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The Short List: Positional Battles In Azteca
With Mexico hosting the U.S. in World Cup Qualifying next week Goal.com's extensive coverage continues with Allen Ramsey taking a look at the key battles for next week's match.
Aug 5, 2009 12:37:52 PM
We're just one week away from the next installment of El Tri and the U.S. Men's National team. After a 5-0 thrashing in the Gold Cup final Mexico is flying high and heading home to the friendly confines of Azteca.
The U.S. is coming off a bright summer as well. The Confederations Cup final was the highlight, but another final appearance in the Gold Cup and second place in the Hex table should be enough to have the Red White and Blue primed for a good showing in Mexico.
It's not all that often that the U.S. and Mexico meet with both on good runs of form, but next Wednesday both squads will come in full of confidence and with plenty still to prove.
For Mexico a win would do two things. It would prove that they are still hard to beat at home, and push El Tri back into a good spot in the Hex table. For the U.S. a good result would bring a bit of revenge for the Gold Cup and put the Red White and Blue in the drivers seat for a World Cup spot.
With the build-up to the match getting started early, and my weekly Short List not running until late on Wednesdays, I felt that now would be the appropriate time to examine the positional battles that will tell the story in Azteca.
The Middle Of The Pitch
Gerardo Torrado vs. Michael Bradley could be the biggest difference in the clash of CONCACAF giants.
Torrado is unquestionably one of the top central midfielders in the region. A box-to-box player with the ability to defend and spring the attack, Torrado captained El Tri during the Gold Cup and is a veteran of these U.S. vs. Mexico clashes. With attacking talent and pace all around him Torrado will probably be asked to do most of the distributing against the U.S., and his ability to control the pace of play will be vital in Mexico asserting its will on the game.
Bradley is turning into one of the top players on the U.S. roster, but questions still surround who will partner him in the middle of the pitch. One answer is Ricardo Clark, a hard nosed defensive mid, and the other seems to be Benny Feilhaber, a much more attack-minder player who is better in possession. Depending on which player Bob Bradley decides to partner with Michael, the younger Bradley's job could change drastically.
With Clark beside him Micheal's defensive duties drop off some and he will be asked to link the back line with his forwards and wide midfielders. With Feilhaber in the squad, Bradley has to become the defensive mid, limiting space for Torrado to break freely into the U.S.'s attacking third, and protecting the center backs.
One other thing to keep in mind is that Bradley hasn't faced Azteca yet.
Advantage: Torrado was stellar in the Gold Cup and should be able to deal with Bradley and the bad air fairly well.
The Wide Areas
The U.S. and Mexico both come into the August 12 encounter with their best attacking players playing in wide areas. For Mexico it's Giovani Do Santos and Andres Guardado. For the U.S. it's Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan.
The younger Mexican midfielders certainly have a lot going for them. Guardado is an absolute menace who has shown the ability to key Mexico's attack. Dos Santos is coming off his best run of form since joining the full national side and could even find himself in more of a central role, but my guess is he stays wide most of the night. They have speed, technical ability, and both are well schooled in the game despite still being very young.
For the U.S. everything goes through Donovan and Dempsey. Donovan is electric with his pace and ability to beat players. Dempsey is a classy midfielder who likes to drift inside and distribute the ball to his strikers. Both are unquestioned goal scoring threats.
For both sets of wingers their defensive responsibilities will come into play in Azteca. If Dempsey and which ever fullback is behind him can control Dos Santos, and Donovan can help keep Guardado under wraps, the U.S. will gain a huge advantage. However, if Guardado and Dos Santos are given too much space the U.S. defense is going to have major problems.
Advantage: The experience of the U.S.'s wide players should be enough to tip this battle in their favor.
The Strike Force
Both teams have questions in the front line. For Mexico the question is simply one of who gets to play. Does Carlos Vela get the start for Mexico? Will Nery Castillo or Miguel Sabah work their way into playing time? Is Guillermo Franco the answer to Mexico's problems on the front line in the Hex so far?
No matter which way El Tri chooses to go it's clear that they will have to rely on goal creation from the midfield, but picking the right set of strikers to deal with the American back line will be key. My choice here would be Carlos Vela. The Arsenal star is the type of goal scorer Mexico needs to take advantage of the U.S.'s lack of pace in the middle of their defense. Vela is lightening quick and plays well with the other young stars, but Mexico needs some kind of physical presence on the pitch as well.
For the U.S. the options seem to be a bit more limited. If Bradley sticks with the plan of running Dempsey and Donovan in the wide areas, he has Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, and Brian Ching as the likely forward options.
Ching is the veteran and Bradley loves his vets, but Davies and Altidore could both play a big role in this match. The two younger Americans, while not as gifted on the ball as any of Mexico's front runners, have the physical ability to give the Mexican back line fits.
While Mexico's front line will have to face the U.S.'s best defense, questions still surround the health of Rafael Marquez in the Mexican back line. While Marquez may not be the great defender that he once was he knows how to deal with size and pace from his time in Spain and in the Champions League. Mexico's other option in the center of the defense, Johnny Magallon and Aaron Galindo, could have problems with Davies' pace and Altidore's strength.
Advantage: This is a bit of a toss up. Who knows if Vela will actually be fit enough to get the start, and the other Mexican strikers are not as good in front of goal. I would still give the edge to Mexico, but the gap if Vela is not on the pitch is negligible.
At The Back
The big question here, as stated above, is whether or not Marquez is fit to play the full 90. The U.S. will likely run out a very stable backline of Johnathan Spector, Oguchi Onyewu, Jay Demerit, and Carlos Bocanegra with some wiggle room for guys like Frankie Hejduk and Steve Cherundolo. There is nothing spectacular about that U.S. backline, but they have all played in big leagues and hostile environments before so the Azteca atmosphere shouldn't be much of a problem.
If Marquez isn't ready Mexico will likely run out a starting backline that includes Ricardo Osorio, Magallon, Galindo, and Carlos Salcido. Again, nothing spectacular. Salcido is the lone star in that group on the world stage and he'll be asked to deal with either Dempsey or Donovan, while Osorio will have the task of dealing with the other.
Advantage: If Marquez is healthy this balance tips slightly in favor of Mexico (though Marquez' history against the U.S. is not great) but without the Barcelona star in the middle Mexico will be missing a lot. Demerit is the big question for the U.S. He was a star in the Confed. Cup, but can he translate that back to facing El Tri in Azteca? For now, this is a wash.
In The Net
This is probably the easiest position to pick a clear advantage. No matter how you look at it, Tim Howard is the best 'keeper in this match. Mexico has some good players to stick between the pipes, but none of them command the same respect as the Everton star.
Advantage: Clearly this favors the U.S., but if the defense is not up to the task Howard can only do so much.
Allen Ramsey is an assistant editor of Goal.com USA. The Short List runs every Wednesday afternoon on Goal.com.
Give you opinion on the match between the U.S. and Mexico in the Goal.com Forums.
The U.S. is coming off a bright summer as well. The Confederations Cup final was the highlight, but another final appearance in the Gold Cup and second place in the Hex table should be enough to have the Red White and Blue primed for a good showing in Mexico.
It's not all that often that the U.S. and Mexico meet with both on good runs of form, but next Wednesday both squads will come in full of confidence and with plenty still to prove.
For Mexico a win would do two things. It would prove that they are still hard to beat at home, and push El Tri back into a good spot in the Hex table. For the U.S. a good result would bring a bit of revenge for the Gold Cup and put the Red White and Blue in the drivers seat for a World Cup spot.
With the build-up to the match getting started early, and my weekly Short List not running until late on Wednesdays, I felt that now would be the appropriate time to examine the positional battles that will tell the story in Azteca.
The Middle Of The Pitch
Gerardo Torrado vs. Michael Bradley could be the biggest difference in the clash of CONCACAF giants.
Torrado is unquestionably one of the top central midfielders in the region. A box-to-box player with the ability to defend and spring the attack, Torrado captained El Tri during the Gold Cup and is a veteran of these U.S. vs. Mexico clashes. With attacking talent and pace all around him Torrado will probably be asked to do most of the distributing against the U.S., and his ability to control the pace of play will be vital in Mexico asserting its will on the game.
Bradley is turning into one of the top players on the U.S. roster, but questions still surround who will partner him in the middle of the pitch. One answer is Ricardo Clark, a hard nosed defensive mid, and the other seems to be Benny Feilhaber, a much more attack-minder player who is better in possession. Depending on which player Bob Bradley decides to partner with Michael, the younger Bradley's job could change drastically.
With Clark beside him Micheal's defensive duties drop off some and he will be asked to link the back line with his forwards and wide midfielders. With Feilhaber in the squad, Bradley has to become the defensive mid, limiting space for Torrado to break freely into the U.S.'s attacking third, and protecting the center backs.
One other thing to keep in mind is that Bradley hasn't faced Azteca yet.
Advantage: Torrado was stellar in the Gold Cup and should be able to deal with Bradley and the bad air fairly well.
The Wide Areas
The U.S. and Mexico both come into the August 12 encounter with their best attacking players playing in wide areas. For Mexico it's Giovani Do Santos and Andres Guardado. For the U.S. it's Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan.
The younger Mexican midfielders certainly have a lot going for them. Guardado is an absolute menace who has shown the ability to key Mexico's attack. Dos Santos is coming off his best run of form since joining the full national side and could even find himself in more of a central role, but my guess is he stays wide most of the night. They have speed, technical ability, and both are well schooled in the game despite still being very young.
For the U.S. everything goes through Donovan and Dempsey. Donovan is electric with his pace and ability to beat players. Dempsey is a classy midfielder who likes to drift inside and distribute the ball to his strikers. Both are unquestioned goal scoring threats.
For both sets of wingers their defensive responsibilities will come into play in Azteca. If Dempsey and which ever fullback is behind him can control Dos Santos, and Donovan can help keep Guardado under wraps, the U.S. will gain a huge advantage. However, if Guardado and Dos Santos are given too much space the U.S. defense is going to have major problems.
Advantage: The experience of the U.S.'s wide players should be enough to tip this battle in their favor.
The Strike Force
Both teams have questions in the front line. For Mexico the question is simply one of who gets to play. Does Carlos Vela get the start for Mexico? Will Nery Castillo or Miguel Sabah work their way into playing time? Is Guillermo Franco the answer to Mexico's problems on the front line in the Hex so far?
No matter which way El Tri chooses to go it's clear that they will have to rely on goal creation from the midfield, but picking the right set of strikers to deal with the American back line will be key. My choice here would be Carlos Vela. The Arsenal star is the type of goal scorer Mexico needs to take advantage of the U.S.'s lack of pace in the middle of their defense. Vela is lightening quick and plays well with the other young stars, but Mexico needs some kind of physical presence on the pitch as well.
For the U.S. the options seem to be a bit more limited. If Bradley sticks with the plan of running Dempsey and Donovan in the wide areas, he has Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, and Brian Ching as the likely forward options.
Ching is the veteran and Bradley loves his vets, but Davies and Altidore could both play a big role in this match. The two younger Americans, while not as gifted on the ball as any of Mexico's front runners, have the physical ability to give the Mexican back line fits.
While Mexico's front line will have to face the U.S.'s best defense, questions still surround the health of Rafael Marquez in the Mexican back line. While Marquez may not be the great defender that he once was he knows how to deal with size and pace from his time in Spain and in the Champions League. Mexico's other option in the center of the defense, Johnny Magallon and Aaron Galindo, could have problems with Davies' pace and Altidore's strength.
Advantage: This is a bit of a toss up. Who knows if Vela will actually be fit enough to get the start, and the other Mexican strikers are not as good in front of goal. I would still give the edge to Mexico, but the gap if Vela is not on the pitch is negligible.
At The Back
The big question here, as stated above, is whether or not Marquez is fit to play the full 90. The U.S. will likely run out a very stable backline of Johnathan Spector, Oguchi Onyewu, Jay Demerit, and Carlos Bocanegra with some wiggle room for guys like Frankie Hejduk and Steve Cherundolo. There is nothing spectacular about that U.S. backline, but they have all played in big leagues and hostile environments before so the Azteca atmosphere shouldn't be much of a problem.
If Marquez isn't ready Mexico will likely run out a starting backline that includes Ricardo Osorio, Magallon, Galindo, and Carlos Salcido. Again, nothing spectacular. Salcido is the lone star in that group on the world stage and he'll be asked to deal with either Dempsey or Donovan, while Osorio will have the task of dealing with the other.
Advantage: If Marquez is healthy this balance tips slightly in favor of Mexico (though Marquez' history against the U.S. is not great) but without the Barcelona star in the middle Mexico will be missing a lot. Demerit is the big question for the U.S. He was a star in the Confed. Cup, but can he translate that back to facing El Tri in Azteca? For now, this is a wash.
In The Net
This is probably the easiest position to pick a clear advantage. No matter how you look at it, Tim Howard is the best 'keeper in this match. Mexico has some good players to stick between the pipes, but none of them command the same respect as the Everton star.
Advantage: Clearly this favors the U.S., but if the defense is not up to the task Howard can only do so much.
Allen Ramsey is an assistant editor of Goal.com USA. The Short List runs every Wednesday afternoon on Goal.com.
Give you opinion on the match between the U.S. and Mexico in the Goal.com Forums.
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