On Tap For The USMNT: Chile
By Sean Maslin
On Wednesday evening bars and pubs all across the United States will be packed with supporters of the United States Men’s National Team. Bartenders will frantically search for Fox Sports 1 in the 1000’s in their TV guide and heated debates will commence over the merits of “player x” over “player y.” USMNT supporters on the West Coast will come up with every possible justification to leave work early. The fakefluenza will strike the corporate world with a fury.
Yes it is that time of the year when the US Men’s National Team (#usmnt for those on Twitter) start their January camp. It is a time when hundreds of foolhardy predictions are made, goals are completely overblown, and small mistakes in the midfield are compared to Roberto Baggio at the 1994 World Cup. For supporters of the USMNT Wednesday’s match against Chile (6pm EST Fox Sports 1) is a big deal because it is US Soccer.
Although January camp is valuable like Spring Training is valuable for baseball players the results are largely unimportant. Anyone remember how the United States did against South Korea last year? How about against Canada or Venezuela?
With training camps the devil is in the details. Although the results are largely unimportant (hey, goals are cool) the positional battles that will be going on during this match and the February 2nd match against Panama do merit attention. In particular on defense where there are massive holes players like Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids,) Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United,) and Matt Hedges (F.C. Dallas) will likely be vying for spots on the Gold Cup roster.
Chile should also pose more of a problem than previous January camp foes. Although Chile will be bringing a team made up of domestic players, this is no team to sleep on. 2015 is a very important year for Chile as it will be hosting the Copa America. Jorge Sampaoli’s side has never won South America’s top international tournament. Forward Mark Gonzalez
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What is interesting about this camp is that it appears that U.S. Men’s National Team coach Jurgen Klinsmann seems to moving towards a 3-4-3. The question is which player will serve as a wing–back in this formation? The name that obviously comes to mind is Deandre Yedlin (Tottenham) given his skills on both attack and defense and his speed. But if Klinsmann is looking to see how this position would work does it make sense to use a guy who has just a handful of days of training?
The midfield position is also wide open. Aside from Michael Bradley, there are realistically three positions open with a multitude of different options available for Klinsmann. Much of it also depends on if Jurgen wants to continue transitioning Jermaine Jones to defense. Expect to see Perry Kitchen (D.C. United) and Will Trapp (Columbus Crew) during this match as both would be natural replacements for Jones in the defensive midfield area.
Up top all eyes will be on Jozy Altidore as he makes his vaunted return from Sunderland to MLS. Altidore has been terrible for both club and country recently, going scoreless in his last 20 matches. The United States is desperately thin at the forward position and at 25 he is their best option.
Although Toronto FC supporters could probably care less about the USMNT, they will certainly be interested to see how Bradley and Altidore work with one another on the attacking end. They will have their work cut for them against a stout Chilean defense. Three of Chile’s likely starting defenders play for Universidad de Chile, a team that allowed the second-fewest goals in the Chilean Primera Division.
The result of the match might mean little but both Chile and the United States will learn a great deal about their roster depth going into a busy summer schedule.
Beer of the Match: Quimera Imperial Stout Casa Cervecera Quinta Normal Brewing Company
Since most of the continental United States is buried under snow one will need a dark and heavy beer to keep themselves warm. The Quimera Imperial Stout is brewed in Santiago, Chile and is a rare sight from South America in that the continent is typically known for its lagers and ales. Still, this is an extraordinary beer with an excellent finish and will work well when Gyassi Zardes scores his first goal for the USMNT.