Greg Seltzer over at noshortcorners.com had this to say about beating England:
As soon as the U.S. Men's National Team was drawn into World Cup 2010 Group C, I got excited. It's another chance for "the colonies" to dent England's national soccer pride on the biggest stage.
I got so excited, in fact, that I spent all weekend trying to crack da Capello code. This was initially meant to be two separate articles, one a Top 5 List, but I eventually melded them into a single doubly-powerful plan sure to score the upset on June 12th at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg (if I do say so myself).
Naturally, my first choice would have been to land in South Africa's group, but it seems Mexico is actually worse off for having done so. Past that obvious weak host seed wish, my choice was to meet either England (for pride) or Germany (for revenge).
Quite happy with the way things turned out, I embarked on a three-day scouting mission to come up with the U.S. keys to victory for that tourney opening match. Believe me, about the last thing I want to hear on June 13th and beyond is British soccer snobbery, so it's never too soon to start prep.
No, what I'd like is to be allowed to continue holding the greatest shut yer gob card one can hold in international conversations about soccer: the "Yes, but we beat you at World Cup" card. We pocketed that at Belo Horizante in1950 and I wish to retain it, please, so pay attention.
#10 - Be ready for any front line set-up
Of course, England will start Wayne Rooney - but how and with whom? He could run alone up top in a 4-2-3-1, be deployed running off of Peter Crouch/Emile Heskey or saddle up alongside a speedster like Gabriel Agbonlahor or Jermain Defoe.
Each of these scenarios provides a different set of problems and requires a different base structural set-up. The latter involves thinking of everything from wingback assignments to pressure valve routes out of trouble.
Being ready for the one they begin with isn't good enough. However they start, one of the different looks is sure to be used in the sub stages of a nail-biter. Besides, it's better to have a plan and not need it than...
#9 - Get the quick counter wide across midfield
It will mostly be Michael Bradley's job to send the flank players behind adventurous England wingbacks Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson.
With all the attacking support they get from Rooney and others, catching one or both of these players upfield will usually require quick ball movement to the middle as the escape and another shrewd pass back outside as the release. That way, you can get Rio Ferdinand and John Terry out of their preferred lanes instead of running into their brick walls.
The outlet recipient will then have several choices and numbers can race forward to fill seams. The U.S. won't always want to break out like the L.A. Lakers, but they will want to do it efficiently to give themselves a few good counter chances and avoid turning the ball over on their way to the stripe.
#8 - Attack Rio
The guy is obviously struggling right now. That may well clear up by June, but as of now, Ferdinand is vulnerable. Even past a handful of glaring mistakes made in the past several months for club and country, the veteran is being beaten by simple crosses, dribbles and slip passes - stuff he would normally be expected to cut out confidently.
As a result and on top of all that, Ferdinand is now hearing whispers that Man United are willing to sell him, which could potentially keep him battling nerves straight into England summer camp. If he is still fighting his game then, Rio automatically becomes "Most Likely To Get Capdevila-ed" by Josmer Altidore (among other things).
#7 - Use angled shots and final balls
England's positioning is usually splendid in their end, whether on transition or "half-court" defense. One can't simply pass north/south or hope for clean looks at goal from in between the posts.
Attacking England successfully requires angled runs, crosses and entry passes. Ferdinand and Terry are most susceptible when you make them turn hips to adjust on the run.
If you look back through the clips, it becomes clear that most of the danger created and team-worked goals scored against England over the last year or so have come using lane crossing runs or diagonal service of one sort or another.
It's still unclear which keeper will man the net for Fabio Capello, but each of them is much tougher to beat when facing shots from directly out front. Shooters from the wide lanes should be eager to aim far post, low or high, because it's the quickest way to beat Robert Green. Or David James. Or Paul Robinson. Or... you get the idea.
#6 - Smartly drag them into a tussle
This one really goes without saying, but here we are. The 'Nats want to get in the shirt, make 'em sweat, turn it into a grind, get stuck in - all the great clichés. They need to do it for 90 minutes and they need to do it wisely or risk extending a woeful FIFA discipline streak.
With five red cards and one penalty against in their last eight FIFA matches, this can easily become a problem if someone gets desperate to cover an error.
If the U.S. can stay within a cool system of space denial, they won't need to chase play so much and can actually cut down on the fouling in danger areas. We need to physically direct the England attack into situations that favor our defenders and keeper, and not the other way around.
Need any proof? Watch the last two USA v England friendlies. They dictated the physical play and then dictated the space to cruise to victory.
#5 - Build the defense to lean right
If you are familiar with the club work of England's attack stars - and I know many of you are - certain individual player trends seem to magically piece together to make a Three Lions attack that likes to run from the left side.
Think about it. You have Rooney, who likes to approach from the left and cut across the top of the eighteen onto his right foot. You have Lampard, who likes to raid the left inside channel with slip passes and late-running blasts. You have Gerrard prowling past him for crosses, cutbacks and stray pinballs. You have Cole supporting from the back with pace and verve.
This all means two things: swivel that set a bit right when in reverse and make sure someone has remembered to mind the back side (which is generally manned by a sneaky speedster such as Aaron Lennon or Theo Walcott). England will crowd the left several times in a game, and they just wait for the back door to pop open.
This left lean also means Onyewu and whoever plays right back will be compelled to break out of alignment to attack the ball more often. To reduce the number of times Gooch is pulled out (thus leaving Bocanegra two lanes to cover by himself), both Bradley and the wide man will need to get back faithfully as extra security on that side.
#4 - Always account for Terry on set pieces!
When David Beckham, Frank Lampard or Wayne Rooney swerves in a restart, you can bet your bottom dollar that they will be looking for the captain. One really has to stick to and jump with John Terry, you can't simply front him. He will get to some serves despite tight marking and you need to at least be able to take some of the power and accuracy out of his headers with a physical presence.
What's more, the markers near this match-up will also need to be very careful about ball watching because his flick-ons are every bit as dangerous as his goal attempts. Everyone needs to stay focused, not just Terry's spy.
Assuming he is back to 100% by then, this would clearly appear to be a job for Oguchi Onyewu - a huge, very important job.
#3 - Close down shooters at the top of the area!
Considering the potential participation of names like Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Defoe, Beckham and even Carrick, this should be a no-brainer. It's always a no-brainer, but even more so for this match-up. They do an awful lot of business (rebound chances and corner kick earnings included) from the top of the key.
In short, the U.S. simply can't let England bombers laze Tim Howard's target all day. Carlos Bocanegra and Onyewu will often be charged with this task, but things would go even better if Bradley and his partner (Clark, Maurice Edu or Jermaine Jones, presumably) would take much of this workload off the defenders by not getting caught upfield.
#2 - Rooney, Rooney, Rooney
Let's just face facts. The 2010 edition is supposedly the one not built around a star, a real team, yada yada. Rubbish. This is The Wayne Show, and as he goes, they will go.
Another fact to face? Every U.S. backliner and most of the midfielders will need to deal with Roonaldo at some point. He roams the field like a badge lion, looking for the play. He will drop back in midfield, aim to be a touchline outlet at the stripe, swing it out wide or burst up the gut.
It's not uncommon for him to get several touches on different spots throughout a good England possession. Even with that added dimension, it is still the typical striker assets that most need to be neutralized.
To handle his bullish assortment of flicks, tricks and shots, the USMNT will need to pass his assignment around seamlessly and get a specific kind of help defense. Second and third defenders will need to be close enough to pounce with a trap while maintaining full awareness of the surroundings (a ka potential Rooney teammate targets).
Oh yeah, and continuing the theme from #6 further: play him tough, but don't get Rooney mad. When he gets mad, he does things... awful, terrible things you don't want happening. Know where the Hulk line is and step away, please.
#1 - Win the mistakes game
There's no getting around any of it, much less all of it combined. The U.S. made the mistakes in those last two friendly losses, and they made mistakes at World Cup 2006. The U.S. discipline has been poor in FIFA matches dating back to that disappointment in Germany. Meanwhile, England have been making strange schoolboy mistakes at the back.
Most of all, there's no getting around the fact that match winners usually make fewer errors and takes advantage of more. The U.S. can't just play it safe, they also absolutely must punish England when one of their silly possession errors at the back occurs.
Assuming it continues, this one tendency could play nicely right into U.S. hands. This sort of thing is right up the alley of Altidore, Clint Dempsey and Donovan. Speedy sniper Charlie Davies isn't ruling himself out for next summer yet, and even Jeff Cunningham recently wasted no time in lashing home from a bad turnover.
Regardless of what personnel are on the field, you can bet the Americans will be applying some good pressure up front. The key will be to maintain it throughout, and not have it fade away by halftime - as is often the case with the 'Nats.
If the USMNT does lightning strike from an error, they should immediately go on alert. England doesn't hang head for long and almost always answers rather quickly. They are used to pressure better than anyone, so don't dare expect them to ever fold up.
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And with that, I've dispensed my nefarious plot to upset England in the United States' opening World Cup 2010 game. I know it can definitely work because, as we all know, they won't take us seriously. We're just bloody Yanks who got lucky once.
You can't tell, but I'm winking.
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Now how about some early line-up predictions:
USA:
--------------------Howard
Spector-----DeMerit-----Onyewu-----Bocanegra
---------------------Jones
Dempsey----------Bradley------------Donovan
------------Altidore-------Davies
Guzan
Cherundolo
Castillo
Feilhaber
Holden
Edu
Cooper
England:
----------------------Foster
Johnson---Ferdinand----Terry-----Cole
Lennon---Lampard-----Barry-----Gerrard
-----------Rooney------Heskey
Green
Bridge
Lescott
Carrick
Wright-Philips
Walcott
Defoe
Again, extremely early predictions and we could very well see something entirely different from England. But at the moment, that's who I'd go with.
