Uncle Sam's Army looks to move into command of the final, hexagonal World Cup Qualifying group. As the famous song by Queen and Davie Bowie is titled "Under Pressure," the USA is now moving into the crucial stage of making a World Cup push and the pressure is now on. Tuesday's matchup with Honduras is a must win. Taking of all 3 points will push the Red, White and Blues to a record of 4-1-1. Due to the importance of the match, I believe there are 4 keys for the USA to cover.
The Rematch versus Honduras will be a different scenario than the first game. The USA was out played in February when they visited Honduras. Honduras controlled possession (57%) as well as having most of the threatening chances on goal. The USA has been able to overcome these issues in the previous matches versus Panama and Jamaica. Not only have they dominated possession lately but have become better than converting chances. The formula to achieve a win Wednesday night in Salt Lake is simple: control possession, win the game. Michael "The Maestro" Bradley and Geoff Cameron played physical and got forward in the attack against Panama. Altidore was able to hold up possession, allowing the rest of the midfield to join the attack, increasing the numbers getting in the box for crosses. Getting more bodies in the danger zone is a must. The USA will be playing on home soil, which is a major advantage. Timothy Chandler and Kyle Beckerman have both been called into the squad as coverage for the suspended players.
Wide Play has been critical for the USA in the past few WCQ matches. After missing last weeks win over Panama, all signs point to "Zeus" returning to his starting role as a wide playmaker. Fabian Johnson came to play verus Panama, he proved an assist on Jozy Altidore's first half goal as well as multiple dangerous balls served in behind the back line. The importance of quality service to Altidore has been the USA's newest strong point. The more chances created equals more scoring opportunities. The Red, White and Blues generated 12 attempts on goal and completed a total of 567 passes. The majority of these chances came from the play off the wide players. If the confident play continues as well as the plethora of balls being crossed into the box they should sail past Honduras.
Besler and Gonzalez, the pair are beocming the new one, two punch in the USA starting XI. At the international and club levels, all the successful teams have had 2 strong centerbacks. Chelsea have John Terry and David Luiz, Manchester United had Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister in the 1990's and Barcelona's Gerrard Pique and Carles Puyol have struck fear into the eyes of forwards since 2008. Matt Besler and Omar Gonzales have years of successful football to endure before being considered amongst these names but I have the belief they will become two phenomenal players. Honduras should be another good test for the duo.
Goals, Goals, Goals and More Goals. It's no secret, if you score you win. Jozy Altidore has been on roll scoring in his past 3 appearances. He has been able to find the net in any possible, which is the sing of a true goal scorer. Clint Dempsey, as expected, is the leading goalscorer in WCQ. He has tallied 8 goals so far and of course there is Eddie Johnson. He has excelled in WCQ with a total of 12 goals in 14 appearances. The USA must keep scoring but it must come from multiple players.
Staring XI
 |
| 4-5-1 Formation |
Prediction: USA over
Comments
Post a Comment