Rewatching the games I'm convinced that all four teams game-planned around constant and immediate pressure on Bradley and Dempsey. And after Jozy went down, the USMNT played right into the opposition's tactics.
What is causing me to be more and more amazed is against 4 top national squads, they had no answer to our speed. The problems were: we didn't have enough of it, and without a target/holding striker there was no one to receive the service. Fabian Johnson was great as an overlapping option from the back. When DeMarcus committed to the counter-attack, he was electric. And Yedlin seemed almost unstoppable when he played. All pace guys.
Hopefully, we will see Jozy (reaching his peak) and another striker of his mold (Terence Boyd?) in case he is unable to take the pitch. I still like Aaron Johannsson, but they will need a plan B if Altidore needs replaced. Bring two target/holding central forwards, this time.
Until the Americans develop mids with top-class technical abilities, I think Jurgen and his coaches will look at this World Cup and realize that we can't beat top tier teams like Germany or Belgium, and will have problems with 2nd tier teams like Portugal and Ghana if we PLAY THEIR GAME. But by styling OUR GAME to a NBA fast-break, or NFL west-coast-offense...
Mix Diskerud could be perfect with speed options. He is a one or two touch type of playmaker. You will get turn-overs, but you will also catch opposing defenders slow to react. If Luis Gil, Gedion Zelalem and Joe Corona continue to improve as mids, it will be impossible to shut-down Bradley as easy as it was in this tournament. Julien Green, Brek Shea, Alejandro Bedoya and possibly Darlington Nagbe could produce the pace needed on the outside.
Combine that with DeAndre Yedlin to overlap on the right, allowing Fabian Johnson to move to the left side, they could have all the speed needed. With that more than taken care of, finding four or five guys with one v. one skills to anchor the back line becomes the big question mark.
In goal I would not be surprised to see Tim Howard just short of 40, and have always like Brad Guzan's fearlessness. Cody Cropper is good and teenager Zack Steffen is already being compared to Howard. Besides, we're American... we always have good net-minders.