Argentina secured passage with a 4-1 victory in Foxborough, Massachusetts, setting up the biggest match for the Americans since the 2014 World Cup and the most glamorous duel with a player since Cristiano Ronaldo two years ago in Brazil. “If we repeat that and add a couple more percent to it, it’s going to be fun”. However, the US has allowed only three goals in the tournament, two from set pieces and one on a penalty kick.
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“We travelled the world the last few years to very hard friendly games all over Europe and in Mexico and we came away with wins”. “We’re not playing for a penalty shootout”.
“As I always say, any team that gets to this stage in a tournament, like the US, they get there due to their own merit”, Martino said Saturday, according to Goal.com’s Sam Lee. “But we’ve done extremely well the whole competition defensively”. The Barcelona superstar scored his fourth goal of the tournament in the 60th minute at the Gillette Stadium to equal Gabriel Batistuta’s long-time Argentina global goalscoring record. South America World Cup qualifying offers four direct spots. Darlington Nagbe, Christian Pulisic and Chris Wondolowski are other options.
Guzan can also be viewed as a key player against the Messi defense. Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain has carried over his excellent club form into the Copa America and will be a handful for the USA central defense, while Manchester City star Sergio Aguero could be called on to start in place of suspended Nico Gaitan in Argentina’s front three. “Even when guys step up to him and are right on him, he finds a way to wiggle out of something, and then he’s able to get his head up and play in some of those balls that he’s played in this tournament”. For that reason Klinsmann is likely to keep intact his preferred defensive four: DeAndre Yedlin, Geoff Cameron, John Brooks and Fabian Johnson.
Messi played the entire game on Saturday, despite getting a scare when he was taken down from behind in the first half and was slow to get up. The results have been roughly the same, and the team still plays a relatively unimaginative counterattacking style. Hopefully we have another gear in us.
The United States will be missing three starters, as Alejandro Bedoya, Jermaine Jones and Bobby Wood serve one-game suspensions in the semfinal game.
“You say you want to get pressure on Messi and not let him have time on the ball”.
The players have received the message well and are excited by the opportunity presented in the match. “We know they’re a very good team with a lot of very good players, but we don’t want to make this out to be mission impossible”. He has been a consistent starter with Stoke, and his strong knowledge of the game has proven invaluable to a side that often has cohesion issues due to US head coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s multiple lineups.
No matter who Klinsmann calls on, or whatever positions he plays them, Tuesday’s match will still boil down to defending well and taking any scoring chances that come along.
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Maybe he should, because the underdog role has suited the USA well in this tournament.
