What Will the Philadelphia Union Look Like During Euros, Copa America?

The Union need to fill gaps in certain parts of their lineup over the next few weeks while players are off at the Euros and Copa America

The time of year that Jim Curtin warned us all about in preseason is here.

The Philadelphia Union will lose a few key contributors to participation in the Euros and Copa America over the next month.

Curtin warned about this in preseason and said it was imperative to collect points in the first half of the Major League Soccer season.

Well, spoiler alert, that hasn’t happened and now the Union have to find ways to pick up points in the next month without Daniel Gazdag, Damion Lowe, Jose Martinez and Andre Blake.

Daniel Gazdag leaves the No. 10 position wide open while he’s away with Hungary. Hungary plays in Group A with Germany, Scotland and Switzerland. The group games are June 15, 19 and 23. Four third-place teams advance to the round of 16, so there is a chance he plays anywhere from June 29-July 2 as well.

Lowe is already with the Jamaican national team. One has to assume if Andre Blake is healthy enough, he will join the Reggae Boyz for the Copa America. They don’t start their Copa campaign until June 22, so there is some time for his knee to heal.

Jose Martinez is on Venezuela’s preliminary Copa roster and I assume he’ll be with La Vinotinto.

Jamaica and Venezuela are in the same Copa group and play each other on June 30. Mexico and Ecuador are the other two teams in Group B. Only the top two teams advance out of each group.

Gazdag’s absence is obviously the biggest one of the quartet. He’s been a more regular player than Lowe and Martinez, while Blake’s injury allowed Oliver Semmle to get an unexpected run of consistent minutes.

Jim Curtin will have to do some tinkering with his lineup selection for at least the next four games against Inter Miami, FC Cincinnati, Charlotte FC and CF Montreal.

So let’s dig into the possibilities!

Here’s the available squad until the players return from the Euros and Copa.

Goalkeeper: Oliver Semmle, Andrew Rick, Holden Trent

Defenders: Nathan Harriel, Jakob Glesnes, Jack Elliott, Kai Wagner, Olivier Mbaizo, Olwethu Makhanya, Jamir Berdecio

Midfielders: Alejandro Bedoya, Jack McGlynn, Quinn Sullivan, Leon Flach, Jesus Bueno, Jeremy Rafanello, Nick Pariano, Sanders Ngabo, David Vazquez

Forwards: Mikael Uhre, Julian Carranza, Markus Anderson, Chris Donovan, Tai Baribo

Let’s start with the good news.

Semmle played enough in the Union net where he is comfortable with the back line. That was a major concern going into the season under the assumption that Blake would be healthy.

In a way, Blake’s injuries are a blessing in disguise to prepare the Union for this stretch. Semmle’s played a lot better since his initial start. He’s still not the three-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, but he is an upgrade from last season as the backup.

Nathan Harriel, Jakob Glesnes, Jack Elliott and Kai Wagner form the in-form back four at the moment.

Elliott is currently suspended for the Inter Miami game because of the red card he picked up last Saturday against Montreal. No word yet if the Union chose to appeal that decision.

If Elliott can’t play against Miami, the Union will either throw Harriel next to Glesnes, or do a three-man setup with Harriel, Glesnes and Wagner as part of the defense. Olivier Mbaizo is the right back in both situations.

Curtin would have to get creative if he goes to a five-man defensive setup at any point of this stretch. Alejandro Bedoya could function as a wing-back, or Jesus Bueno could be brought in as a third defender in the middle. I would be stunned if the Union let Olwethu Makhanya play against Inter Miami, even if the Herons are without Lionel Messi.

At full strength during this stretch, the Union are probably going to keep the flat four-man back line of Harriel-Glesnes-Elliott-Wagner because that unit actually had some success before Curtin shifted back to the three center back setup versus Montreal.

So then it all comes down to how Curtin configures the midfield.

There’s a few options available to Curtin to deal with the Gazdag absence while also not sacrificing the team’s defensive integrity.

4-4-2 Diamond

Curtin could keep everything the same in the diamond and just insert Jeremy Rafanello or Quinn Sullivan into the No. 10 role.

Rafanello is the more natural No. 10 and he played well in spot-start duty in Portland in March.

Sullivan has been plugged into every attacking hole you could come up with during his time with the Union.

The lack of David Vazquez’s presence even on the bench for the last few games suggests Curtin isn’t ready to let the U.S. youth international start yet. I think we’ll see Vazquez on the bench at least.

Sullivan was tested in the second forward role against Toronto FC, but he failed to get himself into the game. He’s better off further back on the field as a playmaker. Curtin at least knows he’ll get a high work rate and some chance creation out of Sullivan.

Rafanello deserves a look at the No. 10 as well. In that case, Sullivan can shift to the right side of the diamond and Bedoya can come off the bench.

If the Union want to maximize their depth, they could start Jesus Bueno and Bedoya on the sides of the diamond, especially in the road contest against Cincinnati, to add more attacking options off the bench.

I think we’ll see the Bueno-Bedoya combo in Cincinnati and more of McGlynn, Sullivan and Rafanello in the next three home matches.

Use True Wingers

The Union have two players in Sullivan and Markus Anderson who could operate as wingers in some systems.

Anderson was likely getting the start as a second forward against Toronto before he picked up another small injury in training.

You could go 4-2-3-1 with Flach and McGlynn holding, a playmaker or a forward in the No. 10 role and either Mikael Uhre or Julian Carranza up top.

There’s different variations of this hypothetical. Sullivan and Anderson could start on the flanks with Rafanello at the No. 10, so that Uhre comes off the bench.

The Union could also function Uhre or Carranza as No. 10 who plays a more forward position and lets McGlynn take over space in the middle.

Flood the Midfield, Start With One Striker

Flach, McGlynn, Bueno, Bedoya and Sullivan could hypothetically all start together.

This is similar to the wingers idea, but it excludes Anderson, who would be a bench option only in this scenario.

The Union’s quintet of midfielders could interchange positions and provide some variety in the final third behind a starting striker, whether it be Uhre or Carranza.

This formation essentially allows Curtin to maximize his striker potential off the bench, but it also takes away some true finishing in front of the net.

Take the Toronto game as an example of how this wouldn’t work. Uhre tirelessly worked in the final third to gain possession, but when he was sent out wide, he had no one available to connect with crosses in the middle of the box.

All of these words are probably useless if Curtin finds success with the 4-4-2 diamond against Miami.

But Curtin has to keep his options open to get the most out of his midfield and forward groupings while Gazdag is gone, and if the 4-4-2 is ineffective with chance creation, he needs to change things up.

Photo Courtesy of Philadelphia Union.