Is Clint Dempsey Facing More Pressure as USMNT Start Gold Cup Knockout Stage?
As the United States men's national team prepares for its CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal showdown with Cuba in Baltimore on Saturday, there is a different composition to the group at the forward position.
With Jozy Altidore leaving the squad after the group stage, Clint Dempsey is the only experienced international forward left on the roster. The scorer of 44 goals for the Yanks, three of which came in the group phase of the 2015 Gold Cup, will now be under more pressure to find the net and help the USMNT advance to the semifinals.
Dempsey has 116 international appearances and 44 goals to his name entering the match against Cuba, while the other four players listed as forwards have a combined 14 goals in 56 caps. Although each of those four forwards has put together a solid scoring record at club level, playing on the international stage is a completely different animal.
Just ask Chris Wondolowski, who has had an admirable career in Major League Soccer, how difficult finding the back of the net can be while playing for the national team. He boasts multi-goal matches against Belize, Cuba and South Korea, but he is famous for his miss against Belgium at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Aron Johannsson and Gyasi Zardes are impressive young prospects, but with a combined four strikes between them, it is hard to put a ton of trust in starting one or both of them up top without the influence of Dempsey nearby. The pair looked fine in the second half against Haiti, but it was Dempsey who eventually finished off a superb cross from Zardes.
Then there is Alan Gordon, who has made a career out of scoring late goals for the San Jose Earthquakes and the LA Galaxy in MLS. Although he is good for late-game scenarios, there is no possible way Gordon can be effective in the final third for 90 minutes.
| Player | Appearances | Goals |
| Clint Dempsey | 116 | 44 |
| Chris Wondolowski | 30 | 10 |
| Aron Johannsson | 14 | 3 |
| Gyasi Zardes | 11 | 1 |
| Alan Gordon | 1 | 0 |
That brings us back to Dempsey, who has been the most reliable scorer in the squad despite being stripped of the captain's armband before the tournament. Look no further than the second half of the 1-1 draw with Panama to see how much the Seattle Sounders man impacts the USMNT attack. With Dempsey on the pitch, the Yanks improved their possession by 10 percent and made 22 more passes in the final third than they did in the first half, per ESPN's Paul Carr:
"#USMNT had 48% possession & completed 16 passes in attack 3rd in the 1st half. 58% & 38 comp passes in attack 3rd in 2nd half. #Dempsey
— Paul Carr (@PCarrESPN) July 14, 2015"
Those numbers alone prove just how important Dempsey is to the squad. But now that Altidore won't be there to support him with physical hold-up play, the USMNT No. 8 will have to turn himself into an even bigger workhorse than he already is to power the Yanks to their second consecutive Gold Cup championship.
How manager Jurgen Klinsmann sets up his formation is also vital to Dempsey's individual success. The one thing Klinsmann can't do is line Dempsey up top as a lone striker. Due to his ability to drift into the midfield and pick up possession, Dempsey would not thrive in a lone forward role with Michael Bradley at the No. 10 position.
The ideal formation that will get the best use out of Dempsey during the knockout round is a 4-3-1-2. In the 4-3-1-2, Dempsey would line up in the No. 10 position with Johannsson and Zardes up top. Since Dempsey and Johannsson can combine in tight space in the middle of the park, it would not come as a surprise to see Zardes drift out wide and exploit Cuba's defensive flanks.
Zardes would still start as a forward, but due to Dempsey's playmaking ability, he would be allowed to move the attack outside and send in crosses for the other two parts of the three-pronged attack. Unlike the Gold Cup opener against Honduras, Zardes will not be asked to track back and defend in the 4-3-1-2. That job would rest on the shoulders of Bradley, Alejandro Bedoya and Kyle Beckerman.
Given the talent on Cuba's roster, Klinsmann can take the risk of handing Bradley more work in the midfield with Dempsey also funneling back at points to defend. Bedoya would stay on the left wing with Beckerman either in a holding role or on the right wing of the three-man midfield. With the current personnel at his disposal, Klinsmann should be able to make the 4-3-1-2 work.
The one key of the formation that would wreak havoc in the Cuba back line and midfield would be the interplay between Dempsey and Bradley. With Dempsey in a No. 10 role and Bradley in some type of holding role, the two will be able to start attacks on the ground. The short passing combination of the veteran duo would also make Cuba susceptible to openings on the wing since it will have to commit defenders to the middle of the field.
Although this approach sounds great in theory, the game plan has to be applied to the pitch for 90 minutes. Luckily for the Yanks, Dempsey has rarely taken a game off recently. He has arguably been the best USMNT attacker in the competition, and he has a knack for showing up at big moments. Dempsey's chemistry with Bradley will also help calm down the eager young forwards in front of them.
However, if this game plan goes awry due to the nerves of the forward pairing, Dempsey will have to be shifted up top with Bradley moving into the No. 10 role. This scenario would place more pressure on Dempsey to not only score, but also to create the majority of the USMNT's chances.
Although he is no stranger to handling adversity in key situations, the USMNT does not want to force Dempsey into that situation against an opponent it is supposed to beat by a handful of goals.
How much pressure Dempsey faces in the knockout round will be determined by the production of the other forwards on the roster. But if the four others at the position fail to step up, we could see Dempsey lead the USMNT to the Gold Cup crown by himself.
Joe Tansey covers U.S. Soccer for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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