29th march 2011:
united states of america v. paraguay
From their deployment–normally two defensive midfielders coupled with two striker-forwards up top and usually in a 4-4-2–to their game planning–defensive pressure–all the way to how they score–for the past two World Cups they have more goals scored from the striker role than the US. That number is “1.” Paraguay, 24th in the FIFA rankings to the US’s 19th. Fair to say however that the States have more offensive firepower in this one. After fortressing themselves in against Argentina in the early going Saturday, the Yanks will look to do a little TCB, Elvis-style, in his home state of Tennessee against a team that embarrassed themselves against Mexico to the tune of 3-1 in Oakland, CA over the weekend.
Despite the loss and lagging form, Paraguay, a World Cup quarterfinalist, should provide an equitable opponent and one who USMNT coach Bob Bradley can measure some new players against after Argentina saw Bradley’s short term “A” team fully deployed. Expect some new faces in the starting line-up, a multitude of subs and…hopefully some warmer weather.
