The guiding light behind this formation and personnel selection was that the U.S. only needs to not lose.
At GK, Tim Howard is the natural choice, one of the better keepers in the world.
Given the U.S. struggle with surrendering goals, it may seem odd to go with a 3-man defense, but that is hopefully solved with a very heavy defensive midfield presence in the second tier of players. These are the three best defensive players available for America, and should be used here.
The 6-person midfield is split into two tiers, one of offensive and one of defensive players. Williams, Beckerman, and Edu are all defensive midfielders who should be able to combine with the defense to stifle Guatemala going forward. There is some concern that they will also stife the U.S. attack, like they did in Jamaica, but hopefully having Bradley's presence and leadership back will prevent a similar result. This allows Dempsey to play as more of a winger, a role that he's more comfortable with than a pure striker, and Zusi should be a nice complementary piece on the other side of the field.
There are a few options at forward, but after Johnson's performance against Antigua, he should get the start as a target man upfront. If he's unable to get the job done, Gomez should come in for him off the bench.
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Josh Muhlenkamp
over 11 years
The guiding light behind this formation and personnel selection was that the U.S. only needs to not lose. At GK, Tim Howard is the natural choice, one of the better keepers in the world. Given the U.S. struggle with surrendering goals, it may seem odd to go with a 3-man defense, but that is hopefully solved with a very heavy defensive midfield presence in the second tier of players. These are the three best defensive players available for America, and should be used here. The 6-person midfield is split into two tiers, one of offensive and one of defensive players. Williams, Beckerman, and Edu are all defensive midfielders who should be able to combine with the defense to stifle Guatemala going forward. There is some concern that they will also stife the U.S. attack, like they did in Jamaica, but hopefully having Bradley's presence and leadership back will prevent a similar result. This allows Dempsey to play as more of a winger, a role that he's more comfortable with than a pure striker, and Zusi should be a nice complementary piece on the other side of the field. There are a few options at forward, but after Johnson's performance against Antigua, he should get the start as a target man upfront. If he's unable to get the job done, Gomez should come in for him off the bench.