USA vs. Argentina Friendly: How Badly Will Messi Burn the U.S. Defense?
By Ty Duffy
Sorting the Midfield: The long-term plan seems to be a 4-2-3-1 with Bradley the Younger and Jones/Edu in holding roles, supporting Holden, who has been one of the Premier League’s best players, in an advanced role. Holden is out through the Gold Cup, forcing Bradley to change things up.
There are multiple options. He could keep the same formation and field Feilhaber as a Faux Holden. He could just play Bradley, Jones and Edu as a bank of defensive midfielders in a 4-3-3. He could revert to old reliable 4-4-2 with Dempsey as a recessed striker. He may experiment with multiple options against Argentina.
Bradley would be the odd man out on form. He has hardly played on loan at Aston Villa. Though, he’ll be in the starting XI.
Next Generation: Bradley should rely on the old horses through the Gold Cup, but for 2014 he must revamp the back four. DeMerit, Bocanegra and Cherundolo will be in their mid-thirties by then. Some of the youngsters, such as Tim Ream, Eric Lichaj and Timothy Chandler, should get an opportunity to prove themselves against elite competition today.
How to Handle The Game’s Best Player? Hope for good fortune. Maradona, his suit and his zany ideas are out, meaning Argentina will do what they should have done for South Africa, build a team to maximize Leo Messi. They should replicate Barcelona, fielding a 4-3-3 with complimentary players. Messi will play up top. Mascherano will anchor the rear. Such a system should work, but may take a while to become cohesive.
Defending Messi is rough for anyone, especially with the plodding defenders Bradley has at his disposal. My guess is they sit deep to help with Messi and the speed Argentina has down the wings. They may even have a designated midfield marker for Messi or switch off. They don’t want him to have space to roam in front of the back four.
[Photo via Getty]