally anyway, especially if given support from Cameron, or better yet, from Altidore, who has a mismatch on the counter against Reyes, and can dish or shoot. Alternatively, you could withdraw Dempsey and play him in the space between Altidore and Gomez- which might even make more sense, and eliminates the risk he's too isolated in buildups.