Five Takeaways from the U.S. Win Over Honduras

The United States national team won its opening game of the 2015 Gold Cup on Tuesday night but the narrow 2-1 win exposed flaws in Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad. 

The opening minutes of the game offered a quick lesson in just how misleading friendlies can be. While last month’s wins over Holland and Germany were nice, Honduras came out with the intensity that only a serious competition can offer. The U.S. team took advantage of defensive mistakes on set pieces for a pair of goals that were mostly against the run of play.

It’s clear that the American group must improve ahead of the knockout round.

Out of Position Midfielders Left Team Disjointed

Jurgen Klinsmann made two questionable decisions with his starting midfield. As well as Gyasi Zardes and DeAndre Yedlin have played on the wings in limited minutes in recent friendlies, neither belong there on a full-time basis. Zardes plays almost exclusively as a forward for the Los Angeles Galaxy and Yedlin has spent almost all of his club career minutes at a right back. The decision to start both the players as midfielders at the same time was too much experimenting at once. It left Michael Bradley and Kyle Beckerman as the only comfortable and experienced midfielders. The result: frequent lost possession.

Klinsmann needs to consider changes. Will Fabian Johnson move into the midfield? Is Alejandro Bedoya fit enough to start? Should Graham Zusi return to the lineup after a subpar outing against Guatemala? The U.S. team should win Group A. The real challenge is finding an ideal midfield before the knockout stage.

Chandler’s Right Back Woes Continue

On Friday, Timmy Chandler’s nice offensive moments against Guatemala covered up the glaring defensive mistakes he made. Against Honduras, he continued to struggle defensively while contributing little to the attack. The Eintracht Frankfurt right back turned the ball over too many times and was caught out of position defensively on multiple occasions. Brad Evans was an immediate and noticeable upgrade when he came on for Chandler in the second half.

Chandler is particularly frustrating for American fans. He has nearly 130 Bundesliga appearances at right back and has been a good player in one of the best leagues in the world, yes he has never carried that over to the U.S. national team on a consistent basis. Will a player of his experience ever play up to his capabilities for the national team? Since 2011, the U.S. team has been patient with Chandler, hoping that he’ll be committed enough to show up and play like the Bundesliga starter he is. Four years on, we have little to show for the patience. How much longer will Klinsmann wait?

Altidore Was Too Passive

For the second straight game, Jozy Altidore was not able to get involved offensively. Against Honduras, the only real chance he had was in the 25^th minute when his shot off a botched set piece clearance was saved, a play that resulted in Clint Dempsey’s rebound goal. Once again, Altidore was largely invisible for long stretches before being replaced. To be fair, he has only recently returned from a hamstring injury but will Klinsmann use the remaining group stage games in the hope that Altidore gets back into his rhythm or will he instead looks at other scoring options?

One of the weaknesses for the U.S. team at the 2014 World Cup was that there was no “Plan B” in case Altidore was injured. When the forward was forced out of the tournament after just 20 minutes, the lack of depth became an issue (one compounded by the fact Aron Johannsson was also dealing with an injury that limited his minutes). While Altidore may eventually find his form, Klinsmann has other options at this Gold Cup. He can play Johannsson or move Zardes to his natural forward position. Chris Wondolowski can score against CONCACAF opposition.

Either way, it will be interesting to see how Klinsmann handles Altidore moving forward at the Gold Cup.

Calling Gonzalez?

Ventura Alvarado started off the game decently in an appearance that “cap-tied” him to the United States internationally. Unfortunately, his performance fell off in the second half and he was exposed badly on Carlos Discua’s 69^th minute goal. 

Alvarado has potential but he is still very new to top-flight soccer. He has played only 1314 Liga Mx minutes in his career in addition to the 414 minutes he played for the U.S. Alvarado is a prospect with talent, and Klinsmann speaks highly of him. But when the games get bigger later in the tournament, experience matters. Don’t be surprised if Omar Gonzalez returns to the starting lineup sooner than later.

Calling the Reserves

The rules of the Gold Cup allow teams that qualify for the quarterfinals to make six changes to the roster. Klinsmann can make a few key moves that will address many of the problems we saw against Honduras. DaMarcus Beasley is the most likely addition since Klinsmann actively sought to bring the Fort Wayne, Ind. native out of international retirement. Beasley will slide into the left back position, freeing up Fabian Johnson to move into his natural midfield. Or Klinsmann can slide Johnson over to right back and replace Timmy Chandler. Either way, Beasley’s addition will allow Klinsmann to address at least one weakness.

Matt Besler seems to fit the mold of a player who will succeed in this tournament. Besler performed well in the biggest CONCACAF games, like his performance in the U.S. team’s 0-0 draw against Mexico at Azteca Stadium. John Brooks has taken an increased role with the U.S. team and that is understandable with his Bundesliga experience. But it is important to remember that for Brooks, that was just his second non-friendly of his career for the U.S. team. For Alvarado, it was his first. Tim Ream only has 13 caps. In other words, Gonzalez is the only central defender with considerable experience on the backline. Expect that number to increase in the knockout stages.