With a World Cup looming, Mauricio Pochettino and his squad are facing legitimate questions – can they answer vs Japan?
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Anyone who follows the U.S. men's national team knows the weight of this city. Columbus is the USMNT's spiritual home. There have been so many great national team nights in Columbus, so many big moments in which the USMNT defied the odds.
Perfect timing, then, for the U.S. to return to Ohio for a vital friendly. It's a friendly, yes, but an important one. For years, Columbus has seemed to be where the USMNT have gone when the program needs a win. Tuesday, surely, feels like one of those nights.
The U.S. heads into this game against Japan on a low. Losses to Panama, Canada, Turkey, Switzerland, Mexico and, most recently, South Korea – with a run to the Gold Cup final sandwiched between – have put this team's collective back against the wall. With a World Cup looming, Mauricio Pochettino and his squad are facing legitimate questions.
"It's nothing to shy away from," striker Folarin Balogun said. "America's a huge country with so many people, so many supporters and that's kind of what you sign up for by representing such a huge, huge nation. When things are going well, you know that you have millions of people behind you, so you can't take the good without the bad. We know we need the results, because that's the thing that confirms everything.
"From a psychological point of view, it's difficult to lose. It's not what I prepare for. It's not what I train for. At the end of the day, we're training to win and to give the fans something to care about. Losing is not something anyone is satisfied with, I can tell you that for sure."
How will the USMNT approach the match? How could the tearm turn the tide? Will veterans such as Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams help reverse course? Or will Pochettino, as he insisted on Monday, "stick with the plan" and continue tinkering with lineups and tactics against Japan?
GOAL looks at five keys for the USMNT against Japan.
Getty Images SportPulisic to step up?
It's not that Christian Pulisic played poorly against South Korea, his first game back with the USMNT after a summer of controversy. He was no better or worse than most of the other USMNT starters. Yet here is a different standard, particularly after his decision to skip the Gold Cup.
Even putting that aside, the South Korea game was a prime example of what a superstar presence can do. Son Heung-Min was the perfect outlet, one that allowed his side to play through him in moments of pressure. It's not just that he created the two goals, which he did, but he was also a reference point, one that clearly inspired his team while giving them much-needed moments of danger.
The USMNT didn't have any that on Saturday. Pulisic was active, but never dangerous. He didn't complete a single dribble, none of his four shots hit the target and his passing was mediocre, at best. He got on the ball plenty, but didn't assert himself. Given everything, it was fair to expect more.
It's not that the USMNT definitively needs Pulisic to be "the guy" every game, even if it certainly helps. There are moments, though, in which players of quality need to go above and beyond – that's in part what makes them players of quality in the first place. This Japan game seems one of those occasions, a game in which Pulisic can both silence his doubters and help lift the USMNT out of its current state.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesFolarin Balogun or Josh Sargent?
To be fair, striker Josh Sargent wasn't really put in a position to thrive against South Korea. The style of play and the flow of the game just didn't suit him. It happens. It did, however, suit Folarin Balogun, so that brings us to the question: who starts?
Pochettino and his staff have a lot to balance with that decision. Does benching Sargent hurt his confidence amid his ongoing USMNT goal drought? Is Balogun fit enough to play extended minutes? Will this game resemble the South Korea game, or will it be one that allows Sargent to play more with the ball on his feet?
"Just coming on in that sort of game against such a good opponent, I noticed when I was on the bench that there was space to run in behind, and I just thought that's maybe what the team needed," Balogun said on Monday. "I wouldn't say it was instructions to go forward and get in behind, it's just how the game was going. There were opportunities to try and look for spaces."
Balogun, of course, is very good at running into those spaces. Sargent, meanwhile, has generally been good at making the most of them when he finds them. Both players might be necessary at some point at the World Cup, but who is the best fit for the Japan match?
Getty ImagesThe importance of Chris Richards
It was night and day, wasn't it? You can acknowledge that the state of the game had changed or that South Korea had taken their foot off the pedal, but you also have to address the impact that Chris Richards' arrival had on the second half of Saturday's match.
Richards, by any measure, is among the USMNT's best players. In fact, you could argue that he is the team's best right now. He really took a leap forward at the Gold Cup and has continued to build momentum since winning a trophy with Crystal Palace. All good teams start from defense, of course, and Richards is far and away this team's best defender.
Pochettino said postgame that the staff was simply taking precautions with Richards, who was dealing with "some issues" from recent games with Palace. The aim was to protect him and limit him to just 45 minutes.
Fair enough. Now, a few days later, Richards seems more necessary than ever as the U.S. look to step up against a talented Japan attack that includes top players such as Kaoru Mitoma, Takumi Minamino and Takefusa Kubo.
Richards should almost certainly be in the XI. The question is what it looks like around him.
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Getty Images SportA potential tactical tweak
Richards can admit it: he prefers playing in a back three. He's used to it on the club level. After several years of playing in that system for Crystal Palace, he's entirely comfortable as a wide centerback.
Could that be a tactic Pochettino embraces? It's been a talking point and, if the manager does go that route, it would be easy to see why. With more attack-minded fullbacks such as Sergino Dest and Max Arfsten, or perhaps even a wingback in Tim Weah, the USMNT could consider a system that would allow those players to go forward with more defensive stability behind them.
"I think some people look at it as a bit more defensive," Richards said, "but, if you play it right, it's more attacking than anything. It's about winning the ball in our half of the pitch, but also allowing your wingbacks to be creative and to do what they do best – which is run up and down the pitch and serve the ball in or, in Sergino's case, take people one-on-one. Max is the same way. He's really good offensively, going forward in a one-on-one situation."
Arfsten is comfortable with the formation. He's played in a similar setup with the Crew, having made the transition from winger to wingback to fullback.
"In the Gold Cup, I played as a standard fullback in a four the entire time, so I feel I've adjusted," Arfsten said. "Whatever the coach wants. If he wants me to play higher up as a wingback or play a bit further back and more defensive responsibility, no matter what he wants me to do, I'm going to embrace it."
There's no guarantee a back five is the right way to go. Maybe this team does end up being best equipped to play a back four by the World Cup. At the very least, though, it's a good option to have.
"I personally like playing the five in the back, and I think we could benefit from it," Richards said, "but I think, playing a four, we had some success this summer, too. Whatever system they put us in, we're ready for it."