USA Can Make A Deep Run This World Cup

Even saying the title of this article out loud sounds crazy enough, but USA can legitimately go deep this World Cup. Mauricio Pochettino is the right guy for the job and has a crop of players who have the capability to go toe to toe with some of the best. Let's be real, this core is best the country has ever produced. There are so many Americans playing at the highest level of the sport that they matchup well and exploit weaknesses from their opponents, thus making even some of the historically best countries having problems with them. This was something former manager Jurgen Klinsmann was trying to make a point about and now he should be vindicated. Klinsmann was always right. USA and their fans for the longest time have had their confidence on the international stage of doing so well despite the negativity and doubts the rest of the world might have. But it might be time for the rest of the world to panic. The US have in the past have shown they can compete, but with the type of talent there is now, it's clear this group of players can go deep.

Let's be real, home field advantage helps, but so does talent. So let's talk first about what makes this USA side so dangerous: the attack. The attack comes from so many different ways, it's hard to imagine any opposing defenses trying to fend them off. There is so much speed, creativity, and versatility that it almost seems impossible to predict. Imagine a team throwing so many speedy and dangerous attacking options at you, it would get tiring right? Well, the more tiring it gets, it's more likely that attack will pounce on a mistake and capitalize. Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie are the two best players on the pitch for the team during any given moment, but Pulisic is a world class player and McKennie is a Swiss army knife. There are some other great players such as Malik Tillman and Brendan Aaronson (who can play as a winger) who can push up in the attack, but also fall back in the midfield, then there are the wingers in Alejandro Zendejas and Tim Weah who are speedy and can help collapse opposing attacks thus applying pressure towards the opposition even if they don't like it. There's the strikers such as Folarin Balogun, who is so good that he's a top scorer in Ligue 1, but also Haji Wright who dominated the Championship and can also play out as a winger. Then there is the super-subs in Ricardo Pepi and Giovanni Reyna who offer a lot as they are both versatile and lethal. Finally, there is also Antonee Robinson and Sergino Dest who can play as wingbacks, plus Alex Freeman can play centrally in the attack despite being a back, which means there is so many options to defend, it should be incredibly difficult to stop. Heck, even Max Arfsten with his attacking abilities makes the wingbacks even more lethal.

Another reason that makes the United States a candidate to make a deep run is Mauricio Pochettino. The man has been a manager at some top flight clubs for a reason, but his tactics are a great reason why the team is in the position where they are right now. With the creativity and versatility this team has, Pochettino can do a lot here. There are plenty of options mentioned earlier that he can play with which could make things really hard for the opposition to gameplan against. It's clear Pochettino favors speed and versatility and there is plenty here that offers that, but this might be the most perfect side for him to manage as it seems like they fit his style perfectly. Watchout for the US the pull off some crazy play or set piece that will amaze someone.

Finally, the backline is a sneaky good reason to understand why this team can go deep. Pochettino usually plays with a back three, but can easily play with a back five as players such as Dest or Robinson can fall back to defend. There are other unusual options such as McKennie and Weah who can play as a back as well if needed thus making them deeper. Then there are players such as Chris Richards, Auston Trusty, Mark McKenzie, and Joe Scally who can play incredibly defensively. Finally there is Tim Ream, the elder statesman, who acts like a coach on the pitch while he is out there as he has faced some pretty incredible talent in his time in the Premier League and can help give that sage advice to younger players. Ream clearly is not as good as he was at Fulham, but his leadership goes a long way. Finally, there is Tyler Adams as he is probably the most important player on the pitch as he plays as a defensive midfielder whom normally has to do the dirty work, but can hold the line defensively too.

There has to be a consistent theme here as to why the team can go deep. The US can throw the kitchen sink at an opposing side depending on the situation. If they are tied or behind, throw everything at the opposing defense (or even if they are leading by one). If ahead, so many players can hold the line and smother everything coming at them. Yes, there are weaknesses in the midfield and the lack of quality at goalkeeper is concerning, but the strength and depth of the attack plus the amount of options defending the ball can absolutely make up for that.

Now let's look at the bracket as now things are finally set. USA's first opponent is Bosnia-Herzegovina. While having recently been a solid European team, they were a third place side for a reason thus making it seem likely for the Americans to advance, but the only concern should be their set piece. Bosnia-Herzegovina might play a physical game, their defense is not very good. In the next round, the opponent would be either Belgium or Senegal, two teams they can absolutely beat as Belgium are way past their golden generation and aren't quite as good as they used to be and Senegal has already been a side the US has beaten quite convincingly. The quarterfinals comes down to teams such as Austria, Portugal, Croatia, and Spain. Austria is clearly the worst of these sides despite not being a bad team, but someone the US could beat. Croatia is not quite the same as their stars are getting older and they don't have the same cohesion as previous iterations of the teams past, very similar to Belgium. Portugal is actually a pretty good team, but this a side the Americans can absolutely beat especially after how much they rely on Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal is just not set up well to go deep. Spain, on the other hand, is one of the favorites as they ooze talent. Players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, Rodri, Pedro Porro, and Aymeric Laporte are hard to play against, but the US beat Spain in 2009 in the Confederations Cup and that was a golden generation for the Spaniards. This is not a golden generation version and a team that the Americans can go toe to toe against, but defensively, the Americans have to play their absolute best. From there, it's hard to tell. The teams they could beat are Morocco, Paraguay, South Africa, and Canada, but the other gauntlets would be Netherlands, Germany, France, and Sweden and those would be difficult to face. However, with how this team is set up, it's hard to go up against them and would be a problem for whomever they faced. In this sport, any team can win on their best day, so an upset could happen making USA's path much easier. When saying any team can win on their best day, can also apply for the US to beat any of sides at any point.

So the talent is there and also the fight, it's easy to believe that the US can not only go deep, but possibly win this all. The quarterfinals seems like the most likely expectation, but on any good day, they can beat a juggernaut such as Spain. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has even publicly expressed that USA could win this world cup. With their speed, attacking options, and the ability to defend the hell of the ball, it's honestly easy to see why the US can go up against any side in the tournament. The American attitude towards this World Cup run will be instilled very soon, but factor in the talent, well, watch out. This is a scary good team to face every night. Even with all the debate of the roster being selected, this is the most talented American team to grace the World Cup, but despite the hype, they need to go out there and keep proving that the US are no longer pushovers, but a legitimate threat in winning a World Cup.