Three things to watch: Copa America semifinal, US vs. Argentina
Jun 21, 2016, 10:37 AM | Updated: 1:03 pm
(AP)
After the sensational win over Ecuador in Seattle last week, the United States Men’s National Team is headed to the Copa America Centenario semifinals on Tuesday against mighty Argentina. The U.S. has had a solid tournament, really only blemished by an opening loss to Colombia. The Americans’ win over Costa Rica was decisive, and their wins over Paraguay and Ecuador were hard fought and difficult, but deserved. After fellow CONCACAF comrades Mexico were humiliated 7-0 by Chile, the U.S. is the only team left in the region to make it to the final four of the tournament.
Ecuador wasn’t easy by any means, but the U.S. will have its hands more than full with Lionel Messi and Argentina. As we saw in their match against Bolivia in Seattle, the Argentinians are very, very good — even without their superstar. The good thing for the U.S. is that the expectations are crazy low; nobody expects it to beat a country that made it to the World Cup final just two years ago. But anything can happen, right?
Americans say facing Messi, top-ranked Argentina is not overwhelming
Here are three things to watch:
1. Argentina is more than Messi.
Even though the Seattle crowd begged for the world’s best player in the opening half of the match against Bolivia, all three of Argentina’s goals were scored in that time without Messi. La Albiceleste, as they’re known in their home country, have serious depth at all attacking positions; players like Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, and Ezequiel Lavezzi are some of the best in the world. While American coach Jurgen Klinsmann was mostly correct in comparing his team’s best with Ecuador’s best, Argentina’s best are simply a class above anyone on the Yanks’ roster. Argentina’s midfield and defense is also stacked with some extremely good players, too, making for a very well-rounded (and scary) roster.
2. The U.S. will be without a few game-changers.
Due to what in my opinion is a ridiculous rule, a number of American players will be out for this semifinal due to suspension. Bobby Wood and Alejandro Bedoya are suspended for yellow-card accumulation, and Jermaine Jones is out due to his straight red card for appearing to strike an Ecuadorian player in the quarterfinal. While Jones’ red was a bit dicey, the rule for yellow-card accumulation is just pointless in a tournament like this. It punishes the fans, who have paid quite a bit of money to see their team’s best players. Regardless, Klinsmann will likely swap in Christian Pulisic for Wood, Graham Zusi for Bedoya, and Kyle Beckerman for Jones. This is how the team appeared to set up in training this week, and seems like a good shout for the lineup. It’ll be interesting to see how the young but talented Pulisic handles such crazy pressure. The other two may not be world beaters, but they’re veterans with lots of international experience that will work extremely hard for their team.
3. Can Dempsey achieve the impossible?
A lot of Sounders fans probably have mixed feelings about Clint Dempsey’s tournament. He’s been in pretty poor form for the club this MLS season, but his form in this Copa has been sensational. Prior to Chile’s thrashing of Mexico, Dempsey was tied for the lead in the tournament’s Golden Boot race thanks to his three goals through the quarterfinals. He proved a lot of doubters wrong, and he’ll hope to do it again on Tuesday. This match is not Dempsey vs. Messi. Clint might be the first to say that the Argentine is on a different plane from not just him, but nearly the entire soccer world. But a good dose of courage, swagger and grit could help Dempsey break through and shock the world. He’s done it before, and I for one would not be surprised if he did it again.
Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.