England vs USA (home & home)

To make the universally disliked friendlies from last week and my analysis a little more palatable I've decided to focus this post on the two most important countries to my life, both from a professional and personal standpoint.


England vs Holland & USA vs Italy.


I am an Englishman, I played for England as a youth and had my formative years there developing as a player and person and then made the jump to the USA when I knew I wouldn't make it in the English professional ranks and studied at university whilst playing the game I love stateside.  I'm like so many ex-pats when it comes to our national team.  I am opinionated, impressionable and over the top.  With the USA where I live and work in football/soccer I enjoy the clarity of an outsiders perspective on the national team and game but that critical eye is more rational and educated than when regarding my home countries fortunes (more often than not misfortunes).  I'm proud to be English and love my homeland, but if I was a betting man, which I sometimes am, I would have a punt that my current home will be much more successful than my country of birth in the not so distant future. The fact I coach youth soccer in the States also means I have a vested impact and interest in the future of the USA game and take pride in being able to make a difference no matter how small.  For my homeland of England, I am now merely a disgruntled supporter.


At the moment (and not for the first time) the FA and the English national team are in a bit of a shambles.  Less than 90 days out from their first Euro game they have no manager, little direction and no fixed playing style or identity.  The US in a rebuilding pattern after their exploits in South Africa in 2010 (including a draw against England) and have started to find some form under new boss Jurgen 'the German' Klinsmann.


Stuart Pearce was in charge of the national team for the first time at England's home football stadium, Wembley, to watch his 'experimental' side put to the sword by the Dutch and in particular Arjen Robben.  The Dutch winger is Holland's worst kept secret in England, as everyone remembers him tormenting right backs on a weekly basis during his Chelsea days.  The Bayern Munich man has had some questions asked of his form of late, but at Wembley he reminded everyone why he is considered such an attacking threat down either wing, or, in the case of this game for his first goal, straight down the middle of England's lackluster defence. Micah Richards, disliked and ignored by former boss Fabio Capello was back into the squad and starting lineup to some celebration from the British press, but was found lacking and got abused by Robben.  Richards has physicality and power off the charts, but he looked out of place and outclassed more often than many people will have been used to seeing him this season.  In fairness to him it was his first international start for a few years and needed to get some football at this level under his belt.  
The scoreline, 3-2, was a fair enough reflection on the game.  The Dutch scored with ease, but didn't defend especially well, and late on England exploited that with a weak Gary Cahill (another of those goal scoring defenders who's efforts going forward gloss over massive defensive deficiencies a'la Thomas Vermaelen/David Luis) goal and neat dink from Ashley Young, ultimately it was too little, too late and the Orange were deserved winners.  England were slow in possession, not methodically slow, just slow.  It was unclear what they were trying to do in terms of playing style, it wasn't a possession game where they were trying to draw the Dutch out and penetrate at speed, it was just pedestrian.  Dirk Kuyt was a top performer for the boys in black, and unlike when he plays for Liverpool he was creative and decent with his final ball, and only occasionally looked liked his Liverpool self (ugly,shattered, on the floor and completely drenched in sweat.) Defensively England allowed Robben the run of the pitch and rarely showed him to his right, even for his winner when inside the box in the dying moments he shifted the ball effortlessly to his wand of a left and stroked past Joe Hart.  It wasn't reminiscent of his first driven goal in terms of execution, but England's defending in both instances was stand offish and uneducated.  The only time England threatened was when they got desperate late on and pressed hard and increased their playing tempo, which resulted in mistakes from the Dutch in their defensive third and opportunities to pass and create in dangerous areas.


In Genoa, Italy the USA national team took on an under par Italian side.  As an almost complete opposite to the English side, there was a clear direction, tactical awareness and game plan throughout the US ranks.  A well taken Clint Demsey goal saw them hold on to a memorable 1-0 victory, and some plaudits at home (a 20 second segement on ESPN's Sportscenter)  for a first ever win on Italian soil.  In Italy the press blamed the loss on the missing Mario Balotelli and injured Giuseppe Rossi.  The old reputation that the US are an easy touch or a lesser team compared to their European counterparts has been chipped away over the years.  This seems to be Klinsmann's plan, to get the players experience in tough friendly matches and expose the players to some high quality European opposition so their reputation and brand is enhanced, and so far - after a narrow defeat to France in Paris and this win - it's on the right track.  The US domestic league the MLS isn't of a particularly high standard or regard and the national team is void of any great star (Nike's attempt of making Freddy Adu the next big thing in American sports failed miserably when it turned out the youngster was actually crap), but the sum is greater than the parts for the US and with players such as Michael Bradley, Tim Howard and Clint Demsey getting European experience with their clubs they are now a much more experienced, canny and difficult team to play.  This experience and quality showed in the US' win over the Italians.  They played with courage, intensity and quality when it mattered at both ends, something the English team need to do, and quick, if they are going to succeed at all at this summers Euros.


These two games are friendlies, and of course no one is getting carried away with the result or the performance of either, but there could be a significant shift occurring in the world game.  In England the youth game is being stifled with a lack of direction from the FA with kids as young as 8 playing full side 11v11 matches and trying to win at all costs (including player development, technique and skill).  In the US, there are more professionally educated coaches and some positive moves from the USSF to get kids developing themselves in appropriate environments where it isn't all about winning.  The winning at international level is what matters, and so paying proper attention to developing the next group of internationals is where the US will succeed and the English lead by their FA will get left behind.  Throughout the next 20 years the kids that have been professionally taught in the US by educated coaches will have had a chance to progress through US Youth soccer and make a bigger impact on the world stage.  There is close to 20 million kids playing soccer in the United States and from that pool of players there will be more and more effective and special talent coming through.  In England the numbers of kids playing football is declining.


England - tough times for young players


It's an exciting time for US Soccer, and a time for reflecting, recharging and rejuvenating the ideology and system of the English youth game.  England has an amazing history, culture and relationship with football, but it needs to get up to speed with the rest of the world in youth player development - or it will, like it has been of late, be found wanting as a country far away from reaching it's goals.