ASN: 4 Ideas on the U.S. U-23 Staff’s 2-1 Loss to Brazil

A one-goal highway loss to Brazil does not sound too dangerous for Andi Herzog’s U-23 facet, however ASN’s Brian Sciaretta factors out that the house workforce outplayed the Yanks and possibly ought to have gained by a bigger margin.

BY

Brian Sciaretta

Posted
November 12, 2015
9:00 AM

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THE UNITED STATES U-23 TEAM dropped its first of two friendlies towards Brazil on Wednesday evening in Recife. The two-1 closing rating flattered the Individuals, who have been outplayed from the opening whistle and solely obtained into the sport as soon as Brazil was diminished to 10 males early within the second half.

The guests have been on their heels from the beginning and finally caved within the forty second minute, when a superbly positioned go from Marseille’s Lucas Silva discovered Gabriel, who dribbled round goalkeeper Charlie Horton and despatched the ball into the open internet for a 1-0 lead. Within the forty seventh, Silva picked up his second help by establishing Luan for a shot that deflected off Oscar Sorto and in.

The 2 tallies proved to be all Brazil would wish.

The Individuals’ mortgage purpose got here 10 minutes later, when Jerome Kiesewetter compelled a turnover, tripping penalty, and pink card from Doria inside his personal field. The Stuttgart attacker then stepped up and hit an unstoppable penalty to place the US on the scoreboard.

Maki Tall had the U.S. workforce’s finest probability to equalize in stoppage time on a ball into the field, however he despatched an open header over the bar and Brazil walked away with a much-deserved win. The 2 sides subsequent will face off once more on Sunday, and also you’d need to assume that U.S. head coach Andi Herzog is now scrambling for solutions as he faces the prospect of being a heavy underdog to Colombia in March.

Listed below are 4 takeaways from Wednesday’s loss.

Brooks confirmed his class

Jurgen Klinsmann made the shocking announcement final week that Matt Miazga can be on the senior workforce for its two upcoming World Cup qualifying matches, and when Herzog named his roster we discovered that Miazga and 2014 World Cup hero John Brooks would basically be swapping roles.

Brooks has struggled at occasions with the senior facet and has drifted out and in of Hertha Berlin’s beginning lineup. However towards a really gifted Brazil U-23 workforce comprised of gamers from prime golf equipment in prime leagues, Brooks was named the captain and performed one among his finest video games in a U.S. jersey.

If not for Brooks—simply one of many lone shiny spots on an in any other case dismal evening—the scoreline most likely would have been far worse.

Inexperienced and Shelton have been invisible

Julian Inexperienced was additionally introduced again to the U-23 workforce, in his case after Herzog had merely dropped him throughout Olympic qualifying. The Bayern Munich reserve attacker upset, nevertheless, and was largely a non-factor. He had little success both in taking up defenders one-on-one or in combining together with his teammates. On an evening when he specifically had a giant alternative to enhance his standing on the workforce, Inexperienced failed to take action.

New York Metropolis FC’s Khiry Shelton had little success, both. Deployed because the workforce’s lone ahead in a 4-2-3-1 formation, he was unable to carry the ball up or get into harmful positions. After spending a big portion of 2015 injured, Shelton might have been rusty (and in an unfamiliar place), however he nonetheless has a protracted option to go to be an possibility for the Colombia collection.

Zelalem confirmed worth farther again

After Doria was despatched off, Gedion Zelalem turned he most essential participant on the sector for the Individuals, enjoying not in a real “No. 10” position however in a deeper-lying playmaking place. It labored out very nicely, and that appeared to point that it’s the place he’s finest used on the sector.

Zelalem, 18, struggled in Oympic qualifying whereas in a extra superior position, however towards Brazil and with Rangers he performs deeper and creates scoring possibilities from there. The U.S. has an abundance of central midfielders, but when Herzog desires to get the most effective out of Zelalem, maybe that’s the place he’ll play him towards Colombia.

Central-midfield pair struggled

Within the 4-2-3-1 formation, Herzog elected to begin two pure defensive midfielders collectively—Matt Polster and Fatai Alashe. The 2 are reduce from the identical fabric—they each are bodily and never nice at holding the ball in tight areas, a redundancy that enormously affected the US’ capability to keep up any sort of possession.

One among these two on the sector may very well be useful, to make sure, however not each directly. If the U-23s are to compete within the midfield towards prime groups, their defensive midfielders must be extra possession-oriented.