1) Play Aron Jóhannsson

Do it now. The 24-year-old striker’s impressive cameo in the second half of last night’s match versus Panama, and his previous performance against Haiti on matchday two, should be proof enough that he deserves a chance to start. While Jozy Altidore continues to struggle with fitness and Chris Wondolowski continues to struggle with soccer, it’s Jóhannsson who appears to be far and away the best option to partner Dempsey up top. His first touch is far better than Altidore’s who has never been technically sound. Jóhannsson offers far more than Wondo as well: the USA midfield has struggled to create chances for the poacher thus Jóhannsson’s industriousness and tenacity could come in handy. The Iceland-raised player does lack some poise, however, but that’s something that should come with more experience. And he is still able to compensate with his movement and enthusiasm on the pitch. Altidore is a Jürgen Klinsmann favorite so it would be a shock if he was jettisoned for Jóhannsson but, that said, look for the AZ Alkmaar striker to continue to impress whenever he is given the opportunity to. Which ideally should be always.





2) Right sided woes

The Ventura Alvarado-Timmy Chandler experiment on the right side of the American defense has been a disaster. And it’s going to end badly in the knockout stage barring a dramatic and drastic improvement from both players. Alvarado looks lost at times and it’s becoming harder to see why Klinsmann continues to have such unshakable faith in the 22-year-old. Maybe there are some very valid long-term reasons? He’s young and plying his trade for a good Club América team in a tough Liga MX. He could be part of a long-term pairing with John Brooks at the heart of the defense for years to come. That said, he’s had a poor Gold Cup so far and he hasn’t shown many redeeming qualities at all. Here’s hoping Matt Besler gets a call-up soon. Chandler hasn’t been much better either, and has been a bag of mishaps this tournament: he’s constantly been caught flat-footed and offers nothing going forward. Worse yet he tends to concede possession far too often as well, here was his passing chart from the Honduras match. DeAndre Yedlin could be an option but he’s not yet tactically sound enough to be called upon consistently, and Klinsmann seems to prefer him in a more attacking wide-midfielder role. The most likely candidate to replace Chandler however would likely be Brad Evans. Evans is a far more consistent passer out of the back and his chemistry with Yedlin, the former Seattle Sounder, would serve USA well.



3) Dempsey dependency

Torn referee notepads aside, it’s clear that Clint Dempsey continues to be far and away the best player for the USMNT. Even when he’s not having the best of games, for instance in the opener against Honduras, Deuce still has a knack for finding himself in the right place at the right time. He’s been instrumental in the final third this so far scoring three of the USA’s four goals thus far. When he came on Monday night in the second half against Panama one could sense a dramatic shift in not only the level of build-up play up-top but in the entire team’s confidence. Dempsey is an American legend and at 32-years-old this may be the last tournament that he’s able to play for the USMNT while in his prime. He may not be the captain anymore due to that aforementioned referee mishap, but he is still the team’s most important player as the USA head into the knockout rounds.

4) Concacaf is growing up

Diving, sketchy referering and overly physical play aside, one takeaway from the three USMNT matches (and from the rest of the tournament really) is that Concacaf is a drastically improved federation – on the playing side at least. At last summer’s World Cup impressive performances from the three biggest nations in the federation: USA, Mexico and Costa Rica (especially Los Ticos’ foray into the quarterfinals) proved to the world that the top of the federation can hang with the elite in Europe and South America. This tournament, however, is showing the improvement in quality is consistent throughout the federation.

The USA have never once seemed to be several pegs above their opponents in the three games thus far. Honduras pressed hard against the USA, making things very uncomfortable for the midfield. Against Haiti the physicality of the Caribbean nation was a sight to behold. The first half against Panama, in which the Central American side consistently threatened, prompted a swift adjustment and reshuffling by Klinsmann which saw a much improved second half. Frankly these teams don’t look intimidated anymore. And as disappointing and inconsistent as some of the USA performances have been so far, much credit has to go to an improving field of opponents. This only bodes well for the federation moving forward.



5) Bedoya is back



And the heavens are rejoicing. Alejandro Bedoya, who’s been clawing his way back to full fitness following a knee injury, finally made his tournament debut against Panama after missing the first two matches. The FC Nantes midfielder added some much needed creativity to a midfield – he set up Michael Bradley’s goal – that has struggled to create many chances so far this tournament. He wasn’t perfect however and it’s clear that he’s still not 100% match fit. He did look a bit rusty at times attempting to deal with the breakneck pace of the match. He did look a bit knackered when he came off after 71 minutes but if he can give at least a solid 45 minutes in the matches going forward it would be a huge help to the USA. His return to the starting line-up will at the worst give Klinsmann some more options, or at its best, change the course of this tournament for an what’s been an underwhelming USA midfield thus far.