Posted by After narrowly qualifying for their first World Cup in almost 40 years with Paul Caliguiri’s “Shot heard round the world” against Trinidad and Tobago in 1990, the United States Men’s National Team went on to qualify for the next six World Cups through Brazil 2014. Although the Americans played a largely stodgy brand of football that focused on defensive resilience, set-piece prowess, and counterattacking, these tactics proved successful on the world football’s biggest stage. In 2002, the Stars and Stripes became the second CONCACAF nation to qualify for the quarterfinals of a World Cup. Furthermore, the Americans successfully navigated the group stages of the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, subsequently going out in extra time in the round of 16 in both tournaments. As a result of these achievements, qualification for the 2018 World Cup was considered a foregone conclusion.
However, after a final round loss to basement dwellers Trinidad and Tobago, the Americans’ failure to even qualify for the World Cup play-off was confirmed, as they finished in fifth place in the CONCACAF hexagonal. The disastrous performance by the United States during the hexagonal has been put into even sharper relief by subsequent performances by the teams that finished directly above them, Honduras and Panama. In the intercontinental play-off with Australia, the Hondurans, under the control of the über-defensive Colombian tactician Jorge Luis Pinto, were insipid and largely unimaginative going forward, playing to an uninspiring 0-0 in the first leg at home before losing the return leg 3-1 to a Socceroos side that was in turmoil amid speculation whether their coach, Ange Postecoglu, would continue in his post. In the most recent round of international friendlies, Panama, who took the third and final direct qualifying spot given to the CONCACAF region, were embarrassed 6-0 by a Switzerland team that, while boasting a considerable amount of individual talent in the form of players such as Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka, has never impressed at a World Cup or European Championship.
In the light of the embarrassment of the 2018 World Cup Qualifying process, what can be done to improve the United States Men’s National Team with a view towards the 2022 World Cup in Qatar? Below I have compiled a list of ideas. While some would be more complicated than others to bring to fruition, together they would put the United States in a better position to qualify for and succeed in 2022.
- Make Pulisic the Protagonist
Since his entrance on to the National team stage at the tender age of 18, Pulisic has taken the mantle as the country’s most decisive player. Given that he has been receiving regular minutes for Borussia Dortmund, a perennial Champions league contender over the last few years, it is unsurprising that the expectations placed on Pulisic’s shoulders while playing for the Stars and Stripes have not seemed to weigh him down. However, after taking over for Jurgen Klinsmann after the second match of the Hexagonal, coach Bruce Arena was unable to figure out where to play Pulisic to maximize his creativity and one-on-one ability. Given that Pulisic’s technical merits far surpass those of any U.S. player, coupled with his devastating performances in home victories against Honduras and Panama while playing through the middle as a number 10, this should have been where Arena put him. Nevertheless, Arena inexplicably chose to play Pulisic from the right in a 0-2 home loss to Costa Rica, hampering Pulisic’s efforts to get on the ball and dictate the Americans’ attacking rhythm. Although Landon Donovan is the U.S.’s all-time leading scorer and was decisive at two different World Cups, Pulisic has already surpassed him at the club level and is more talented than even a young Donovan. Whoever is chosen as the next national team manager, they must look to play Pulisic through the middle.
- Get rid of pay-to-play system
Although the United States is one of the most populous countries in the world, the U.S. Men’s National team suffers the consequences of soccer not being the country’s most popular sport, as it is in Brazil, Spain, and various other soccer powerhouses. With many promising athletes choosing to pursue other sports, the Americans’ potential player pool is reduced. Unfortunately, the structure of youth soccer in America exacerbates this issue by not casting a wide enough net with regard to player identification and development. This issue can be seen most clearly through the pay-to-play system. The pay-to-play system refers to the fees required for young players to join elite travel teams. Located mostly in the suburbs, many of these youth teams charge a base fee of $3,000 a year, with some teams charging up to $12,000 a year. As a result, how far a young player climbs the country’s development ladder often depends on the financial power of his family, preventing many lower-income players from being scouted and identified. Although the Development Academy, U.S. Soccer’s elite player development program, has made efforts to reduce the economic burden on players from disadvantaged backgrounds, registration for one of the Academy’s teams is not fully funded, leaving prohibitively high expenses for lower-income families by the time the player reaches under-15 level. Until the pay-to-play model is eliminated at the highest levels of domestic youth soccer, quality players with the potential to eventually improve the U.S. National team will continue to slip through the cracks.
- Hire a coach who favors attacking soccer
As has been previously mentioned, even during recent successful World Cup campaigns, the United States has played an unimaginative and defensive brand of soccer. While Jurgen Klinsmann arrived with the promise of turning the Americans into a more expansive outfit, he failed to do so. The subsequent hiring of Bruce Arena, a veteran of the 2002 and 2006 cycles, represented a setback to any pretensions of a more free-flowing tactical setup. Although the United States doesn’t have the individual talent of European and South American powerhouses such as Germany and Argentina, they are not playing these teams in the CONCACAF qualifying process. In a region where the U.S. is always one of the clear favorites to make the World Cup, it is realistic to expect the employment of an attacking and front-footed tactical outlook. Furthermore, the next head coach should look to implement this tactical viewpoint with the youth national teams and development academy teams, ensuring that when a player who has come up through the domestic talent development ladder arrives at the full national team, they have already developed a sense of comfort and familiarity with the style of play employed. The potential benefits of such a strategy have been seen most recently with the Spanish national team, who have adopted the short pass and move doctrine that was popularized by Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. With ex u-21 national team coach Julen Lopetegui now in charge of the full national team, coupled with the stylistic continuity in place between youth and full national teams, Spain is one of the favorites to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy in Russia.
Another proactive tactical set-up that could potentially suit the United States better than a possession-based philosophy is the gegenpressing made famous by Jurgen Klopp. In the past few years Klopp has used this philosophy, based around a relentless high press and quick transitions from defense to attack, to lead Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool to the Champions League Final. While both these teams have rich histories in European competition, there is a definitive talent gap between them and tournament heavyweights Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona. The United States faces a similar skill disadvantage when they play against the best international sides, and gegenpressing could be a way to mitigate for this deficiency. Furthermore, the U.S. National Team has long been known for their impressive fitness levels, which would make the gegenpressing system easier to adopt.
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