Jurgen Klinsmann's XI: 3 Who Are In, 3 Who Are Out, and 3 Big Problems

Friendlies, the conventional wisdom goes, are not about the team results.  They are about individual play.  There are 15 or so auditions, every game, for a spot on the national team.

Under new coach Jurgen Klinsmann, the U.S. has played three friendlies in six weeks—against Mexico in late July, Costa Rica on September 2, then Belgium four days later.

The U.S. tied against Mexico 1-1 and lost to both Costa Rica and Belgium 1-0.  

There are five "FIFA dates" between now and July 9, 2012, when World Cup qualifying begins for the USA and CONCACAF.  Each of those dates will feature another friendly.

With three matches under their belt, and five to go, who has stood out individually?  Who has faltered?  And lastly, how is the team shaping up?

In: Brek Shea

The big redhead from Dallas (above in red) has impressed.  Against Mexico, he came on as a sub and assisted in the equalizing goal. He was a starter against both Costa Rica and Belgium and played well. He is properly deployed as a left winger in a 4-3-3 and has the solid technical skills that Klinsmann looks for in all of his players.  

His service could stand improvement and he needs to look for his own shot more, but he is definitely an upgrade at this position.  Rumor has it that several of the big European teams are interested in him, and barring injury or a disastrous loss of form, he will be getting offers when the next transfer window opens for the Euro leagues in January.

Shea is 21 years old and could become a fixture for the US.

In: Jose Torres

Jose Torres, who plays for Pachuca in the first division in Mexico, has the capacity to become the play-maker America needs.  He has shown great touch and control, good field vision, crisp passing and even some defensive tenacity in the three friendlies.

But great play-makers earn their paychecks in the offensive third of the field, and Torres has not shown much there.  He often plays too deep defensively, and as a result cannot get into the attack when the time comes.

This could be a result of the different formations that Klinsmann has been experimenting with (the 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-3 that sometimes looks like a 4-1-4-1).  Or perhaps some coach has told Torres that he needs to improve his defense, so his focus is not on the attack.

Either way, Torres brings creativity and offense to the field and has already earned a spot on the team in my eyes.  He too is 21 years old.

In: Timmy Chandler

After the Costa Rica game, when it became apparent the right back position was still a problem for the Americans, Chandler (above in red vs. Costa Rica) stepped up.

Although he is right-footed and typically deployed on the left, it was a clever move for Chandler to make.

Chandler, who plays in the Bundesliga, knows that the left back slot belongs to veteran Steve Cherundolo, who missed the Costa Rica game but was pencilled in for Belgium.

Chandler figured he could get some playing time on the other side of the field, because Edgar Castillo had played poorly, and indeed Klinsmann started him there against Belgium.

His defensive instincts are solid and he is rarely out of position.  Whether he can overlap and provide crosses with his left foot remains to be seen.  He tends to lose control of the ball in the midfield, but he is still an improvement to the other US options at outside back.

He is also 21 years old.

Out: Edgar Castillo

The 24-year-old old New Mexican was given adequate playing time, starting at right back in both the Mexican and the Costa Rican friendlies.  He spent more time on his butt than he did on his feet.  He was frequently out of position and just as frequently beaten one-on-one.

Castillo is literally out of his league.  He got muscled by faster, stronger men, and neither Mexico nor Costa Rica is particularly known for having big players.

It certainly brings his ability into question considering some European teams such as the Czechs and Slovenians.

If Castillo committed to gaining weight and muscle, I would be in favor of giving him another look six months from now. However, if he stays at this size, I would be inclined to give more minutes to players like Eric Lichaj.   

Out: Michael Orozco Fiscal

Supposedly the reason for playing Orozco (above in red vs. Omar Arellano of Mexico), a 25-year-old Californian who plays his professional ball in Mexico, was his superior technical skills.  He was supposed to provide better touch, ball control and calmer passing out of the backfield.  

He started on the outside against Mexico and was badly used.  In the second friendly against Costa Rica, Klinsmann moved him to the sweeper spot in central defense behind Bocanegra.  He was not any better there.

Chalk this one up as an experiment that didn't work out.  On the flanks, his lack of quickness was exposed, while in central defense his lack of positioning and poor clearance were the problems.

The US needs depth all across the back line, but Orozco is not the answer.

Out: Robbie Rogers

The book on the 24-year-old Columbus Crew vet has always been his penchant for disappearing. After a stellar 30 minutes as a substitute in the Mexico game that included the equalizing goal, that is exactly what Rogers did.

He disappeared.

Earning starts against Costa Rica and Belgium, Rogers did pretty much nothing of note.  It's not like he made any glaring mistakes, but when you are paid to attack, not attacking is not a virtue.

Former coach Bob Bradley gave Rogers a good look, and now so has Klinsmann.  As Bradley did, Klinsmann will move on.

Big Problem 1: Scoring

Although the friendlies are best understood as individual try-outs, there are some glaring team weaknesses that need to be addressed soon.

Taylor Twellman and Alexi Lalas had a spirited debate in the post-game analysis of the 1-0 Belgium loss. Lalas maintained it was too early to make many decisions on the nature of the team, and Twellman emphatically stated one goal in three games was pathetic.

I am on Twellman's side.

Yes, we are in an experimentation phase and yes, we need to be patient.  No, none of these was an embarrassing loss.

But as Twellman pointed out, when an offensive breakout occurred for the Americans, it was too frequently a 3-on-6 or 2-on-5 affair.  Even with perfect service into the box it is going to be hard for our strikers to get a decent shot off against those odds.

This is a much bigger problem than just one person. Before we blame the lack of scoring on Jozy Altidore, or cross our fingers that Juan Agudelo will step up, let's be honest and acknowledge there is a fundamental problem with the American attack.

The shape, the nature and the numbers all need to change.   

Big Problem 2: Aging Vets and Inexperienced Rookies

There is a big divide in the player pool between aging veterans who only have a few years left in the tank, and barely-shaving newbies who are just notching their first international caps.

Landon Donovan is 29 now and will be 32 when the next World Cup rolls around.  That's not too old, but just barely for an attacking midfielder.  DaMarcus Beasely is the same age, as is Clarence Goodson.

Steve Cherundolo and Carlos Bocanegra are both 32 now and will be 35 for the next World Cup.  Is that too old?  A good comparison might be the Mexican international Rafael Marquez.  Marquez played the bulk of his career at Barcelona, beginning at right back and moving into the center when he was 29 years old.

He was released from Barcelona at the age of 31 and now plays for the Red Bulls in the MLS and in the center for the Mexican international side.  He would be 34 at the next World Cup, that is if he is called up.

Tim Howard is the same age (32), but many good goalies play into their late 30s or even 40s.  

The vets aren't going anywhere soon, but it's safe to say that most of the older ones will not be around for the next World Cup cycle.

On the other hand you have Juan Agudelo (18, 10 caps), Timmy Chandler (21, two caps) and Eric Lichaj (22, eight caps).  Imagine a back line at the start of World Cup qualifying of Clarence Goodson, Tim Ream (six caps), Chandler and Lichaj.  Only Goodson would be in his 30s, and the other three have 10 caps or fewer.  Do we really want to send that back line up against Honduras, in Honduras?

Big Problem 3: Fitness

Nobody on the team looks as chubby as Ronaldo (above) did during his later playing days.  But it was a surprise to hear Klinsmann criticizing the U.S. fitness level after the Costa Rican loss.

"They don't have it in their system yet. That will be a process that we have to go through long-term." 

Later, he said he wanted his players to learn how to get through the tough points of a match mentally rather than rely on substitution when they got tired. 

"I want them to go through those down periods in a game as well," Klinsmann said. "They need to learn to go through those minutes, they need to fight their way through it."

The US has always prided itself on being one of the fittest squads in international soccer.  But if you watched the Belgium game, you could see they were gassed in the second half.

It is an oddity of the American sports system that professional athletes get long periods of rest. The MLS season starts in March and ends in November, giving players five months off. The NFL, the NHL and the NBA all have similar amounts of down time.  

European soccer, by contrast, starts in August and ends in May, giving maybe 10 weeks off at most.

Two months is a lot less time to get out of shape than six.  Klinsmann has alluded to the need to change the schedule so that MLS players are playing more soccer.  But few non-American countries have to compete with football, basketball and hockey, not to mention college sports.  

The addition of new fitness trainer Athletes Performance may help, but there is no substitute for playing the game and no clear plan for extending the MLS season.