Recap of US vs. Morocco
Not the best of starts for the United States in their pre World Cup matches. I guess you would expect the team that Bruce put out to struggle a bit in terms of connecting, and being on the same page, but this was much worse. We seemed to be off with our passing, and had no rhythm to our game. We let the Moroccans play out of the back, yet when we gained possession our passes were errant and at times had no purpose. Our team shape defensively was good for the most part, and it was better in the second half as we switched to what seemed to be a 3-5-2 formation. Our backs defended well, and limited the Moroccan’s to a few opportunities the entire match. It will be interesting to see what team shows up against Venezuela.
US vs. Venezuela Preview
Hopefully, we will see more possession in this match. I would expect the Venezuelan team will try to stay very compact, get numbers around the ball to play a lot of short passes. How will the US organize itself? What will our formation be, using some different players, which is what will most likely happen. I would like to look closely at how the US can move the ball from side to side. If we can gain possession in tight spaces and exploit the Venezuelans by quickly switching the point of attack, I believe we can get behind their backs and create good scoring opportunities. Starting in a 3-5-2 or adjusting while in possession, should give us the necessary numbers in the middle of the field to accomplish this. I look forward to seeing a better match from the US this evening.
While Alf is in Memphis with his SpringHigh Select squad, Ole’s still in Springfield and is going to take in the game at the Fox & Hound this evening. Time to let someone else do the cooking and see if I can pitch them on some World Cup viewing specials. Feel free to come out and join me – 6:00 pm kickoff. Otherwise catch it on ESPN2.
