The United States take on Jamaica (6 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1) in the Gold Cup semifinals on Wednesday, and it should be their toughest match yet. Jamaica have been great so far, winning a group with Costa Rica, then beating Haiti in normal time in their quarterfinal. The U.S. are big favorites, but it won't be a cakewalk.
3 things to watch for as the USMNT takes on Jamaica
The midfield and fullbacks have tough jobs in the Gold Cup semifinal.
Here’s what you should keep an eye on during the match if you want to know how things are going for the Americans.
1. Where is Michael Bradley?
Regardless of the formation Jurgen Klinsmann puts his team in, he won't want to see Bradley too close to the defense or too high up the pitch. Even if he's listed as an attacking midfielder, the United States are best when he comes back to find the ball and distributes from a bit deeper in midfield than a traditional No. 10. Almost all of his best plays come when he's about 40 yards from goal, not near the box or sitting way back. It's important for him to get the ball in the space where his passing is at its most effective.
2. What does the midfield shape look like in general?
The USMNT lineup has been listed as a midfield diamond in all of their games, but it hasn’t always been the same functionally. Gyasi Zardes and DeAndre Yedlin are wide players, not central midfielders who push wide when necessary. They’ve often played an unbalanced midfield, with one winger and one shuttling midfielder in an attempt to balance their need for numbers in midfield with width. It’s unorthdox, but it’s worked just fine.
No matter who starts, there are a lot of things the U.S. midfield has to accomplish -- getting Bradley the ball in the right spots, pinching in to help in the center without crowding him, providing width without getting too wide, making sure Kyle Beckerman isn’t on his own in the center when they lose the ball. It’s a lot to think about. If the shuttling players look like they’re doing a good job of giving Bradley his space and supporting out wide while also supporting Beckerman in defensive transition situations, the Americans are in good shape.
3. Are the fullbacks picking their spots well?
It’s not necessarily a good thing when fullbacks get forward in the attack, but it’s a requirement for teams who play a narrow diamond midfield like the USMNT. If the two fullbacks aren’t getting up the flanks to provide some width, Jamaica can defend very narrowly and it’ll be very difficult to create chances. Fabian Johnson and whoever the other fullback is will need to get up the pitch to spread out Jamaica’s defense and midfield.
But Jamaica are an excellent counter-attacking side, with versatile forwards who are equal parts playmaking midfielder and scorer. Simon Dawkins and Giles Barnes have been strikers for Jamaica in this Gold Cup, but they’ve both spent good chunks of their careers as attacking midfield players too. They can create dangerous two-man counters by themselves with minimal support, and it’ll be much easier for them to do that if the USMNT fullbacks are caught way up the pitch.
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