re: Bradley and Dempsey

quote:

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I really think that Dempsey would have taken on more of that role if Jozy hadn't gone down. At least in the final third.

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Absolutely this. Altidore going down didn't alter where Bradley was playing in the formation, but it drastically changed what the pieces around him were doing. With Altidore as the lone striker, Dempsey (even when listed as a wide midfielder or the second forward) roams the spaces just behind Jozy. At the end of the game today with so many numbers forward, he did that and picked up the ball between their midfielders and defenders twice in 15 minutes. Both times created good chances. If he could have played that role for the whole tournament, the team would have looked MUCH better.