The three biggest questions for the USMNT against Argentina
HOUSTON – Do you believe in Miracles on Grass?
It may take such a level of divine intervention for the United States men's national team to accomplish its most impossible mission: beat Lionel Messi and top-ranked Argentina in the Copa America Centenario semifinals on Tuesday night.
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Unlike the U.S.'s quarterfinal victory over Ecuador in Seattle, home-field advantage will not be a factor here under the roof of NRG Stadium. The tale of the tape is clearly in favor of the mighty Argentines, who boast the most talent of any team in the tournament, maybe even the world. And, of course, they also have Messi, their little magician in the No. 10 shirt who has made himself at home in this tournament.
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Argentina coach Gerardo Martino has slowly worked Messi into the team, increasing his playing time by a third in each of the team's last three games. The limited minutes hasn't stopped Messi from scoring four goals and recording two assists as he has put on a show for his adoring fans in Chicago, Seattle and Foxborough.
As miraculous as the U.S.'s run has been, it will take a monumental effort for Jurgen Klinsmann's team to pull off the upset, which would easily qualify as the the men's national team program's biggest victory ever.
"It takes another 10, 15 percent from everyone to raise the bar and to give them a real fight," Klinsmann said. "And then anything is possible.
"Because if you look at the South American qualifying group [for the 2018 World Cup], it's not like they win every game. They lose games as well. And when they lose games, they make mistakes."
No, they didn't cue up inspirational music when Klinsmann started talking about the possibility of an upset victory. But is Argentina as vulnerable as Klinsmann says? Yes, at times. Can the Americans capitalize on enough of these mistakes to survive wave after wave of Argentine attacks? Well …
Let's get to these pressing questions.
1. How can the U.S. slow down Messi?
Let's face it: There's no stopping Messi. And the days of studying game tape have only confirmed what the Americans already knew.
"He's the best player in the world," defender Geoff Cameron said. "We know his creativity. We know his skillset. We're going to try and limit his influence in the game."
Focusing your defense on Messi merely opens up a Pandora's Box of other problems with world-class attacking talent like Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria and Ezekiel Lavezzi. And the Argentines are so deep that they still beat Venezuela 4-1 in the quarterfinals without the injured Di Maria, who is expected to be available off the bench against the U.S.
"It's hard to beat 11 guys. And if 11 guys are on the same page and everybody's working together as one, something can happen that's special," Cameron declared.
Defending as a team – in unison so no gaps are exposed – certainly has been the strength of this American side, which has allowed just one goal in its last three games. But this will not be the same starting XI that has worked so well together, leading us to the next big question.
2. How much will the three suspensions affect the U.S.?
Klinsmann will have to replace the following suspended starters: Jermaine Jones in central midfield, Alejandro Bedoya at left midfield and Bobby Woods at forward. FC Yahoo's Henry Bushnell covered all of the potential lineups, which the only guarantee is Kyle Beckerman replacing Jones to partner with captain Michael Bradley. What the USMNT will lose is the attacking burst that Wood provided so well working in tandem with Clint Dempsey's playmaking.
Without that attacking flow, Argentina's defensive mistakes that Klinsmann singled out very well could go unpunished. Also, the level of defensive intensity could drop a a notch without the ubiquitous Jones and Bedoya.
No matter, it's next man up for the U.S.
"The guys on the bench are great players," said Gyasi Zardes, who could help fill the void left by Wood up top. "Although they're not starting and playing games, they're still game changers, you know. So I feel like any replacement the coaching staff puts on is going to be the right ones."
3. Should the U.S. play more conservatively against Argentina?
The spectre of Mexico's shocking and demoralizing 7-0 loss to defending Copa America champion Chile will have no bearing on how their rivals north of the border play against Argentina.
"We want to take the game to them as well," Klinsmann said. "We want to keep a high line. We want to go eye to eye. Because we've done that tremendously well throughout this tournament. There's no need to change now the way to approach it."
Klinsmann has a point there. Plus, playing attacking soccer, albeit in more of an opportunistic counterattacking style, is how he said his teams would play when he took over the USMNT program five years ago.
Throwing caution to the wind against Argentina is an entirely different thing. It could be potentially disastrous. As diastrous as 7-0? Probably not, but the danger of a blowout loss is possible.
Anyway, goals will be scored on Tuesday.
"Really, it's about confidence. It's about hunger," Klinsman said. "It's about the willingness to suffer. It's also about sticking to our game plan. It's about 'Let's go with them. Let's go forward, too.' Not just bunker in.
"We're not going to play with 10 guys in the box. That's not our game. We're not going to do that. If you want to get into the final, you've got to score sooner or later. We're not playing for a penalty shootout."
No, they're just playing to make history. That's all.
