Yesterday, for the fifth time in the last 12 months, the US faced a top 10 team. The US will face another one on June 12th in facing England. A look at some statistics from these games shows that the Netherlands game was both quite different and very much the same as the Confederation Cup games last summer.
| Opponent | Possession | Shots - On Goal - Goals |
| Italy | 58% | 22-13-3 |
| Brazil | 59% | 23-11-3 |
| Spain | 56% | 29-8-0 |
| Brazil | 59% | 31-13-3 |
| Netherlands | 65% | 10-6-2 |
All stats from FIFA except Netherlands from ESPN
While the Netherlands possession numbers are higher than those from the Confed, there is a drastic difference in shots taken. However, removing the penalty kick from the Dutch totals a strong trend appears for the US defense. The table below looks at the percentage of shots on goal and the percentage of shots on goal scored by these top 10 teams.
| Opponent | % of Shots on Goal | % of On Goal Scored |
| Italy | 55% | 25% |
| Brazil | 48% | 27% |
| Spain | 28% | 0% |
| Brazil | 42% | 23% |
| Netherlands | 56% | 20% |
These numbers confirm that the game against Spain was a fantastic defensive performance by the US. However, the rest of these numbers do not stray that far from the general output of these top teams. Below are the statistics in yesterday’s games for the other top 10 teams that ESPN has statistics for:
| Team | Shots-On Goal-Goals | % of Shots on Goal | % of On Goal Scored |
| Germany | 9-1-0 | 11% | 0% |
| Argentina | 5-2-1 | 40% | 50% |
| Spain | 6-3-2 | 50% | 67% |
| France | 11-4-0 | 36% | 0% |
| England | 14-7-3 | 50% | 43% |
| Italy | 12-5-0 | 42% | 0% |
| Average | 10-4-1 | 40% | 25% |
These numbers show some similarity to the US numbers above. The conversion rate of 25% shots on goal to goals is similar to the percentage allowed by the US against top ten teams. The 40% shots on target number is made slightly lower by Germany’s terrible performance yesterday, but the 35%-50% range for the other teams is only slightly lower than the 40-55% that the US has run against similar teams. To expect a much better overall defensive performance percentage-wise than the US has produced against top 10 teams, is to expect the US to defend better than top 10 teams.
The US does struggle in another category. Another look at the shots attempted shows that against good competition, the top 10 teams averaged around 10 shots attempted. That is a far cry from the average of 25 that the US allowed in the Confederations Cup, but a very similar number to that allowed yesterday.
The real challenge is combining the two efforts. If the US can begin to limit top teams to a number of shots in the low to mid teens while keeping percentage like those found in the later half of the Confederations Cup, the US would have a chance against these teams. Getting to the point of allowing 15 shots, with 40% on goal and a 25% scored percentage means giving up 1.5 goal per game to these top sides. While this will not always be enough to beat these teams, it would be enough to keep them competitive and put them in position to draw or win these games a position that the US has rarely found itself in.
While Bornstein has correctly been made the goat for a terrible decision in the box, the US defense overall did well. There were few balls from a very talented Dutch midfield that sent players through on goal. As has been noted elsewhere, the play that resulted in the penalty was well covered by the US and on the second goal a better developed partnership between Edu and Bradley likely would have resulted in Bradley staying at home on van der Vaart who provided the assist instead of pinching in on Sneijder whom Edu was covering..
Whether yesterday's drop in shots conceded is an aberration, a result of the game being a friendly, or a result of the Dutch style of play is impossible to tell. However, if it is a trend that continues it could be the beginning of the US being more competitive in games like yesterday’s.
