It most certainly wasn’t the most attractive win, in any sense of the word, but the United States has clinched group A in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and are through to the knockout stages of the tournament after a 1-0 win against Haiti.
Jurgen Klinsmann made 7 changes to the starting XI that faced Honduras, completely wiping out the entire backline for tonight’s game. The US came out with a fresh back four made up of Brad Evans, Omar Gonzalez, Tim Ream, and Greg Garza, and at times it was clear that this defense was brand new. The midfield was made up of Michael Bradley, Graham Zusi, Mix Diskerud, and Clint Dempsey; as Jozy Altidore paired with Aron Johannsson in attack.
Haiti came out fast on the Americans, and made the most out of their bits of possession, mostly found on the counter attack. Once again, defending was suspect for the US, who nearly found themselves down early when a Haiti free kick went off the crossbar 10 minutes in. The lackluster defending was exposed by the Haitians in the first 45, and in all reality, they were the much better team before the half; excluding a goal by Aron Johannsson in the 34th minute that was called back for an offside that never was.
Gyasi Zardes was brought on at halftime and made an absolute, immediate impact just two minutes after coming on. Zardes made a run into the box with pace and calmly picked out a pass to Clint Dempsey who scored what turned out to be the game winner. However, with a sub-par defense, Brad Guzan was needed to ensure a victory. In the 57th minute, Guzan had an absolutely massive save in a one on one situtation that preserved the clean sheet.
The USMNT would hang on to win a low scoring affair, but did so in a disappointing fashion. A newly formed backline kept a clean sheet, but really shouldn’t have if Haiti had finished their chances. The experimental 4-3-1-2 was not setup well, at times it appeared Mix Diskerud had no idea what his role was; Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey found themselves taking the ball off the feet of the central defenders, which narrowed the attack. With that being said, there were a few bright spots from tonight.
In the attack, Aron Johannsson and Gyasi Zardes were excellent; Johannsson did everything right and should have had a goal. He was aggressive with his runs, constantly trying to get in behind the defense, and had the best all around game of the outfield players. Meanwhile, Zardes was used on the wing once he came on and was influential. His pace and skill on the ball created a handful of chances for the US in the second half that could have been converted into goals. Based on tonight’s performances, there should be no reason these two aren’t in the starting XI against Panama.
On defense, the backline wasn’t exactly “solid.” Compared with the back four that played against Honduras, tonight’s defense was only slightly better, albeit against lower level competition. Tim Ream had decent moments in his first senior team start in 4 years, but did he do enough to keep that position? I’m not entirely sure. Same goes for Brad Evans; he had fewer exposed errors, but lacked the attacking presence that was seen with Timmy Chandler. It would not be a surprise to see Omar Gonzalez paired with John Brooks for the Panama game given his performance tonight, but Klinsmann has a choice of mediocre (at the moment) center backs, and it is a tossup of who gets the nod.
The US are already through to the knockout round, but will look to find some stability in the lineup (and maybe some others to score goals) against a tough Panama side on Monday in a roaring Sporting Park in Kansas City.
