The takes continue to fly in the wake of Friday night’s US vs. Colombia match, in which the latter made quick work of the former with two goals in the first half. A scoreless 0-0 game between Costa Rica and Paraguay on Saturday night does make things a little easier for the USMNT, going into their own game against Costa Rica on Tuesday, June 7 (8 pm ET, FS1, UniMás, UDN). But it’s time for everyone to take stock, and quickly.
The biggest issue? Well, there are set pieces—both executing them, and defending against them—but there’s also whether or not Jurgen Klinsmann is playing his best athletes out of position. Our own Matt Doyle pointed out that, pre-game, US fans celebrated because Klinsmann “only played four players ([Fabian] Johnson, Clint Dempsey, Bobby Wood and Gyasi Zardes) out of position.”
So how should he fix this? Naturally, one solution is to start many fans' great hopes, Darlington Nagbe and Christian Pulisic—and to switch things up. So how do FOX’s analysts think our attack should look?
After the game, Alexi Lalas suggested putting Wood and Zardes in the middle up top. So where does that leave Dempsey?
On the bench, said Aly Wagner. “He gives you a couple goals in a tourmanent,” she continued, “but how many opportunities is he costing you?”
Those are, ahem, spicy words about a squad in which Dempsey has been basically untouchable—not to mention his beloved status with fans.
You can watch FOX’s analysts go at it about the Deuce here—but what do you think? Time for Dempsey to get the bench?
