GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 27: United States defender Nick Lima (2) dribbles the ball in game action during an international friendly match between the United States Men's National Team and Panama on January 27, 2019 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Nick Lima was excellent in both USMNT January camp matches, playing a hybrid full-back position. Can DeAndre Yedlin perform the same role with the same efficacy?

Nick Lima was a surprise inclusion in Gregg Berhalter’s first January camp. The San Jose Earthquakes full-back is a neat and tidy footballer, but he was not really seen as an international level player.

But Berhalter wanted him there. And now, by the conclusion of it, it is easy to see why. Not only did Lima prove himself more than capable, but he played a very particular role that only someone of his versatile, positionally flexible skill set could perform.

Speaking after the U.S. Men’s National Team 2-0 win over Panama, Berhalter’s first match as manager, the former Columbus Crew head coach was keen to highlight his appreciation of the qualities of his new right-back:

“Nick, I’ve always admired his skill set and I like his competitive attitude. I think he proved that he’s open to trying things and learning and he did a great job.”

It is clear that Berhalter is a fan of Lima, and likely has been since his time in Ohio. But the role that he handed to the San Jose defender is not the one that he is used to. After the Panama victory, Berhalter named him as the Coach’s Man of the Match, explaining:

“It’s not easy to ask your right back to get the ball with his back to goal or to ask him to create space in the midfield, but he did a good job of it.”

The role was odd. Playing as a right-back without the ball, Lima would then shift into central midfield whenever the USMNT had safe possession. It is a role that Pep Guardiola has used with Manchester City, though more recently abandoned with his full-backs struggling to protect the ball tidily in the midfield, but is not otherwise too well-known.

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But Lima, as an attacking full-back with experience of playing in midfield, has the defensive qualities when playing wide, the skill on the ball when moving centrally, and the positional awareness and judgement to determine when to take up what role. It is a very difficult task, one that few players have the required skill set to perform aptly.

That is a problem for presumed starter DeAndre Yedlin. The Newcastle United right-back most certainly does not have the technical qualities to play in a central midfield role. His game revolves his pace, athleticism, stamina, power, not finessed and fine-tuned play in possession. Yedlin is the superior right-back, of course, but is Lima the better option in this role? Quite possibly.

It is certainly fair to question Yedlin’s capabilities in this role. He does not have the natural skills, you would think, to perform it. If Berhalter wants to use it throughout his tenure as USMNT head coach, however, he may have to prove otherwise. Lima already has, that is for sure.