Italy Vs. USA: Clint Dempsey Fires USMNT To Upset Win

Ain’t that purty? Well, it’s not exactly the prettiest of goals, but it is effective with all three players involved filling the exact roles Jurgen Klinsmann wants them to fill. It will do.

The U.S. may not have created any decent chances in the first half, but they were strong at the back and in the midfield. Their organized defense drew Italy offside time and time again and the U.S. midfield closed down on any build up play. It wasn’t exactly entertaining, but it was effective and the two sides went to halftime scoreless.

The beginning of the second half looked exactly like the first as the two teams battled in the midfield without a chance either way. That would only last for 10 minutes, though, because seemingly out of nowhere, the U.S. found a chance.

(Photo Credit: US Soccer)

Many U.S. fans weren’t exactly thrilled when photos of the jersey leaked, but now that they’re on the field, the opinion has changed some. It could be the grey numbers or that most of the players are in long sleeves, which makes it look better. Whatever the reason, them peeps like them.

United States Lineup (4-2-3-1): Howard; Johnson, Bocanegra, Goodson, Cherundolo; Bradley, Edu; Shea, Dempsey, Williams; Altidore

The game kicks off at 2:45 p.m. ET and can be see on ESPN2 and ESPN3 in the USA.

Now World Cup qualifying is slowly creeping up on the U.S., which means Klinsmann will have to make some decisions about where to play some guys. The constant moving players around isn’t the best thing to have when the matches start to matter so what is Klinsmann going to do?

What will be the biggest challenge for Klinsmann and Co. is whether to continue trying to build the possession-minded, attacking style they have been developing under the German or whether they try and absorb some pressure. The former seems more likely considering Klinsmann’s intent to keep the ball, but the latter could be successful, especially considering the weakened crop of forwards the Italians have in their team for the match.

A win against Italy in Italy is asking too much from the U.S. Moreover, it doesn’t matter. Results in individual friendlies are meaningless, but they do serve a purpose. They are opportunities to continue building towards the matches that do matter, which are the World Cup qualifiers just four months away. Let’s see what the U.S. is building.