The United States entered the World Cup as the Group G favorites to finish last. However, during the final matchday, they had the opportunity to finish first in the group or face a shock elimination from the tournament.
As it was, they finished second and face a tough Belgium squad in the round of 16. How did the United States shock the soccer community and advance from this group?
They won the first Match against Ghana
In any scenario for them to advance, the Yanks needed to defeat Ghana. Despite playing poorly and suffering injuries to at least three starters (two requiring early substitutions), John Brooks’ late goal off a corner was the difference and gave set up the United States second on the group. Failure to secure all three points meant they would have been forced to be more aggressive against Portugal and Germany, which would likely have meant very different outcomes.
Jurgen Klinsmann overall made the right tactical decisions
Much derided as tactically light, the U.S. coach pulled just enough correct strings to form a winning strategy for the Yanks. In the Ghana match, he dropped Michael Bradley deeper and used Jermaine Jones wide, which helped give the United States width and freed Jones to help in the attack, which resulted in a goal from him.
Faced with early injuries to Jozy Altidore and Matt Bessler, which could have been catastrophic, Klinsmann brought on Aron Johannsson and John Brooks, the former who did not hurt the U.S. but the latter scored the decisive goal.
Against Portugal, Klinsmann moved Bradley further up his midfield but, missing Altidore, shifted his formation to an effective 4-5-1. For the toughest match in their group, Klinsmann gambled by replacing an inconsistent Geoff Cameron with a suspect Omar Gonzalez. The LA Galaxy defender played well and the U.S. strategy stymied a potent German attack.
While there were some mistakes (bringing in Gonzalez against Portugal, leaving in Brad Davis too long against Germany) overall his tactical sense was improved enough to help the U.S. advance.
Jermaine Jones took the midfield general title from Michael Bradley
Bradley has had a poor tournament so far, regardless of where he has played on the field. Depending on how the U.S. progresses, the lingering image of him in the 2014 World Cup is being stripped in the midfield at the end of the Portugal match which led to the equalizing goal.
Jones, conversely, has been masterful. The midfielder has varied his game by adding an offensive threat to go with his usual defensive prowess. His play on the wing against Ghana was important to tamping down the Ghana attack. He was an effective disrupter when he moved further back in the Yanks’ midfield in the subsequent two games. Probably the greatest compliment that can be given is that he received only one yellow card, in contradiction of his overly-aggressive reputation.
Injuries adversely affected Portugal and Germany more than the United States
The U.S. missed Altidore in the last two group matches, but they compensated enough to advance. However, their two opponents were defined by their absences. A visibly hampered Cristiano Ronaldo was mostly quiet against the United States and deprived Portugal of a match-up advantage.
Injuries and suspensions to Portugal’s defence also allowed the U.S. to take advantage of inconsistent play at the back to score twice. Injuries deprived Germany of their best centre-forwards and forced them to rely heavily on their attacking midfielders, who did just enough to defeat the U.S. but also allowed the U.S. space the threaten.
Clint Dempsey carried the U.S. attack when it needed to be carried
The U.S. had gone an insane number of World Cup matches without a goal scored by a forward, so “Captain America’s” goal in the first 40 seconds of the Ghana match was critical. Despite losing his strike partner and being counted on as a lone forward for most of the last two matches, he did well with positioning and creating his own shots. This was shown well with his chested goal in the Portugal match.
When the U.S. needed a star to step forward – especially with Bradley playing poorly – Dempsey showed his leadership and talent.
