One Step Forward, Two Points Dropped
If, before this pair of qualifying games had taken place, you had offered me four points with seven scored and one against, I'd have taken it in a heartbeat. But having watched Friday's triumph over Honduras and last night's performance against Panama, a draw can't be seen as anything but a disappointment for the USMNT.
Instead of slotting Matt Besler and Alejandro Bedoya into the 4-1-3-2 as I had assumed he would, Bruce Arena moved things around. Tim Ream started in the back line and Graham Zusi came in to replace Geoff Cameron on his right, while Jermaine Jones was shoehorned into the midfield, necessitating a change of shape.
This had the effect of marginalizing Pulisic, the most dangerous American on the field. Forced out wide, he saw less of the ball and spent more time chasing down passes than running at defenders. The only U.S. goal came when he did have the chance to run at the defense, slicing apart two Panama defenders before setting up Clint Dempsey with a close-range finish.
This also left the center of midfield to Jones and Michael Bradley to fight against a Panama team that was content with disruption tactics. The game was rough, and Jones was lucky not to see yellow as he haphazardly slid around the center of a sloppy field. Neither managed to put together a particularly competent passing game, while Jones was particularly lacking.
Frankly, this should be the end of Jermaine Jones' international career. His general lack of discipline - in his tackling, positioning, and passing - would be forgivable in a 19-year-old. At 35, he's on the downhill and Kellyn Acosta - 14 years his junior - was a marked improvement when he came on in the 75th minute. There are plenty of competent backups to Michael Bradley - Dax McCarty and Danny Williams come to mind - and the two-DM "bucket" without an attacking central midfielder has serious shortcomings.
The health of the USMNT is much better than it was six months ago, but that comes with the must-needed changes and success the players have experienced. To keep that success, Bruce Arena needs to go with what worked - leave Pulisic in the center and Jones at home.
Instead of slotting Matt Besler and Alejandro Bedoya into the 4-1-3-2 as I had assumed he would, Bruce Arena moved things around. Tim Ream started in the back line and Graham Zusi came in to replace Geoff Cameron on his right, while Jermaine Jones was shoehorned into the midfield, necessitating a change of shape.
This had the effect of marginalizing Pulisic, the most dangerous American on the field. Forced out wide, he saw less of the ball and spent more time chasing down passes than running at defenders. The only U.S. goal came when he did have the chance to run at the defense, slicing apart two Panama defenders before setting up Clint Dempsey with a close-range finish.
This also left the center of midfield to Jones and Michael Bradley to fight against a Panama team that was content with disruption tactics. The game was rough, and Jones was lucky not to see yellow as he haphazardly slid around the center of a sloppy field. Neither managed to put together a particularly competent passing game, while Jones was particularly lacking.
Bradley on the left, Jones on the right. When your 2 center mids' passing map looks this rough, be content w/ a road point in a WCQ.#USMNT pic.twitter.com/n5zRmnZbgE— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) March 29, 2017
Frankly, this should be the end of Jermaine Jones' international career. His general lack of discipline - in his tackling, positioning, and passing - would be forgivable in a 19-year-old. At 35, he's on the downhill and Kellyn Acosta - 14 years his junior - was a marked improvement when he came on in the 75th minute. There are plenty of competent backups to Michael Bradley - Dax McCarty and Danny Williams come to mind - and the two-DM "bucket" without an attacking central midfielder has serious shortcomings.
The health of the USMNT is much better than it was six months ago, but that comes with the must-needed changes and success the players have experienced. To keep that success, Bruce Arena needs to go with what worked - leave Pulisic in the center and Jones at home.
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