Costa Rica vs USA: What Went Wrong for Juergen Klinsmann and the USMNT?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: September 7, 2013

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Riding a 12 game-winning streak, a pre-game injury was an early omen that streak would not continue past this evening's match.

Michael Bradley, who has become the crux of this team in recent months, suffered a freak ankle injury during a shooting drill while warming up for the game. 

The injury was deemed too severe for Bradley to play in this qualifying match with a Costa Rica, which was looking for revenge from the "Snow Game".

Geoff Cameron was tapped to replace him, but their two respective styles of play could not be more different.

Bradley has assumed the role of deep-lying creator and has been an essential part of the rejuvenation of Jozy Altidore's national team career. His box-to-box play, tireless work rate, and buzzing presence as a central hub for distribution were major keys to USA's success in the past 12 games.

Cameron is known more for his defensive play when undertaking the midfield role alongside Jermaine Jones. He is a smart defender who tracks opponents well and knows when to tackle efficiently. In my opinion, he is better suited for this position than say, an outside fullback or maybe even the central fullback position.

The problem with that is that he and Jones are too similar. They lack the creativity and effectiveness at spraying the ball around the pitch that Bradley displays almost every game.

It seemed as if Cameron's insertion instead of Mix Diskerud, who has more of an offensive mind to his game, spoke about the way Klinsmann wanted to play this game: defensively. 

The problem with that was that they simply weren't very good defensively against Costa Rica's attack.

Both DaMarcus Beasley and Michael Orozco Fiscal looked outmatched on the wings while Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler struggled with Joel Campbell, who played a fantastic match up top for Costa Rica. Jhonny Acosta accounted for a terrific header goal while Bryan R...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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