USA Vs. Scotland: USMNT Runs Rampant In 5-1 Win

The Scotland match marked the first of three friendlies before the U.S. begins World Cup qualifying on June 8. That first qualifier has always been the first real benchmark for the U.S. under Jurgen Klinsmann, who was hired last August and has been building the team for the beginning of qualifying ever since taking the helm.

The qualifying benchmark makes these three friendlies the stretch run in preparation and when Klinsmann wants his team to be hitting its stride. Against Scotland, who is admittedly just an average team and was without some of their better players, they sure looked like they were in top form. The team gets an “A” for the day, but what matters isn’t how they were on Saturday. What matters is what it all means going forward.

Donovan struck first when he was able to jump on his own rebound and finish smartly with a high shot that eluded two Scotland defenders on the line. The U.S. did well to break down Scotland with some pretty passing and the play came from the left to Donovan on the right, leaving the Scotland defense flummoxed. Donovan was then in alone on goal, but despite getting his first shot saved, he stuck with it and buried his second attempt for an early U.S. lead.

The great play of Bradley and Jones paid off in the second half as the U.S. blew Scotland out of the water. Donovan scored his second just before the hour mark as he took a great feed from Jones, then right after he made it a hat trick as Bradley fed him for another simple finish. With Jones and Bradley creating and Donovan finishing, the U.S. looked like a finely tuned machine.

The type of variety with which the U.S. has scored has to put a smile on the face of Jurgen Klinsmann. They have scored coming out of slow possession, on the counterattack, with their feet, with their head, with crosses and with incredible long strikes. They have done it all.

Donovan’s nine-month absence from the national team had many U.S. fans upset, and it put Jurgen Klinsmann in a bit of a hole, but both the fans and Klinsmann will forgive him if he keeps playing like this. All is well in America right now.

Big crowds for United States soccer friendlies aren’t too rare. The Americans often play matches in big football stadiums and draw a ton of people, but it’s often fans of the opposing team filling the stands. That wasn’t the case this time around, though, as most of the crowd was made up of Americans cheering for the U.S. Waldos or Gondoliers, your choice.

The U.S. fans come in all shapes and sizes. Some also come (likely) without significant others, like this fella.

It took just three minutes for the U.S. to go in front as Donovan got off to a flying start in his return to the national team. A good move by the Americans unhinged the Scotland defense and put Donovan in on goal, but his first shot was saved as the goalkeeper did well to get off his line and cut off the angle. That wasn’t a problem for Donovan, who hopped on the rebound and finished smartly to put the U.S. on top.

Up 2-0, it looked like the U.S. would cruise, but that wasn’t going to happen. The American defense, which has been a problem for almost two years now, failed to track Kenny Miller on a cross so he ended up unmarked at the back post. He tried to head the ball back across goal, but instead it hit Geoff Cameron in the chest and went into the net for an own goal.

Forget the U.S. being unlucky and having the ball bounce off of Cameron and into the goal. The problem was before that, where the U.S. failed to communicate, mark and Miller got free. There was one Scotland player offside, but he was not involved in the play and the flag correctly stayed down.

For the U.S., a lack of cohesion at the back isn’t new. They have had problems defending for a while now, before Jurgen Klinsmann took over. If they can’t shore things up at the back, they are going to continue to have trouble.

The goal came at the end of a good move for the U.S. Eventually, Donovan was in on goal, but he had to shoot quickly because the goalkeeper was rushing out on him. The keeper saved the first shot, but Donovan got to the rebound and was able to finish his second chance despite two Scots on the line that made things tough.

Jurgen Klinsmann is going to be thrilled with the goal as it came at the end of the type of good midfield play that he’s been trying to build. Early on, it’s looking good for the U.S.

We hadn’t seen the US Men’s National Team jerseys worn in a game. It was pretty obvious what would happen when the jerseys were officially debuted, but we couldn’t be quite sure.

Now it’s confirmed: This is the easiest game of Where’s Waldo ever.

United States lineup (4-3-2-1): Howard; Johnson, Bocanegra, Cameron, Cherundolo; Jones, Edu, Bradley; Torres, Donovan; Boyd

Scotland lineup (4-3-3): McGregor; Bardsley, Caldwell, Webster, Mulgrew; Brown, McArthur, Bannan; Phillips, Miller, Maloney

All of this gets underway in Jacksonville, where the U.S. will host a Scotland team that will have the summer off after failing to qualify for Euro 2012. Grouped with Spain, Scotland was never going to win their Euro 2012 qualifying group, but they had hopes of finishing in second place and getting into the tournament via the two-legged playoff. Unfortunately for them, they finished two points behind the Czech Republic for second place and their dreams of qualifying for their first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup continues.

Nobody is going to confuse Scotland with Spain or Germany, but they are not complete pushovers. They failed to score in only one of their Euro qualifying matches, their first one, so they have some firepower. Of course, that they are without Charlie Adam, Steven Fletcher and Jamie Mackie, who are all out for various reasons, will cut into that firepower.

Things did not go as planned early in the Klinsmann era. A draw against an understrength Mexico wasn’t too bad, even if they got outplayed, but then came losses to Costa Rica and Belgium. A draw against Honduras raised hopes again, but then the U.S. followed that up with losses to Ecuador and France. The Klinsmann era was a bonafide failure, or not. As Klinsmann continued to remind people, it was “a process” and results in friendlies were insignificant. It was all about building for World Cup qualifiers.

The U.S. closed out 2011 with a 3-2 win over Slovenia so then they could at least start 2012 trending up. With none of their European based players with the team, the Americans beat similarly understrength Venezuela and Panama. Finally came the big match, at Italy in a stadium that the Azzuri were seemingly invincible. Clint Dempsey struck for a goal and the defense held out, giving the U.S. a 1-0 win over the Italians, their first statement match under Klinsmann.

It’s the question that the U.S. cannot answer. Through wins and losses, World Cups, friendlies and manager after manager, there is one constant for the U.S. -- the team has no left back.

For Johnson, the question is whether he is better at left back or in the midfield and how positionally aware he is. For most of his professional career, he was a midfielder, but he spent the latter half of the season with Hoffenheim at left back, and it went well. Still, he has not played much there, so inexperience could be a problem.

The absence of Dempsey means that Klinsmann and U.S. fans will have to wait even longer to see Dempsey and Donovan play together under the German manager. Since Klinsmann took over the team last August, the two American stars have not been on the same team, with one of the two missing each match through injury or a need to rest. Additionally, almost the entire U.S. attack under Klinsmann has been through Dempsey, meaning the Americans will have to find a new way to create chances against Scotland.

“We have said from the beginning that these games are all about results, and we have chosen the 23 players who are in the best form right now and ready to get the job done,” Klinsmann said in a statement. “These guys have put in a tremendous amount of hard work in the last 10 days, and they are hungry to get started with the matches. We want to thank the players who have gone back to their clubs for all of their effort here. They are knocking on the door and will be ready to go if needed.”

The final roster includes five players from MLS, four players from the German Bundesliga, four from the Mexican Primera and three from the English Premier League.

With questions still to answer and three friendlies to answer them, Kevin McCauley and I sat down to talk about what the U.S. team in a two-part chat. Part one touched upon players and positions, while this part two gets into formations, roles and what the team needs to do to make the three friendlies a success.

Ryan: So 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 (or their 4-3-2-1 and 4-4-1-1 variations), which is it? If the roster release is any indication (and take it with the smallest grain of salt possible), Donovan and Dempsey are both forwards so that, plus the glut of central midfielders, leads us to believe 4-3-3. That formation gives the team width, which it has lacked, and it allows for a better midfield probably. The problem is that it takes Dempsey out of the number 10 role and is there anything dumber than that right now?

June 8 isn’t too far away, though. These next three friendlies, beginning on Saturday against Scotland, are the final tune ups for a U.S. team that has high expectations under Klinsmann. With kinks still to be ironed out and a team that continues to have its questions, Kevin McCauley and I sat down to chat about what to expect and look for from the U.S. going into these next three friendlies. Here is part one of the two-part chat.

Ryan: Jurgen Klinsmann has largely written off both wins and losses thus far in his tenure as part of the “process” as he builds towards World Cup qualifiers. Now, with just three friendlies left before World Cup qualifying starts, what are the final parts to the “process” that he needs to figure out?

All of that begins on Saturday when the U.S. takes on Scotland in Jacksonville, Florida*. As has always been the case in these friendlies, it’s not a matter of winning or losing (although winning is preferred), but of continuing to improve and show that the team is nearing top form with qualifying around the corner.

*Yes, Jacksonville, and they look set to have a good crowd so you can quit your snickering now. Or not, your choice. I’m not your mother.