Photo by Sean Pokorny/USA TODAY Sports
The U.S. Men’s National Team knows exactly what stands in the way. A familiar foe blocks their path to the Copa America semifinals, a team that the USMNT defeated just two weeks ago. Jurgen Klinsmann insists that Thursday’s matchup against Ecuador will be the toughest test yet.
After finishing top of Group A with a 1-0 defeat of Paraguay, the USMNT booked a date with Ecuador for Thursday night’s Copa America quarterfinal. A semifinal matchup against Argentina or Venezuela is on the line, as is the target of a knockout victory that Klinsmann stressed before the U.S. kicked off Copa America play.
Just weeks removed from facing this same Ecuador team, the USMNT will rely on several takeaways from the 1-0 friendly win. Klinsmann knows that Ecuador will be anything but an easy matchup as the U.S. kicks off the knockout stages.
“It’s not the same team we played a couple of weeks ago. Antonio Valencia is there, Walter Ayovi is there. They have a couple of their key players back that were not in Dallas that day,” Klinsmann said. “But still it was a good test for us that we could play with them, compete with them. So it’s going to be a very even game. It’s going to be a fight until the very last moment. It might go into a penalty shootout, so hopefully we’re prepared for that one as well.
“If you go position by position, and you compare both teams, we obviously have a lot of respect for players on the Ecuadorian side, whether it’s Antonio Valencia, Enner Valencia, [Christian] Noboa, [Jefferson] Montero. You can go through their lineup, it’s a wonderful team, but then I go through our team. We have leaders in there that played two years ago in Brazil and made things happen; Michael Bradley, an outstanding captain, Jermaine Jones, a warrior, Clint Dempsey, hungry as always. You go through every position and we are there. We can absolutely compete with these guys. Now it’s down to the momentum. It’s down to that kind of moment where you’ve got to peak at the right time.”
If the first match is any indication, Thursday’s clash will be a battle.
In their first meeting, both the U.S. and Ecuador clashed throughout the first half. It wasn’t a particularly pretty half of soccer, with neither team asserting themselves as dominant. The second half swung in favor of the U.S., as the tactical switch to drop Michael Bradley deeper paid dividends. Substitute Darlington Nagbe fired home a deserved game-winner, helping to usher the USMNT into the Copa America on a high.
Now, the chance to continue through the tournament is blocked by the Ecuadorians, a team that emerged in second place from Group B. Following a controversial draw against Brazil and a come-from-behind tie with group winners Peru, Ecuador saved their best performance for last. Four goals from four different goalscorers pushed the CONMEBOL powerhouse past a helpless Haiti while sealing a berth in the knockout stages.
Through the group stages, Ecuador’s stars stepped up. Enner Valencia provided a goal in each of the last two games, while Jefferson Montero and Antonio Valencia have lived up to their Premier League quality.
In particular, Klinsmann pointed to the wide areas as vital for the USMNT. For Klinsmann, the USMNT victory will come via dominating the flanks and, in turn, starving out Ecuador’s best attacking options.
“I think they are getting stronger and stronger,” Klinsmann said. “If you look back two years ago in Brazil, our wingers – it was Ale [Bedoya] and it was Graham [Zusi] – had to deal a lot with the fullbacks from the other teams going forward. Often they were pushed backwards. Now they’ve learned – and Gyasi [Zardes] is in that learning path right now – to push their fullbacks back, to make an impression on them. Take the game to them, that’s what we talked about over the last couple of years. Learn how to take the game to the opponent, even if they have a lot of respect for them.”
Heading into Thursday’s match, Bradley stressed the USMNT’s experience in these types of games. Of the team’s 22-man roster, 14 were a part of the 2014 World Cup run that saw the USMNT fall in the Round of 16. Bradley is one of several USMNT players with experience in these types of games, meaning the U.S. should be prepared for the task at hand on Thursday night.
Still, that task remains a big one, and one that will loom large over the team’s 2016 campaign. For a team still fighting for relevancy, a loss the Ecuador would signal yet another failure, even if it comes against high-level opposition. Another knockout round defeat would just be the latest setback, especially given how much Klinsmann has stressed the importance of winning these one-off games.
A victory would be game-changing, as the USMNT would book a spot in the tournament semifinals. To do so, they will have to emerge from a fight, one that will see them go toe-to-toe with a team that knows them quite well.
“I see it as a quarterfinal,” Bradley said, “a chance to play in a big game, in an unbelievable stadium, in front of what I think could be the best crowd that we’ve seen in a long time. On our end, there’s excitement. As a player, you want to play in the biggest games, you want to play when the spotlight comes on brightest. (Thursday) night is certainly one of those opportunities.”
