A struggling USMNT defense is set to meet a free-scoring Swiss attack in this friendly. That doesn't seem like a good recipe for the Americans.
It's been an ugly six months for the United States men's national team. Ever since their World Cup ended with an extra time defeat at the hand of Belgium, the USMNT has won just twice, one of those a Camp Cupcake win against Panama's C team. They've varied between flat, uninspiring, and underwhelming, culminating in last Wednesday's 3-2 defeat at the hands of Denmark.
On the other hand, their opponents in this friendly are coming in on fantastic form, as Switzerland have been flying high since the World Cup. Their Euro 2016 qualifying got off to a rough start with a pair of losses to England and Slovenia with a tired and injury-battered squad, but they've been perfect since then, scoring 11 goals and giving up none in three matches. Even red-hot Poland couldn't beat then, with the two sides drawing 2-2 in November.
The Swiss have a talented and athletic squad with a good mix of veteran moxie and youthful guile, giving them all the makings of a squad that this iteration of the USMNT can really struggle to play against. Vladimir Petkovic is building something potentially excellent in Switzerland, and the USMNT could be facing the next team to watch as La Nati take Europe by storm.
Key Player - Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland)
The beating heart of Switzerland's attack, Shaqiri starred in his country's 3-0 win over Estonia in a Euro 2016 qualifier, setting up all three goals and generally excelling for the Swiss. For all the talent in the United States squad, they don't really have someone who can do more than vaguely slow Shaqiri down when he's on his game. If he gets free and is given license to dictate the game for Switzerland, this will be a very long, very not fun day for the USMNT.
Key Question - Will the real USMNT please stand up?
It still feels like the USMNT is suffering an identity crisis, with too many recent fixtures plagued by bland, unexciting football with no clear tactical outlook other than "hoof it up the pitch." That's not really what we were promised when Jürgen Klinsmann took the reigns of the national team in 2011, and some fans are starting to get impatient waiting for things to get better. To some extent, it feels like the only thing the USMNT has done lately is get younger. That can lead to future promise, but for right now it just feels like a group of guys running around a lot with no real direction or intent. Klinsmann needs to fix that, fast.
Match Date/Time: Tuesday, 12:00 p.m. ET, 6:00 p.m. local
Venue: Stadion Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland
TV: Fox Sports 1 (U.S. - English), UniMas (U.S. - Spanish), RTS Sport, RTS Deux (Switzerland)
Online: Fox Sports GO, FOX Soccer 2 Go, Univision Deportes (U.S.), SFV Play (Switzerland)
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1bMuUGj
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