WASHINGTON — The U.S. Men’s National Team and coach Jurgen Klinsmann are at an interesting crossroads in their development. As a number of the stars who helped them nearly into the round of eight at the World Cup in 2014 are aging out of their primes, a new generation of exciting players is making a case for playing time on the biggest stages.
After some disappointing results since Brazil, Klinsmann was facing a tough dilemma coming into Copa America. He set the expectations high, hoping to reach at least the semifinals. But could he achieve them while also getting his youngsters key minutes on the field? This tournament is the best opportunity between now and Russia in 2018 for them to play against top flight international competition in a tournament setting.
To Klinsmann’s credit, he has fit a couple of those players — specifically DeAndre Yedlin and Bobby Wood — into the lineup. But electric teenager Christian Pusilic hasn’t seen the starting lineup, nor has midfielder Darlington Nagbe. And Klinsmann used the same lineup in every game of the group stage.
It’s the first time any U.S. men’s coach has used the same starting lineup in three straight games since 1930. For a coach accused of tinkering around with his lineups, this was unprecedented on a whole other level, especially considering how the opener unfolded.
After the United States was shut out and dominated by Colombia in the opening game of Copa America, out came the familiar pitchforks. Just 90 minutes into the tournament, being played on American soil, the USMNT had their backs to the buzzsaw. With a promising next generation of American soccer on the verge of staking its claim, the old guard simply wasn’t getting it done.
But just when the team — and Klinsmann — needed it most, the U.S. broke out in its second game, 4-0 against Costa Rica, a team that made the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 2014. After surviving an early Costa Rican rush, veteran striker Clint Dempsey took advantage and slotted home a penalty, and the momentum swung the other way from there.
And it was Dempsey again Saturday whose strong finish off Gyasi Zardes’ low cross just beyond the spot in the 27th minute against Paraguay held up, despite Yedlin’s red card, despite playing down a man for nearly the entire second half against a team desperate for a win.
Dempsey is arguably the most recognizable face remaining on the USMNT in the post Landon Donovan and Tim Howard era. But he’ll be 35 in the next World Cup, and you have to wonder if he’ll factor in as prominently to the U.S. attack as he has in years past.
For his part, Zardes has drawn some ire and frustration from the fans for his sometimes leaden final touch. This was on display in the second half against Paraguay, when he saw a golden chance to put the U.S. up 2-0 slip away through his own indecision. One such frustrated fan even recently put together a lowlight video of his clumsy footwork, one which has since been pulled from YouTube due to a copyright claim by U.S. Soccer (presumably to spare its player embarrassment, rather than to present it on its own platform).
One thing is for sure — the starting lineup Thursday for the USMNT’s fourth game in 12 days will change. The team will be without Yedlin, and decisions abound for others who were stretched physically by playing down a man, several of whom also picked up yellow cards. By winning the group, they actually cost themselves a day of rest, as they’ll play Thursday in Seattle rather than Friday in Philadelphia. This may force Klinsmann’s hands to see what he has in his younger talent simply out of necessity, and even with the success of the team so far, some will no doubt clamor for youth to be served.
Like in any sport, there will always be those who fall in love with the potential of the next generation. They’re fast and creative, yes, but they also haven’t been given the opportunity to disappoint you yet. No history is always better than bad history.
Yedlin, still just 22, had earned his way into starting duty on the backline, but his two quick, successive yellow cards Saturday underscore the risk of throwing young players onto such a pressure situation. While the first card was a bit suspect, the poor decision amid frustration is exactly the type of result you worry about when leaning on young players on a big stage.
But that’s what this tournament is perfect for. Making the Copa quarterfinals for just the second time ever is great, and seemed about a coin flip possibility coming into the tournament. But understanding what will work for this team in two years, come the 2018 World Cup, is more important.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story indicated that Pusilic and Nagbe had not played at all, though both players appeared off the bench against Colombia. It has been updated to reflect that neither player started a game in the group stage.
