Posted by Here are my three takeaways from Colombia’s 4-2 win over the United States at a half-full Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
James Underlines His Quality
After injury kept him from playing to his potential at the World Cup this summer, James Rodríguez’s club career has taken a turn for the worse in his second season with Bayern Munich. Under new coach Nico Kovac, James has started less than half of Bayern’s nine matches. The former Real Madrid man’s 317 minutes of Bundesliga play make him Kovac’s 13th most-used player in the league.
With Bayern struggling at the beginning of the season, James’ frustration came to a head in the wake of the 1-1 home draw with Ajax. German newspaper Bild reported that James lashed out against Kovac in the locker room when the Croatian coach was not present, saying “we aren’t in Frankfurt” in reference to Kovac’s previous club, Eintracht Frankfurt. However, even when James has received playing time this season, he has struggled. He was anonymous in Bayern’s 3-0 loss at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach, the only match this season where James has completed the full 90 minutes. James’ attitude, coupled with his disappointing performances, provoked the ire of Bayern legend Lothar Matthäus, who said on TV after the match that James feels offended when he doesn’t start, but then plays as if he wasn’t part of the team when he does.
Despite his issues at club level, James was played from the start here by interim head coach Arturo Reyes. Although he began on the right, the former Real Madrid man was given license to roam throughout the attacking third. James routinely switched flanks with fellow attacker Juan Cuadrado, and could even be seen dropping into midfield to pick up the ball. When he was in possession, James was a constant danger to the U.S. backline, repeatedly slipping through balls inside the American full-backs.
However, with the score still 0-0 in the 36th minute and the Stars and Stripes reacting well to early Colombian pressure, James took matters into his own hands. Picking up the ball just inside the box on the right hand side, Rodríguez turned away from pressure before curling the ball delightfully around John Brooks and into the top corner. The strike was a timely reminder of the quality that James possesses, as he invented a goal that few attackers in the world would be capable of engineering.
After his goal, James began to dominate proceedings, finding right-back Santiago Arias at will in promising positions. Rodríguez nearly scored a second in the 41st minute after he cut inside Antonee Robinson, but his curling effort was stopped by Zach Steffen. James’ confidence was further evidenced in first half stoppage time, when he had the audacity to play a rabona pass into the path of Arias.
Even though his influence waned somewhat in the second half, James still found time to collect an assist before he was subbed off in the 82nd minute. As he received the ball in the box with his back to goal, Rodríguez was marked tightly by Kenny Saief, with Brooks also close by. However, Colombia’s talisman twisted and turned before playing a perfect back post cross on the half turn for Miguel Borja, who duly obliged with a spectacular scissor kick finish for Colombia’s fourth.
Although he was gradually phased-out at Real Madrid before being shipped to Bayern, James’ performance here was a reminder of what he can provide in a team where he is the clear star. With Colombia he has provided 22 goals and 23 assists in 67 caps, and, at 27, is likely to be a crucial player for his country for years to come.
U.S. a Disaster Down The Left
Within the context of an extremely raw U.S. starting eleven, the Americans’ area of strength appeared to be their back four. Interim coach Dave Sarachan included experienced European campaigners Deandre Yedlin, John Brooks and Matt Miazga in the backline. As a result, the clear weak link at the back was left-back Antonee Robinson. The Wigan Athletic man was receiving only his 5th cap, and his inexperience was ruthlessly exposed by the Colombians.
Robinson was constantly caught out of position on his flank, allowing Colombian right-back Arias to get in behind him and to the byline. Although Robinson was not culpable for James’ wonder strike, he played a huge role in the Americans’ concession of the second and third Colombian goals. The South Americans’ third featured a particularly egregious mistake from Robinson. After James punted the ball forward to clear his team’s lines following an American corner, Robinson was left one-on-one with Carlos Bacca. Instead of dealing with the danger, Robinson allowed the ball to bounce before being bullied by the Villarreal forward, who took a touch before back-heeling into the path of Juan Quintero. Before the American midfield could get back, Quintero slid in Falcao to side foot home past Steffen.
At only 21 years old, Robinson has plenty of time to learn the finer points of defending. Furthermore, his lack of positional discipline was mitigated by the lack of defensive help he received from left winger Kenny Saief, who switched wings with Tim Weah towards the end of the first half in order to give Robinson more cover. Furthermore, Robinson looked promising going forward, and provided the cross for Kellyn Acosta’s goal to tie the match at one. The National Team coaching staff will be patient with Robinson in an attempt to solve what has long been a problem position for the United States. Until Robinson steps up his defensive game or gets more protection, however, he will continue to be torn apart by high quality attacks.
Stars and Stripes Being Challenged But Need Direction
This week marked the one-year anniversary of the Americans shock 2-1 loss at Trinidad and Tobago, which left them out of the World Cup for the first time since 1986. In the wake of that utter failure, U.S. fans hoped that their absence in Russia would motivate the United States Soccer Federation to take the steps necessary to ensure that such an embarrassment would be avoided in the future. The major decision on the USSF’s agenda was the hiring of a new head coach following Bruce Arena’s resignation a few days after the Trinidad and Tobago loss.
However, the United States is yet to name a permanent head coach, more than a year after their last competitive match. In that time, Dave Sarachan has led the team on an interim basis. Although reports are strongly linking Columbus Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter to the post, the USSF has no excuse for not having already hired a head coach. Instead of bringing in a new manager months ago and giving him time to bed in before the Gold Cup this summer and then qualification for Qatar 2022, the head coaching position remains up in the air. Such dawdling signals a lack of direction and conviction from U.S. Soccer directors.
Although the lack of a permanent head coach is concerning, the identity of the Americans’ recent friendly opponents should provide encouragement for U.S. supporters. The Americans have faced France, Brazil and Colombia in the last few international breaks, and will face Peru on Tuesday. During the November international break, the Americans will travel to Europe to take on traditional powerhouses England and Italy. By playing such challenging matches, the Americans are giving themselves a better chance to properly prepare their young squad for the challenges of qualifying for a World Cup and then advancing deep into the tournament.
Just for Kicks 