USA v Chile Review: Three Up and Three Down

The USMNT drew with Chile 1-1 in Carson, California on Saturday night. It was a mostly drab match filled with mistakes as each side was composed of young players with very little international experience. The last 30 minutes of the match picked up in interest and play though after Chile striker Estaban Paredes made use of a good cross beating US keeper Sean Johnson to give Chile a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute. The US responded with a penalty kick taken by Teal Bunbury in the 75th minute when young stiker Juan Agudelo was awarded the foul that led to the spot kick after being tripped just inside the box by Sebastain Toro.

In this post match review I will present three things I liked from the Yanks and three things I see needing improvement (hence the name, three up and three down). Now on to it!

Three Up

1. The Return of the 4-5-1

Bob Bradley returned to using an attacking 4-5-1 after the failed experiment using the formation last fall versus Poland. The 4-5-1 is the best formation in my opinion for the USMNT given the number of quality midfielders and the lack of consistent strikers. It is good for the kids to get used to this system as it may be employed often in the future. Can you imagine Altidore up-top with Dempsey and Donovan attacking on the wings? I can and I like it.

2. Depth in Goal

Another strength of the US side is the goal keeping. Nick Rimando and Sean Johnson were not tested much but each looked more than serviceable, Johnson really had no chance to stop Chile’s lone goal so he should not be downgraded. The good news is these are the guys who are vying for just the 3rd, 4th, or 5th spots in the GK rotation behind Howard, Guzan and Perkins.

3. Zach Loyd

Of all the players that I saw last night for the Yanks Zach Loyd impressed me the most. He was active up and down the left flank and responsible with the ball in his 70 minutes on the pitch last night and he gives Bob Bradley another option at left back where the US has had some problems. Bornstein has been playing that spot out of necessity and suddenly Bradley has Loyd and Aston Villa player Eric Lichaj to choose from.

Three Down

1. Poor Passing

The passing last night was just plain horrible for 99% of the night. Long passes, short passes, you name it the US was not connecting as they should have. You can write most of this off as young players with nerves but this must be addressed going forward with this group of players. Simple passes were mishit far too often and sending blind, backwards, diagonal balls toward the middle resulted in far too many turnovers.

2. Wondolowski As Lone Option Up Top

Chris Wondolowski had a nice year scoring goals in the MLS and is the main reason Bob Bradley selected him to start. Wondolowski is a decent player but he wasn’t getting much help from the three attacking midfielders and he was clearly frustrated. In his lone scoring chance he had time to dribble into the box but instead fired a long shot that was an easy save. Bunbury would have been a better option as he is strong and has enough pace to open things up.

3. Lack Of Real TV

The USMNT or US Soccer really isn’t to blame for this but it must be mentioned. The “worldwide leader” and their new found passion for soccer after broadcasting last Summer’s World Cup couldn’t find a place somewhere on their barrage of channels to show this game on over the air television? College basketball, the NBA, and a tape delayed boxing match were too important, I guess, and Fox Soccer Channel could not broadcast the game because their US Soccer contract ran out in 2010. USA soccer better make sure all matches are accessible to watch on TV if they want the sport to grow as it has in recent years.