Defensive Overhaul Needed for USMNT to Make Deep Run at the Gold Cup

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 14, 2015

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The recurring theme that has haunted the United States men's national team over the last few years reared its ugly head once again on Monday night at Sporting Park. 

For the first 45 minutes of the 1-1 draw versus Panama, the back four of Timmy Chandler, Ventura Alvarado, John Brooks and Fabian Johnson struggled to deal with the pressure brought forth by Panama in the final Group A match of the competition. ESPN's Paul Carr noted the result marked only the fourth time in 34 Gold Cup group games in which the USMNT didn't win: 



After the whistle blew on the first half, the USMNT faced its first deficit of the tournament thanks to a defensive lapse, and the duo of Brooks and Chandler were sitting on yellows. 

Although it did recover a bit from their brutal first half with a decent second 45 minutes, the concern about the USMNT's defending entering the knockout stage of the Gold Cup is the biggest issue facing one of the top sides in CONCACAF. 

The rough outing at the back began early in the match as Brooks and Alvarado, who both started the first match of the Gold Cup against Honduras, looked shaky next to each other against a Panama side searching for a result and revenge from the 2013 Gold Cup Final as well as the last round of World Cup qualifying. Panama head coach Hernan Dario Gomez said after the match he never thought the USMNT was the superior team, per ESPN's Jeff Carlisle: 



In the 16th minute, things went from bad to worse for Brooks as he picked up a yellow card on a Panama counter. The foul committed by Brooks cost him a spot in the quarterfinal match against an undetermined opponent on Saturday. 

The rookie mistakes continued into the 34th minute, when Panama opened the scoring through Blas Perez. The FC Dallas man easily drifted in front of goal thanks to an opening created by Brooks and Chandler in the middle of the box. In the ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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