On Saturday the final of the Gold Cup will be played out between the CONCACAF giants: Mexico and the United States. This will be the third time in a row the two have played the final and the Americans will surely be looking to avenge their 5-0 thrashing from 2009.
The U.S. has increasingly gotten better throughout the tournament and some have already begun to validate Bob Bradley’s continued presence on the sideline. As for Mexico’s coach Jose Manuel de la Torre, his team selections seem to be born from many of Javier Aguirre’s previous medleys.
This match will most expectedly see a 4-2-3-1 from the U.S. go against a fluid Mexican 4-4-1-1. The possible absence of Andres Guardado would likely mean that Aldo de Negris comes in as a second striker, and Giovanni Dos Santos moves to the left wing. Landon Donovan will almost certainly start for the U.S. after Kljestan’s ineffectiveness showed versus Panama.
The U.S. has seen a majority amount of possession in its last few games but that will likely change when they face Mexico as their more technically sound midfielders should have no problems passing back into safe positions. One of the largest changes the U.S. will face in this next match is the higher tempo of open play. Mexico presses well when out of possession and the Americans will have to deal with that accordingly. A constant strength of the United States men’s team is their unbelievable conditioning. They always seem to have a second wind in them in the latter stages of a game, and if they can manage to hold off El Tri’s attack, that may see them through with a late game winner.
The greatest worries for Bob Bradley are his central defenders and missing striker. Goodson has really not played at a high enough level to deal with someone who has the pace of Hernandez or his skill. Cherundolo and Goodson both have had trouble watching runners coming off their backs as was evident against Jamaica. In that game they were let off the hook by a less skilled Jamaican front man, something they may not be so lucky with against Mexico’s more apt strikers. Bocanegra has been good and his greatest talent is in the air, something of an asset considering how many goals the Mexicans have scored thus far in the tournament off of set pieces. He can’t be playing it all alone though and the other defenders will have to step up; the left-back’s ability to get back into position will be essential to that success, and Lichaj is the most probable for the role. He is fast and likes to run at his man but cannot be caught too frequently up field or Mexico’s pacey wingers will take advantage of the space behind. The same is true for the selected right-back and their jobs will be the hardest against a team that so consistently creates from wide positions.
With the injury ruling Jozy Altidore out of the final, Juan Agudelo will almost certainly start at the front. The biggest problem with the U.S.’s lack of a threatening scorer (aside from Dempsey or Donovan) is that they throw large numbers forward and become susceptible to quick breaks. This is something the Mexican team can look to exploit with their much quicker wingers and forwards.
Something to look out for will also be the battle in the midfield where the U.S. has their most talent. So far Bob Bradley has had his wide players come into the middle and have let the fullbacks (generally Cherundolo and Lichaj) overlap on the wings. This has resulted in increased possession for the Americans in the middle with Bradley and Jones bringing up the rear when the United States is going forward. El Tri play with two holding midfielders similarly to the U.S. but they act as part of a fluid defense rather than a component of the offense. This leaves Mexico nearly always with an extra man at the back when they lose the ball.
Overall it may seem as if the United State are inferior in most aspects of the game. This isn’t entirely true. Their strong discipline will be necessary though and they should look to really come alive in the second half. The U.S. will probably have their best chances from set pieces. They should also try and avoid jumping into too many tackles, a few early yellow cards could really damper their defensive strategy. Mexico will probably attempt to play the same style they’ve played for the whole tournament (offensively aggressive), and in that way the U.S. can increase their chances of winning with solid preparation.
No matter what, in situations where one game decides it all, anything can happen.
