The US has multiple players in the top leagues in England, France, and Germany. Moreover, while the MLS is a mediocre league, those players are still not talentless. There is no reason we are not qualifying for the World Cup easily.
Ultimately, if the US wants to play defensively, that is totally fine by me; however, they must also play direct. My issue with Bruce Arena was he played defensive and indirect. You see Australia doing this now, and it does not work.
If you are going to sacrifice possession then it has to be made up with a blistering counterattack. This is what countries like Iran, Portugal, Mexico (sometimes), France (sometimes), Croatia (sometimes), etc. do, and it works very well. With the midfield talent we have (Pulisic et al) this type of strategy should be doable.
I can rant for days about the USSF. I hate their top-down structure, their obsession with homegrown talent, their poor managerial selection, and their quick trigger. But hopefully they can figure this all out because it would be great for the sport in the United States.
(sorry for the bad grammar. I am not feeling well and can't edit my post)