Darlington Nagbe was the star against Ecuador, giving the United States the late 1-0 win in Frisco. There wasn’t much to take away from the match, but one attacking setup certainly performed better than the other, and that was the biggest talking point.
[ RECAP - United States earns late win over Ecuador ]
Three things we learned
1 - When the US plays good defense, it has a creativity problem.
This isn’t anything new, as teams who sit back obviously will have less of the ball. But this isn’t exactly that. The US defended quite well through the first 45 minutes, and they held the majority of the possession, but they failed to do much with it. It resulted in...
First-half expected goals...
— Paul Carr (@PaulCarr) May 26, 2016
- #USMNT: 0.11 (on 2 shots)
- Ecuador: 0..09 (on 1 shot) 😴
That. Yuck. It was horrid to watch, and is frustrating given the level of competition being faced compared to the level of competition to come.
[ MORE: USMNT player ratings against Ecuador ]
2 - Does the Pulisic-Wood-Nagbe lineup have more to offer?
The United States began with Clint Dempsey isolated up front, supported by Gyasi Zardes and Graham Zusi, with Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones sitting deep. That lineup was utter trash in the attacking half, producing one good chance in the first half which Zardes flubbed. When Klinsmann switched things up soon after halftime, bringing on Christian Pulisic, Bobby Wood, Darlington Nagbe, and Alejandro Bedoya, the attack began to show life. It certainly helped that all those substitutes were placed in their natural positions, something not always a given for Klinsmann. This may give the US manager a good look at the more creative setup, and could bode well for the aforementioned players heading into the Copa America. There are obvious downsides to this lineup, such as lack of experience, but it might be worth the risk, especially with those players much more likely to be contributors in 2018 given their age.
3 - Christian Pulisic can actually be a useful piece this summer
On for the final half-hour, the young Borussia Dortmund winger provided positive touches along the left flank. He created a few opportunities for Bobby Wood and Graham Zusi, a promising development to push back against the “he’s not ready” crowd. Pulisic was electric down the left, and was vital in the push the last 20 minutes. It’s just 20 minutes, but it’s a promising small sample size.