USA in Win-Win Situation After Reaching Copa America Centenario Semi-Finals
When the full-time whistle blew in Seattle on Thursday night, Jurgen Klinsmann breathed a sigh of relief. The majority of the nearly 50,000 fans in attendance did too, with the United States through to the Copa America Centenario semi-finals after beating Ecuador 2-1.
The Copa hosts reached the semis of the tournament for the first time since 1995 on the strength of the encounter, which was particularly enthralling after both sides were reduced to 10 men when Jermaine Jones and Antonio Valencia were dismissed.
They are now eagerly awaiting Saturday's clash between Argentina and Venezuela in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which will determine their opponent in Houston on Tuesday.
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Logic and Lionel Messi dictate that Argentina will probably see off Venezuela and become a huge hurdle for Klinsmann's side, which would play perfectly into the German's hands.
For one, the U.S. men's national team have already reached the semi-finals, which their manager said before the tournament was the aim.
"The goal, then, is really to get to the final four," Klinsmann said, per MLSSoccer.com. "We want to get to the final four."
Now they have arrived, and whatever happens in the game, the U.S. will be able to leave the tournament counting it as a success.
If Argentina get through and beat the Americans, nobody will be up in arms because that is the expected result. Even if it's a mauling, the talk will be of the majesty of Messi—who has proved to be the tournament's biggest attraction, with huge numbers turning up at La Albiceleste's games just to watch him in action.
Meanwhile, on the off chance Venezuela get through and then beat the U.S., it can be pointed out they also beat Argentina and Uruguay and drew with Mexico, so it would not be an embarrassment.
Klinsmann therefore is understandably calm going into the game, as he showed in comments via Jeff Carlisle of ESPN FC:
"We don't need to talk Argentina any bigger than they are. We had two years ago [Cristiano] Ronaldo coming to Manaus, [Brazil, with Portugal]; big game, too. We had them down there 2-1 until the 96th minute. So we'll give everything we have with all the respect for the opponent. We'll talk about the opponent the same as Colombia, Ecuador and Paraguay because they're all wonderful teams. But we've come so far now and we get even hungrier for the next now, even if we totally understand it's a big one.
"
An Argentina victory, however, should not be viewed as a formality, though there are some problems for Klinsmann to solve.
His players are already in Houston and will have an extra two days of rest before the semi-final compared to their opponents. That gives him time to think about the 11 men he will send out at the NRG Stadium.
Until the Ecuador game, Klinsmann had not changed his team in the tournament. The same side he picked against Colombia started against Costa Rica and again in the final Group A clash with Paraguay.
DeAndre Yedlin's foolish red card in the latter game obliged the coach to make a change in Seattle, with centre-back Matt Besler playing left-back and Fabian Johnson switching from that position to fill in for Yedlin at right-back.
Klinsmann has made it clear which players in his team he trusts most, but his biggest issue as the U.S. head into the semi-finals is replacing suspended men, with Jones, Alejandro Bedoya and Bobby Wood all banned.
The former was sent off for a silly slap on Michael Arroyo, another needless red card following Yedlin's, while the other two were both booked twice and therefore must miss a game.
The U.S. have somewhat optimistically appealed the suspensions of Jones and Wood, per Goal.
Yedlin is likely to return, with the benefit of having had a rest—even though it was forced. Besler will probably stay at left-back, with the versatile Johnson filling in for Bedoya in midfield and Kyle Beckerman the most likely to stand in for Jones.
Wood is harder to replace, and whatever the temptation may be to introduce Christian Pulisic—just 17 years old but a raw talent—Klinsmann's more likely move is to play Graham Zusi in a wide position. Zusi has been called from the bench in every game so far.
The next problem could be Messi. Though he has only featured as a substitute in two Copa games so far, he could start against Venezuela, as revealed by Argentina manager Tata Martino.
"He is definitely in good shape to play from the beginning, so it's quite possible he will be a starter," Martino said.
Despite the United States' strong performance at this tournament, the fact remains they haven't faced a top-quality team bar Colombia, and they were beaten in that game.
Argentina are a level beyond Los Cafeteros and will ask questions of Klinsmann's side they are not used to being asked, because besides Mexico, there are no exceptionally strong teams they regularly face in competitive fixtures.
That has, of course, played a part in how the U.S. got this far, but credit should not be taken from them for what they have achieved. The problem is the way they have done it: in that same old blood-and-guts fashion.
It's rare that's enough when competitions reach their final stages, and it is possible that while Klinsmann deserves to be praised for the team's showings, in the future this tournament may be looked back on as the moment Pulisic and Darlington Nagbe should have been given their international feet.
They could feature in the semi-finals, but the more conservative changes touted earlier are more likely.
That is a possible long-term problem for the Stars and Stripes, though it should be noted Klinsmann's tactics and selection have been much more consistent at this tournament than ever before, which is promising.
Despite the U.S. having reached the latter stages of the Copa, it is hard to evaluate at just what level this team is playing.
It has also been a surprise that the tournament's best player has been 33-year-old Seattle Sounders star Clint Dempsey.
The former Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham forward shone against Ecuador, scoring the opener with a brilliant header and setting up Gyasi Zardes for the second goal. He has directly contributed to six of the seven goals his country has scored.
After the latest victory, Dempsey reset the USMNT's goals, per Goal:
"We're going to give it everything we can. We're trying to get to the final. We're going to try to win it.
You don't get a lot of opportunities in a major competition to go all the way. That's what we're going to try to do.
...
It's always great to do it when you're at home. It's always great to do it for the States. It's what you dream about as a kid. So I'm blessed.
Hopefully we can keep going. We're still alive in this tournament. And we're in the semi-finals of a major competition. So we're happy.
"
While the U.S. will be without several key men for the semi-final, their finest player is in form.
If Dempsey continues to fire, they still have half a chance of progressing to the final, but they will also need John Brooks to remain a man-mountain at the back and the replacements to play at a high level.
The dependence they have on the veteran forward shows all is not well with the U.S. national team, but like Dempsey said, the goal is to try to win the Copa America Centenario.
Once the tournament is over, Klinsmann can take the buzz and the feel-good factor into the next round of World Cup qualifiers. Whether the team's form persists is a different matter.
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