Jozy Altidore and Eddie Johnson Should Start for the USA at the World Cup

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: August 7, 2013

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With the United States men’s national soccer team on an 11-game winning streak, and its roster depth flush on the back of so many excellent performances in the June World Cup qualifiers and the July CONCACAF Gold Cup, expectations in the Jurgen Klinsmann era have never been higher.

The current prevailing wisdom, in Klinsmann’s recently preferred 4-2-3-1, is that Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore should be starting together through the middle, flanked by Landon Donovan, and either Fabian Johnson or Graham Zusi on the wings.

But, are there any scenarios in which the U.S. would be better off with both Jozy Altidore and Eddie Johnson in the starting lineup at the same time?

 

Dual No. 9’s

With Klinsmann likely to continue using the 4-2-3-1 once the “A” squad is reassembled, a reversion to a dual No. 9 system is an unlikely scenario. However, Klinsmann did use a 4-1-3-2 in several games of the Gold Cup (whether Landon Donovan truly played as a forward is up for debate) and several games of World Cup qualifying in the semifinal round last fall.

The advantage of the 4-1-3-2, as the U.S. used against Guatemala and Jamaica late last year, is that it gives more freedom to one center midfielder to get forward. Michael Bradley has demonstrated several times over the past year, that when he has been paired with a partner who prefers to hold (Danny Williams last fall and Geoff Cameron against Panama), he can add a lot to the U.S. attack.

The other advantage of the 4-1-3-2 is that, in some ways, it may actually help protect the U.S.’ inexperienced center-backs more than a 4-2-3-1. While counterintuitive, assigning one midfielder to hold eliminates potential communication problems between the center mids. This allows the U.S. to relieve some pressure on the backline through a more proactive attack with more possession of the ball, avoiding the potential pr...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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