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McClaren: Boyz lack composure for possession
November 20, 2024
Following the Reggae Boyz's 4-2 humbling by the United States in their Concacaf Nations League, League A second leg quarter-final in St Louis, Missouri, on Monday, Steve McClaren said the team defended poorly and did not show enough quality in possession. He said they must improve these areas if they want to take the next step and qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
A brace from AC Milan's Christian Pulisic (13th minute, 33rd) and strikes from Ricardo Pepi (42nd) and Timothy Weah (56th) paved the way for the US.
Demarai Gray's (53rd, 68th) second-half brace proved to be a consolation effort at the end.
The Jamaica team went down by a 5-2 aggregate overall, after losing the first leg 1-0 at the National Stadium in Kingston last Thursday.
"We conceded that they were the better team in the first half. They played very well in transition. It caused us problems in build-ups," the coach told a post-game press conference.
"We were passive defensively. That made us defend poorly. And the main thing was we didn't deal with the ball, we kept giving the ball away. The USA hit us on transition and scored three goals. So it was a mountain to climb at halftime," he remarked. "We want to build from the back, keep possession. We want players who can deal with the ball.
"They (US) pressed aggressively, and that is when you need composure, courage to take the ball and deal with the ball. And I think that was our biggest issue in the first half. We just never dealt with that properly. And it is something that we said from day one, if you are in the dressing room and you are out on the field, you have to be able to deal with the ball under pressure.
"If we want to progress to the next stage and get to the level we want, and qualify for the World Cup (in) 26, we have to be able to not just defend and be aggressive. The key in the modern game is to be able to build (from the back), deal with the ball and the USA in the first half did it better than us."
The Jamaica coach was criticised for playing six defenders in the first leg at the National Stadium, and for starting with a 4-3-3 formation in the second leg, which made to team very open. However, he maintains that whatever system or tactics they use it comes down to execution.
"I was criticised in the first game for playing six defenders, five at the back, 'and that's not the way to play'; and playing 4-3-3 (second leg), that's what we've been playing. Then going down 3-0 at halftime and then changing to six defenders and we won the second half, which we asked the players to do.
"So I don't think anything about tactics or systems. It's about our principles. We can't win football matches unless you are aggressive. We were passive in the first half. You have to defend properly. We didn't do that and we didn't deal with the ball. That is not tactics. That is football," McClaren emphasised.
"The principles are the same. Whatever shape you play, whatever system, if you are passive you don't win, if you defend poorly you don't win, if you don't deal with the ball you don't win," he insisted.
Nevertheless, he contends that the team has a very strong foundation and that they will be working to improve the areas they have identified when they return for camp next March
"This (USA game) was a real test and we came up short. But we know the areas where we need to improve. That is development, recruitment and we will do that for the next three months until our next camp in March," he said. "On reflection, we will learn and it will make us better in the future."
