The CONCACAF Gold Cup immediately following a World Cup is the first test of the new cycle. The four year period between World Cups is littered with opportunities for a national team to experiment with new talent, formations, and styles of play. This has been the primary role of friendly matches since the end of the United States’ World Cup run under Jurgen Klinsmann. The upcoming slate of matches against Panama and Mexico will continue what the United States started against Colombia, Ireland, and Chile—the incorporation of young and raw talent into a revamped U.S. system which will become a reflection of Klinsmann’s stated desire to see the United States play a more free-flowing, attacking, and aggressive style deserving of the Stars and Stripes. Or it won’t.

The key to success is to set benchmarks for what success means in a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely manner. Klinsmann stated before the World Cup in Brazil that his goal was to see the United States reach the semifinals in the Russia 2018 World Cup—that four-year plan should be broken down into a set of yearly goals that will help guide the coach, his staff, and the team in reaching the pinnacle of global soccer during this cycle. This year will set the foundation for Russia 2018, and while it’s not impossible to succeed without winning the 2015 Gold Cup, that must be a priority for Klinsmann’s team. But before that even becomes the focus for the coaching staff and players, there are three key issues with USMNT play that need to be addressed:

Midfield: Klinsmann still hasn’t addressed a glaring oversight—where to make the best use of Michael Bradley in midfield. It seems that the 3-5-2 has seen some progress in that department, allowing Bradley the support to effectively distribute the ball and move forward into the attack when he’s needed. Sean Steffen has a good summary of the United States’ issues in the inaugural edition of the 3-5-2 against Chile, but to summarize both Diskerud and Dempsey were played out-of-position and Chile exploited them. To borrow his turn of phrase from Twitter, “If you see Jones on a fwd, the formation failed upfield.” Dempsey simply doesn’t track back the way a midfielder needs to in the 3-5-2 system. One possible solution is to move Jozy Altidore to the central midfield, allowing Dempsey to follow his usual game plan of sitting high and pressuring the opposing defense at every opportunity, all the while finding someone else to play on the attacking left in place of Bobby Wood, who looked completely lost. Diskerud may have been better off playing in Brek Shea’s box-to-box midfield position, but his mistakes were much less egregious than Dempsey’s and he probably deserves another shot at LCM. Centerback(s): Lack of depth in defense is an issue which was partially solved by Jermaine Jones in the centerback role against Chile, but Jones almost certainly won’t represent the United States in 2018 and even if he did, taking the time to adjust to the new position could be costly against better CONCACAF sides in the Gold Cup and disastrous in Copa America 2016. There is young defensive talent in the 18-man roster, and Steve Birnbaum of D.C. United had a positive showing in the first half against a Chilean B-side. It is quite possible that Birnbaum could become a mainstay in the US defense by making a move to centerback, but he probably won’t be ready to do so in the 3-5-2 formation that showed remarkable promise against Chile before the Gold Cup arrives, but it’s an experiment worth trying. Perry Kitchen, another D.C. United talent may also be a good fit for the central midfield role played by Jones, as his natural impulse is one of a defensive central midfielder with a reputation for far less reckless challenges than his counterpart. Fitness: the roster for the most recent friendly was very MLS-heavy, which does no favors to the team when that league plays on a polar opposite schedule than the major European leagues. I am not advocating a change to the MLS season—I’d go to just as many matches, but I hate being cold (there, I said it). Still, fitness during these off-season friendlies has been abysmal and more worryingly, the trend continues back to the World Cup match against Portugal. Not only is second-half scoring anemic at best, but the defense has simply fallen apart to the tune of being outscored 9-0 in the second half of matches since Brazil. Many will complain that the United States’ work rate is second to none; while that may be true, it isn’t a work-rate they can maintain for a full match, and that specter could be mitigated by smarter, more disciplined play.

Klinsmann seems to be onto something with this 3-5-2 system that will help his USA succeed against tougher competition, the question is whether he will be able to deploy the assets at his disposal in such a way that this system will bear fruit this year. The 2015 Gold Cup should not be another missed opportunity for the United States [insert Wondo joke here]. If by the end of the year, the United States hasn’t lifted the Gold Cup trophy and begun to see some clarity on these three issues, Klinsmann will have much to answer for in 2016 ahead of the Copa America tournament for the ages.

Read more of our Road to Gold Cup series here, here, here, and here.

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