USMNT Must Assure Themselves of a Point Against Costa Rica in Crucial Hex Match
History is not on the side of the United States men's national team as they prepare for their second game of the Hexagonal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, against Costa Rica on Tuesday.
The Yanks are one of three teams sitting on zero points after their loss to Mexico in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday. A second consecutive loss to a fellow power in CONCACAF would put the USMNT in dire straits with eight matches remaining.
In the five previous World Cup qualifying cycles, no team has advanced directly to the World Cup from the CONCACAF region after losing their first two matches in the Hex. Trinidad and Tobago opened with two losses during qualification for the 2006 World Cup and earned a spot in the field of 32 with a win in the continental playoff.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Three squads have secured a spot at the World Cup after earning one point from two games, but only one of the three failed to pick up points in their opener. Honduras started the Hex with a loss and a draw before making the 2010 World Cup.
Tuesday's match in San Jose, Costa Rica, isn't necessarily a must-win for the Yanks, but it's imperative they find a way to earn a point against the Ticos in order to create a little bit of momentum heading into 2017.
But earning a point at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica will be no easy task against a side that pulled off an away win over Trinidad and Tobago on Friday.
Manager Jurgen Klinsmann can't align his side in a formation that is doomed from the start, like the 3-4-3 he trotted out against Mexico in Ohio. The Yanks must be tactically astute from the opening whistle, and they must find a way to break down Costa Rica's rock-solid five-man back line.
The Yanks have the assets available to penetrate the Ticos defense, but their game plan must be on point in order to keep the home side off the board.
Before you can even start thinking about how to pick out the gaps in the Costa Rica defense, the Yanks have to solidify their own back line. A disorganized three-man defensive setup will fail even more than it did on Friday if it is used on the road on Tuesday night.
That means a four-man alignment, anchored by center-back John Brooks, is the best option. The 23-year-old will likely be paired with Omar Gonzalez after the Club Pachuca man earned a starting nod on Friday.
Klinsmann's most important lineup decision will come at full-back, where Timothy Chandler and Matt Besler shifted to when the Yanks morphed into a 4-4-2 around the 25th minute on Friday.
The biggest concern for the full-backs will be dealing with the speed and technical ability of Bryan Ruiz and Joel Campbell. Besler can hold his own on the left, but he doesn't have the recovery speed required if one of the two Sporting CP players blow by him.
Chandler has shown time after time that no matter how good his form is at the club level that he isn't ready for the international stage. But despite the countless positional errors by the Eintracht Frankfurt man on Friday night, he is the favorite to start over DeAndre Yedlin at right-back because of his play in the Bundesliga.
If Klinsmann were to finally distance himself from his stubborn thought process, he'd have Yedlin on the right and Fabian Johnson on the left. By starting Yedlin and Johnson, the Yanks would have speed on the defensive flanks and players with the ability to make overlapping runs in a heartbeat in an attempt to strike fast in the final third.
If Yedlin and Johnson were to start at full-back, Alejandro Bedoya and Christian Pulisic could start in front of them on the wings to provide the same pace and a two-way work ethic that few on the roster are able to produce.
With Pulisic lifted from the center of the field, where Mexico kept close tabs on him with multiple defenders, Sacha Kljestan would slide into the No. 10 role with Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones behind him in the middle of the park.
As much as it might hurt to break up the strike partnership of Jozy Altidore and Bobby Wood, you can't start two forwards in an away match with this much on the line. The Yanks must build up their defensive wall, look to strike on the counter early and then pounce with an aggressive substitution for the final 30 minutes.
If that projected lineup works the way it should, Wood could come off the bench around the 60th minute for Jones, who probably isn't able to play 180 minutes in a short span yet. That change would drop Kljestan a little deeper into midfield, but he'd also have another outlet in Wood to distribute the ball to from his central position.
Kljestan's incisive passing, Pulisic's pace on the wing and the physical work of Altidore and Wood should be enough to create a few chances against the tough Costa Rica defense. The Yanks could open the game further with the addition of Julian Green late in the second half, but that would only happen if everything went to plan and Klinsmann tinkered with his lineup in the right manner.
If we're being honest, though, the prospective starting XI and changes presented above probably won't happen. But they absolutely could work if that setup is attempted.
In reality, Klinsmann will give Chandler another chance to prove himself, keep Johnson on the left wing to help Besler when asked and stick Pulisic in the middle with Bedoya on the right flank.
Trying to find a connection between the midfield and forwards will be difficult if this lineup is sent out for the opening whistle because so much pressure will be on Pulisic to create on his own as a No. 10. If that doesn't work, Wood or Altidore would be forced to drop deeper in search of possession, which could lead to not having a target man in the box when the ball breaks forward.
The good news, if there is any with Klinsmann's tactical acumen, is the boss has done well with substitutions in some big games. If he makes the right switches, he could come out of Central America in a respectable fashion.
No matter who lines up where on Tuesday, the goal is pretty simple for the Yanks. A win or draw would take a little bit of pressure off their shoulders going into the final eight matches of the Hex. A loss would cause many to hit the panic button if they hadn't already after Friday's debacle.
Joe Tansey covers U.S. Soccer for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
