USMNT Rally to Steal 4-3 Win Against Holland

The USMNT rallied from a two goal deficit late in the second half on Friday to score three straight unanswered goals to win on the road in storied Amsterdam Arena.

The opening 45 minutes saw the US have a multitude of chances at the Dutch goal, albeit while working with only 39% possession; however, they could only manage a single goal from their many chances. After 15 minutes, the US began to get into the run of play a bit more, earning a few chances at goal themselves. Brek Shea had the best chance to put the USA into an early lead in the 22nd minute when he made a run out of the back on a counter, but ultimately did not do enough on the finish to score when really he should have.

Holland went on to capitalize on vital US finishing mistakes 5 minutes later with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar netted a virtually unmarked header past Brad Guzan. The service from Memphis Depay was outstanding, but in actuality, John Brooks was caught in no-mans land when it came to man-marking the Dutch striker. Nevertheless, the US would still have their chances, eventually getting the tying goal in the 33rd minute. LA Galaxy star Gyasi Zardes scored his first international goal on a tough sliding finish from a Fabian Johnson cross to level things for the USA and make the game 1-1 going into the half.

The second half saw an even more wide-open game, with the individual talents of the Dutch shining bright in the attack, but also saw the US pace on the wings become the deciding factor.

Just two minutes into the second half, it was Huntelaar once again getting between the centerbacks and netting another terrific header to break the tie. And for a second time, it is John Brooks with suspect man-marking in his own area. 5 minutes later the Netherlands scored once again. After a terrific parry by Guzan in the box, the ball fell to the feet of Huntelaar just outside the area whose rocket of a shot deflected off Michael Orozco and Memphis Depay to beat Guzan to give Holland a 3-1 lead.

In the 56th minute, the game was changed for the US when DeAndre Yedlin came on for Brek Shea and Mix Diskerud for Alfredo Morales. Yedlin immediately made an impact on the game, playing on the right side of the midfield. He created several chances for the Yanks with his blistering pace, allowing himself to be a release in the counter bringing down long balls and taking defenders on.

John Brooks got a goal back for the US in the 70th minute, but it was a fantastic team goal all-around. Brooks made a busting run from the back to win possession, kept his run going, found Michael Bradley in the center of the park, who then played a ball wide for Yedlin whose cross found Brooks at the top of the six and it was a smooth finish to get the US back within a goal. It was terrific counter-attacking football.

The match remained 3-2 as the clock ticked into the 89th minute, and it seemed certain that the US would once again be plagued by second half goals.

However, nobody told Danny Williams this, and on a set piece the ball found his feet and he sent a rocket that deflected and went into the back of the net. Surely the US would just take the draw at this point. But, this also was not the case. Just a minute later, the USMNT took the lead and completed the comeback. It was Bobby Wood coming through with the penultimate goal off the counter, the US was on the break and Jordan Morris provided the game-winning assist. Absolutely unreal comeback from the US, international friendly or not.

It is the first time in history that the Yanks have defeated Holland, and did so by breaking quickly and often on counter attacks. The substitution of DeAndre Yedlin was the key factor in helping Jurgen Klinsmann’s side back into the game; his pace was electrifying down the right side, and the Dutch defense was in shambles at the American speed on the wings.

Michael Bradley was also astounding for the US, and that is due to his role in the 4-3-3 that Klinsmann came out with. He wasn’t a true number 6 or 10, he roamed around the midfield in areas and made plays, he was arguably the best player on the field for the Americans.

The USMNT will play Germany in Cologne on June 10 before they kick-off their Gold Cup campaign next month.