Gold Cup 2011 - USA Vs. Panama Preview

by Martin Shatzer on Jun 22, 2011 9:04 AM EDT

Tonight's lineup for the U.S. will be much the same as what we saw in the second half against Jamaica.

It’s amazing how much can change in a week and a half.

Just 11 days after losing to Panama, the USA will get its rematch in the Semifinals of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup tonight at 7:00 in Houston. The game will be televised on Fox Soccer, and if both teams play about to the level that they played at RFK Stadium on Sunday, the game shouldn’t really be close.

Panama looked nothing like the team that had delivered a 2-1 victory over the Americans in the group stage. They had some good possession, but unless the ball was placed on a white painted spot in front of the goal and all other players besides the goalkeeper were cleared out of the box, Panama couldn’t score. Losing top striker Blas Perez sure didn’t help either.

They shouldn’t expect to have an easier time scoring against the U.S. defense that has yet to give up a goal since moving Carlos Bocanegra to central defense and inserting Eric Lichaj into the starting lineup in place of Tim Ream. After allowing a few early chances, the Americans stifled Jamaica’s attack for the duration of their CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinal game. Now if we could just cut out those early chances too…

Confidence is high with the U.S. since they dominated the run of play in the second half against Jamaica. Their passing was crisp, their possession was tidy, and they finally looked ready to play to their potential. We should expect to see the same formation and lineup for the U.S. as was on the field for a good chunk of the second half of that game – meaning that Landon Donovan will start in place of Alejandro Bedoya, and Juan Agudelo will start in place of Jozy Altidore as the lone forward in a 4-2-3-1 arrangement.

The winner will take on the winner of tonight’s nightcap – Mexico vs. Honduras – on Saturday in Los Angeles to decide the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Champion.

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I do expect the US to win this game

But I don’t think it will be as dominant as the Jamaica game. The lone-striker formation is an ideal counter to the 3-man defense, which Jamaica used against the US (and in its first 2 group stage games) because it creates numerical advantages elsewhere on the pitch while rendering one of the 3 defenders superfluous. Assuming Panama comes out with 4 in the back, we probably won’t enjoy the numerical superiority in the center of the park that we did against the Reggae Boyz (3-, 4-, or even 5-v-2 in central midfield).

Like I said, though, I still expect our boys to put at least a goal or two on the board, and a clean sheet should definitely be the target on defense.

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by The AMT on Jun 22, 2011 9:44 AM EDT reply actions

Lineup

I’ve seen around the interwebs that a lot of people aren’t as high on Kljestan’s performance pulling the strings on Sunday as I was. Bedoya was very good, too, to be sure. So I’m seeing some disagreement about who should be pulled to make room for Donovan. If Sascha starts, he’ll be in the center (Dempsey and Donovan wide), and if not, that role will go to Dempsey (with Donovan and Bedoya on the wings), who will probably play a more direct game.

I’m curious what people think is the better option, and which is more likely.

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by The AMT on Jun 22, 2011 9:48 AM EDT reply actions

Actually, come to think of it...

If I recall correctly, Panama doesn’t really use anybody in an advanced central midfield role, so having both Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones in the lineup isn’t really necessary. If it weren’t the super-conservative Bob Bradley at the helm, I’d think Donovan could come in for one of those two, allowing Donovan and Bedoya to run the wings while Dempsey plays in the hole ahead of Kljestan. But that’s quite the attack-minded formation, and I’m not sure BB’s got it in him to roll it out.

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by The AMT on Jun 22, 2011 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions

I like your thinking but BB loves the chemistry going on between Bradley and Jones too much to consider sliding Donovan in there. That would be a shocker for me if he did. US plays typical conservative BB ball and we see very few real scoring chances for Panama. US wins 1-0.

by zacpierce on Jun 22, 2011 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions

I'd go Kljestan over Bedoya

If the US attack needs sprucing up, I’d rather have the option of bringing in Bedoya to cover Dempsey’s wing, allowing Clint to move up front. Plus, I thought Kljestan did well enough now that he appears to have learned that you don’t have to create a goal with every forward pass. He’s more patient nowadays, and that makes him more useful.

I’d also like to see Bradley come forward from central midfield more often. Our central midfield movement confused Jamaica on an individual basis, and I don’t think Panama is any more intelligent down the middle. Plus, since I expect Panama to replace Blas Perez with a central midfielder rather than stick with the 442, you’ve already got an unsettled situation there.

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by ChestRockwell on Jun 22, 2011 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions