After the USMNT win over Jamaica last Friday, the January Camp officially came to a close. Here are the three biggest takeaways from camp.
The USMNT finished their two games of January camp with a 0-0 tie vs Serbia and a 1-0 win vs Jamaica. Though neither team had the quality of USA, which had mainly MLS players for this roster, there are still a lot of things we learned from the past few weeks.
1. The formation is still unknown
Coming into the camp, many people wondered what formation Bruce Arena was going to play. The debate was mainly between a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2. Unfortunately, we did not get many answers. Bruce played a 4-2-3-1 in the first game and a 4-4-2 in the second. For what it’s worth, he did play the better starting XI in the first game, so that could be a hint for the future.
2. Feilhaber, Nagbe, and Lletget looked ready for the big time
Of all the players at camp that are not usually on the USMNT A-squad, these three looked the most ready to make the jump. Feilhaber looked much more dangerous that Kljestan in his short 15 min against Serbia, and he was arguable the best player in the Jamaica game. Things will get harder against the real competition, but he showed great touch, vision, and positioning.
Nagbe was a name people expected to be a USMNT regular by now. Ultimately, he was a little frozen out by Klinsmann, so he never really got much of chance. Now with Arena, he showed his quality in camp. He was the best player on the field in the game against Serbia, and he put in a solid substitute shift against Jamaica. If he had been a slightly more accurate shooter, he would have come out of camp with a brace against Serbia.
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Lletget showed talent and versatility in his two games during camp. Against Serbia, he came on at the half and put in a great shift. He played the pivot with Bradley, a position that’s open due to Jermaine Jones being suspended against Honduras, and made an instant impact. He let Bradley sit back and defend while he played a little more box-to-box, and his passing, positioning, and creativity was well suited for that position. He gained the start against Jamaica but played outside mid in the diamond midfield. Here he showed his creativity and ability to work the ball into the box from out wide, and he looked much more dangerous than Bedoya on the other side.
Look for these three guys to potentially get the call for the 23 that head into the next set of WCQ matches.
3. Bradley looked comfortable
It is not secret that Michael Bradley has struggled with the national team over the past year or two. One thing that has played into this was his lack of stability under Klinsmann. He was played as a 6, 8, and 10 at different times under Klinsmann, and it became apparent that he never really got comfortable at any position. Arena came in and stated that Bradley was a 6 and would be played there. He played the 6 in both games, and he got to play like a true 6. He sat in front of the back line and helped build the play out of the back. Though he didn’t play highlight reel games, he played solid with good passing and made a fair number of interceptions and steals. Bottom line, he looked comfortable on the field again.
Next: USMNT: Image revealed of the 3rd Nike kit for 2017
Any other major takeaways? Feel free to let me know what you thought in the comments section below.