Should Klinsmann stick with young guns ahead of important ’15 Gold Cup?

Barnstable, MA — If there’s one concern most United States Men’s National Team fans would address ahead of the Gold Cup it would be the stretch of results post World Cup in which the USMNT could not protect a lead. That period seems to be over now, but questions still swirl around an “experienced” team, and whether they can secure a place in the 2017 Confederations Cup.

“Our approach for putting together the roster for this summer’s Gold Cup, which is very, very important to us” said Klinsmann in a press release, adding that “we [USMNT] came out with a roster full of quality, but also a lot of experience; players that are used to playing in the CONCACAF region and also younger players that came through the ranks over the last year that made a stamp on the senior National Team program.”

The younger players that Klinsmann is referring to make up 10 players on the roster. Ventura Alvarado and John Brooks are just 22 years of age, while Greg Garza is older he’s only 23 years old. Throw in DeAndre Yedlin (22 on July 9), Alfredo Morales at 22, and Gyasi Zardes at 23 and it seems like this team would make up the U23 Olympic Squad, not the senior men’s national team.

There are two players on that list that are expected to make the most impact, however, and those are Ventura Alvarado and John Brooks — the expected center back pairing for the opening game versus Honduras.

If the two play well together and gel, they could take the reigns for the entire group stage, leaving the more experienced Omar Gonzalez and Brad Evans to take a back seat until the knockout stage.

Changes to the squad are allowed to be made after the group stages, but with an automatic seat at the table in FIFA’s 2017 Confederations Cup, should Klinsmann’s “experiment” with youth warrant credence at CONCACAF’s marquee tournament?

The argument for yes:

The competition at the Gold Cup, lets face it, is practically non existent. The USMNT will not have to face anybody with an ELO higher than 37 (Panama) until the latter stages of the tournament. In-fact the USMNT are the top ranked team in the tournament (ELO 14), ahead of Mexico (ELO 15), and Costa Rica (ELO 16).

If you take USA, Mexico, and Costa Rica out of the tournament, the nine remaining teams have a combined average ELO of just 82. Given that is the case, why not give players that Jurgen Klinsmann envisions playing in the 2017 Confederations Cup, and 2018 World Cups a chance?

Klinsmann is a believer in the most talented players for the job being selected, he is not one for sentimental value — remember Landon Donovan and the 2014 World Cup? Exactly. So imagine for a second a striker grouping of Jozy Altidore, Aron Johansson, Jordan Morris and Will Bruin.

Prost Amerika recently released a USMNT 35 man and 23 man roster that was solely based on current form. The four strikers that made it? Dempsey, Altidore, Bruin, and Johansson — and for what it’s worth, Chris Wondolowski was not a close contender for one of the 4 spots.

Would USMNT fans feel uncomfortable playing Panama, Honduras, and Haiti with a combination of two of those strikers?

If the answer is yes, then more questions need to be asked of the quality the United States Men’s National Team and Jurgen Klinsmann has at its/his disposal.

Dumping Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando, would make little to no difference with Michael Bradley able to play the defensive/pivot role in the midfield at 29/31 years of age, and William Yarbrough, Brad Guzan and Bill Hamid all more than capable of starting for USMNT in goal.

The reality is that this USMNT is well rounded enough as it stands to win the Gold Cup, however, if Klinsmann really wants to make sure he should be very careful in his squad selection.

The argument for no:

It doesn’t matter how many “dos a cero’s” you have to your name, your luck could change in a split second. That’s why some fans are concerned with the lack of experience in what has been labelled a “problem area” for the USMNT; it’s defense.

When Ventura Alvarado came on versus Mexico in San Antonio he made two very silly errors in quick succession, almost allowing Mexico to score on one of the occasions. Alvarado displays the characteristics required to be a very good player for USMNT by the time the World Cup in 2018 rolls around, but for right now he is too inexperienced and prone to errors.

It’s expected that Alvarado will partner John Brooks in the center of defense against Honduras in Frisco on July 7 and while Brooks has impressed in Germany, becoming a fixture for Hertha Berlin, playing alongside Omar Gonzalez would only help the young prodigy’s confidence.

Brooks and Gonzalez are far and away the two best center-halves on the 23 man roster. Neither have made a defensive error in their respective club seasons, and between the two of them they make 2 more clearances and interceptions per 90 minutes, than their competition.

Fabian Johnson, Timmy Chandler, and Brad Guzan are all players aged 30 or under who are experienced veterans in top European leagues, and that experience cannot be ignored.

On the other side of the ball players like Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Graham Zusi, Mix Diskerud, Aron Johansson, Jozy Altidore, Chris Wondolowski, Alejandro Bedoya, and Kyle Beckman all have World Cup experience behind them. They have the mentality required to come through tournaments like this. Players like Alfredo Morales, and Gyasi Zardes may not.

Do USMNT need to win this Gold Cup? No. But if Klinsmann wants to avoid a playoff that could dump USMNT out of the running for the 2017 Confederations Cup — likely with Mexico — he should think twice before trusting young, untested stars whether they are facing quality teams or not.

The road ahead:

Klinsmann and USMNT face a Honduras team in Frisco. TX on Tuesday evening that only just squeaked into the tournament via a playoff with French Guinea. A selection of expected starters and role players played to a 4-0 win against a Guatemala b-team but Klinsmann was not impressed with the performance.

“We have four days to prepare for a game against Honduras. If you guys had a chance to watch them play Mexico two days ago, you can expect a very, very nasty game from Honduras, a very aggressive and difficult game” said Klinsmann.

The USMNT gaffer added that he and the team will “talk through that [performance]the next couple of days. We have to step it up. We have to step it up in order to get three points on Tuesday night” said Klinsmann after the friendly versus Guatemala.

The USMNT face Honduras in the CONCACAF Gold Cup opener in Frisco Texas on Tuesday. Kick off is 7pm eastern time.

TV: Unimas, Fox Sports 1

Follow Scott Nicholls on Twitter: @scottnicholls