Five Points: USA faces robust test against Honduras
FRISCO, Texas --
Cast aside any quaint notions of easing into this CONCACAF Gold Cup journey. There are expectations for the U.S. national team to fulfill by the end of this month in Philadelphia. They are stark and unwavering. And the path to the ultimate objective starts against Honduras on Tuesday (live, 9:00p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports Go).
"We're excited about having the chance to go to all of the way to the end," U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said in a press conference yesterday. "Obviously, our goal is to win this very difficult competition in order to qualify directly for the Confederations Cup in 2017. This is our hope. This is our plan. This is our goal. The team is very well aware of that. So we're [ready] to get started tomorrow night."
Klinsmann spoke last week about the tricky nature of preparing for this Gold Cup. There is little time to tinker given the placement of the tournament. Some of the inevitable teething issues rose to the fore in the 4-0 victory over Guatemala on Friday, but they cannot linger with an arduous test against Honduras ahead at Toyota Stadium.
More often than not, the Americans overcome the short buildup to march through the group stage. This assignment in Group A -- Haiti and Panama are ahead in the other matches -- is more difficult than most, though. Those realities underscore the need to kick this tournament off with the proper result, according to U.S. midfielder Kyle Beckerman.
"It will be extremely important," Beckerman said. "In any tournament, that first game is extremely important to get a result. It's going to be on our minds to get a win, but we know it definitely won't be easy."
Grasp the magnitude and the nature of the challenge ahead
Beckerman is spot on in his assessment: Honduras will not give an inch away. It is an inherent trait cultivated over many years and fostered under manager Jorge Luis Pinto.
The robust blend of application and skill manifests in Pinto's trademark 5-4-1 shape. Pinto used the setup to grind Costa Rica all the way through to the quarterfinals at the World Cup last year. This Honduras side isn't quite as talented as that Tico group, but those same principles apply here. The rugged 0-0 draw against Mexico in Houston on Wednesday reinforced their utility.
"You saw last summer with Costa Rica, you saw it the other night," U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley said. "They are organized. They put a lot of numbers behind the ball. But it's not just the numbers. It's also the organization and the ability and the willingness to close down and make it hard on the other team."
Pinto drills his team particularly well. The defined assignments often mask individual weaknesses. His players rarely find themselves caught out defensively, even when the wingbacks push high to provide width. Their ability to adjust to the opponent and close the ball quickly makes them particularly difficult to break down. The placement of this game -- the first in a compressed three-match group stage schedule -- provides them with the energy reserves required to apply those instructions rigorously.
"It's easy to just put a lot of guys behind the ball, but if you add in the organization and if you add in the mentality from every guy to close down and step up, you make it hard," Bradley said. "They close space. It makes for a tough game, especially early in a tournament when they are still -- in a lot of ways -- fresh and have energy and enthusiasm. It means it won't be an easy game."
Match the intensity from the opening whistle without losing focus
In order to cope with those tactics, the Americans must embrace the task at hand immediately. Klinsmann warned on Friday that this could be a nasty game, the sort where the U.S. might have to mix it up in order to find those moments to settle down and play.
The demands of this game likely require a lineup change or two -- Kyle Beckerman is well suited to a holding role in this sort of rugged affair after sitting out against Guatemala -- and an unfettered commitment to challenging for every single ball. In a game where Honduras will not give any quarter, the U.S. must earn the right to get the ball down and play.
Those issues come with a caveat, though: The emotions must be held in check even in the face of provocation. It is a potential issue for the Americans in this tournament. Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey have both earned high-profile dismissals for allowing frustration to win out in certain situations. Those sorts of missteps are exactly what Honduras hopes to provoke with its application and intent. They must be avoided at all costs.
"In a region like ours, there are emotions in there," Klinsmann said. "You never know what happens the next second. You have to be prepared to have yourself under control. You have to be disciplined. You don't have to lose it because maybe something unexpected happens. We hopefully are prepared. We've told the players that many, many times. We'll make it work."
Exercise patience on the ball ...
Once (and if) the match settles, the Americans must exercise their dominion carefully. Counters and set pieces always offer two potential routes to goal, but those opportunities may not arrive as quickly as anticipated.
The onus falls on the Americans to maintain their heads and preach the need for patience on the ball. It might take a while to find a way through the dogged Honduran shape or settle the game down enough to create things through the run of play. The key is to trust in the game plan -- quick, narrow work through Bradley toward Altidore and Dempsey, plus judicious use of the wide players to create space and pull apart the shape horizontally -- and wait long enough to pounce when fissures inevitably emerge.
"Patience is one key word," Klinsmann said. "If you're not breaking them down and not opening them up in the first half, you have to stay patient. You have to move the ball around quickly and hopefully, it opens up things and you get the goal that you need to get the three points. We are prepared for that."
... and move it quickly to carve open the well-drilled shape
Cadence assumes a particularly prominent role when tasked with breaking defiant teams down. The ball must move quickly from player to player and from side to side in order to create gaps. If the Americans can rotate the play briskly, then the Hondurans -- particularly without the relentless Roger Espinoza to cover his usual acreage through the middle -- might have trouble retaining that vaunted shape.
"It's about moving the ball, getting from one side to the other so we can attack a different side and try and open them up in different ways," Beckerman said. "It's about moving the ball quickly."
When the U.S. starts to find the proper footing, it boasts players capable of breaking Honduras down. Beckerman serves as a reliable metronome to keep things ticking over and transition seamlessly from side to side. Bradley offers those probing vertical clips over the top to stretch the play. John Brooks stretches the field from time to time with his diagonals out of the back, too.
There are certain characteristics that might prove difficult to implement in this game, though. There isn't a lot of room in the channels for Timothy Chandler and Fabian Johnson to exploit. The presence of wingbacks limits the space near the touchlines as well, though there is considerable utility to pushing high and pinning them back anyways. But those issues start to disappear with intelligent work to switch the play and relentless cadence in those moments when the Americans enjoy possession.
Make sure to lose the ball in good areas to avoid potential trouble
Honduras poses the greatest threat when all of that high pressure wins possession in the attacking half. Guatemala presented some problems for the Americans on Friday when they closed earnestly. If the work on the ball isn't sharp enough, then the Americans will find themselves in difficult spots.
Losing possession is unavoidable. There are steps to take to limit the concerns at those moments, though. There is a need to play intelligently out of the back to avoid any of those calamitous issues (look for the occasional longball out of the back to relieve pressure if the Hondurans push the shape forward), while there is an inherent need to avoid losing the ball in the middle third when Bradley is pulled to either side or when the fullbacks are ahead of the ball.
"Each game will be a little different, but we might see a lot of sitting in," Beckerman said. "I think, as we're attacking, there is the importance of being aware of their attacking players. Some of these teams will sit back -- absorb and absorb -- and then they're going to try and counterattack. We're going to have to be on our toes and looking out for that, so that we can snub them out and keep them pressed in."
If the Hondurans can claim possession when the Americans are stretched, then they can surge quickly into the space and present a credible threat. Watch the wide players -- likely Andy Najar on the right and either Boniek Garcia or Mario Martinez on the left -- carefully in those moments. They pose danger when they can get in behind Chandler and Johnson and tempt Brooks and either Ventura Alvarado or Omar Gonzalez toward the sideline to cover. There are questions about the precision of the untested Anthony Lozano up front, but the better path is to limit the opportunities for the Hondurans to break quickly to either create chances or win free kicks in promising areas.
"You saw in the game against Mexico that Honduras was prepared to go forward," Klinsmann said. "Honduras was also prepared to play in the Mexican half. If you look at the last 15 minutes, they were close to winning this game against Mexico."
It is a scenario the Americans simply do not want to contemplate in their Gold Cup opener. Honduras presents a difficult test with a mixture of application, guile and skill. It is incumbent on the U.S. to respond accordingly and start this campaign with the desired result.
