U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley downplayed the five-midfielder, one-striker formation the team fielded on Saturday night against Poland, telling FanHouse that, "We get characterized often times as having always played 4-4-2, and that's not true."
It certainly was true during the World Cup, when Bradley put Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey on the flanks and paired Jozy Altidore with Robbie Findley (three games) or Herculez Gomez (one game). The criticism of that formation was that it likely failed to get the Americans' best 11 on the field. The forwards struggled, while talented players like Benny Feilhaber, Stuart Holden and Maurice Edu saw limited minutes.
The argument for it, at the time, was that the team was used to it.
But on Monday here at PPL Park, the new soccer stadium where the U.S. will face Colombia on Tuesday night, both the coach and his son, midfielder Michael Bradley, said the decision to go with five midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 against Poland was not a significant departure from the team's normal style. They also said that regardless of the formation at kickoff, several players have the flexibility to shift their focus on the field depending on the situation.
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