I was thinking about something that Jim at Outsports said earlier in the year about wanting stuff for the World Cup, so I thought we could start with Enigma's fantastic analysis of Portugal. That certainly brought up some things I hadn't considered before about Portugal...

So here's the next installment: our own team, the USA. Let's take a look at the USA's schedule first.

USA vs. Czech Republic June 12 12 PM EST
USA vs. Italy June 17 3 PM EST
USA vs. Ghana June 22 10 AM EST

Certainly not an easy group. The Czechs are second in the FIFA rankings to Brazil, and, unlike the USA, are not benefitting from an inflated ranking. Italy's matchfixing scandal may still end up removing starting goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon from the roster. The Italian team has been improving lately and are likely going to be stronger than they were at Euro 2004. Ghana will be an interesting team- they are a bit of a mystery. Michael Essien, a midfielder who currently plays with Premiership champions Chelsea, is their key player.

Now for the USA roster, starting with goalkeepers.

Goalkeepers- Kasey Keller (Borussia Monchemgladbach), Marcus Hahnemann (Reading FC), Tim Howard (Manchester United)

A strong bunch, as expected. These three goalies are very good, but Keller is the only one with significant national team experience. Keller is the starter, and he can be counted on to make some big saves, like his incredible triple save sequence in a World Cup qualifier against Panama last June. Hahnemann is very sharp and in form; he's done excellently as Reading FC's starting 'keeper. Tim Howard is the U.S.'s goalie of the future according to coach Bruce Arena. He's Manchester United's back up right now, but in the 2003-04 season, he was brilliant for them as a starter.

Defenders: Chris Albright (LA Galaxy), Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (KC Wizards), Cory Gibbs (ADO Den Haag), Eddie Lewis (Leeds United), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake)

The U.S.'s backline is a bit inexperienced at the World Cup level but is still very strong and composed. Chris Albright was named to the roster after veteran Frankie Hedjuk was diagnosed with an ACL tear; that change left the U.S. with only one defender who played in a World Cup before: Eddie Pope. (Lewis played in 2002, but was a midfielder then) Onyewu is well on his way to becoming a superstar; he is really the first big, physical defender the U.S. has had. Cherundolo will play right-back and is comfortable going forward. Left-back is likely to be occupied by Bocanegra, who is a force on free kicks and corner kicks, or Lewis, who will cross excellently from the wing. Lack of experience will definitely be a factor on the backline, though; with Hejduk injured and Gregg Berhalter left off the roster, only Pope has played in a World Cup match at defender before. Watch for him and Onyewu to form a very potent partnership in the center of defense.

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Bobby Convey (Reading FC), Clint Dempsey (NE Revolution), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), John O'Brien (Chivas USA), Ben Olsen (DC United), Claudio Reyna (Manchester City)

This could be one of the best midfield units the U.S. has ever sent to a World Cup. Beasley, Donovan, Mastroeni, O'Brien, and Reyna all shined in 2002; the key this time around will be getting O'Brien, the player who scored the first goal against Portugal 4 years ago, fit and keeping him and Reyna injury-free. Donovan has been good this year; he needs to step up his scoring production for the World Cup. Beasley has been tremendous since transferring from the Chicago Fire to PSV Eindhoven. Mastroeni is a very smart player and will likely been the defensive midfielder in a diamond-midfield formation. Convey and Dempsey are both young players with lots of creativity; if Bruce Arena decides to play a 3-5-2 formation, Dempsey could be inserted on the right side of midfield. Olsen is a very tough and physical player. He isn't likely to see time in this tournament but could fill in for Mastroeni if he is injured.

Forwards: Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Eddie Johnson (KC Wizards), Brian McBride (Fulham FC), Josh Wolff (KC Wizards)

This forward group is good, but expect McBride to be scoring most of the goals up top. He was recently named Fulham's player of the year and had a fantastic year for them in the Premiership. He is probably playing in his last World Cup and, with a goal, will become the first U.S. player to score in three World Cups. Wolff will likely start next to McBride; he hasn't scored for the U.S. this year, but he's sharp and has an incisive touch. Watch for McBride to flick headers and passes to Wolff for a cross into the box. Johnson is a very strong, very fast player who burst on to the national team with 8 goals in his first 9 matches. He will likely be the first sub up top, and his speed will certainly create havoc in tiring defenses. Ching, who has been excellent for Houston so far this year, is similar in style and build to McBride; he may get a few minutes here and there, but like Olsen, he is on the roster partially because he could fill in for McBride if there is an injury.

Verdict:
The U.S., altogether, is a very good squad. They feature a little more youth and creativity, but less experience, than in 2002. The first match, against the Czech Republic, will likely set the tone for this World Cup for the U.S. A win or a draw, and the U.S. could continue where they left off in Korea; a loss could set the team back. The team's performance in that match is going to be very much tied to how fit and healthy Claudio Reyna and John O'Brien are. Keller will definitely need to be in his best form, as I wonder if even Oguchi Onyewu can beat towering Czech forward Jan Koller to crosses into the box. With the surprise factor from 2002 gone, the U.S. is going to have to rely on a strong performance for 90 minutes. I think the U.S. will play as well as they did against Mexico in Columbus (the match that clinched a World Cup berth for the U.S.). That should be enough to hold the Czechs to a draw. Expect a tired U.S. team to fall to a late goal to Italy, but rebound with a win against Ghana. In this difficult group, it is not likely that 4 points will be enough to see the U.S. through. Realistically, this is a nightmare draw for the U.S., but remember that this is a team who has risen well above expectations before. Don't miss the U.S.'s matches to see just how high they will fly.

[ May 17, 2006, 02:53 PM: Message edited by: metromathis13 ]

While I agree that Keller is an awesome goaltender, I was a bit surprised to hear that Tim Howard wouldn't get the nod. He was great with Man Utd and I think he's ready to make that next step. Though, I understand how scary it can be to go with an untested player at a World Cup level.

There's no question in my mind that if the U-S are to advance past the Opening Round, which for the record I don't think they will, they absolutely NEED to defeat the Czech Republic. As much as I hate to say it's a given, the US will beat Ghana. So a win against the Czech's should be more than enough to get them through. Of course, it would make my year if the Americans defeat the Italians and eliminate the Azzuri in the first round. I'd like kiss you I'd be so happy hahahha.

I really like the U-S midfield...a lot of speed. Hopefully Bruce Arena takes advantage of what he has.

Fortunately USA will be highly motivated IMO. Unfortunately I think they are starting with their "biggest" challenge, literally, in the Czechs. Hopefully they wont have a let-down if they lose or become overconfident winning.

Italy will be distracted but, more than any other big pro-sport, soccer is a "Any Given Sunday" game because of the low amount of scoring necessary to decide each game. (Fortunately USA play them on a "Saturday" .)Italians more than most, play on emotion and are hard to predict.

How they will fare against Ghana depends a lot on how they will have fared against in the previous two games, and what they need to go through. I think the greater the pressure the more likely they will do what they have to in that one. Hopefully by then it will not matter much.

I hate it when you're playing a team you should score against easily and then collapse.

[ June 16, 2006, 04:16 AM: Message edited by: sportinlife ]

Awful news for the Americans as Captain Claudio Reyna could miss the World Cup.

In a friendly game with Morocco on Tuesday, Reyna limped off the field just 15min into the contest. I'm sure Bruce Arena is crossing his fingers hoping that it's just a minor injury and that Reyna will be ready to go in a few weeks.

Morocco won the game 1-0.

Anyone watch the game and care to provide some analysis?

Some good news for Claudio Reyna and the United States. Reyna had an MRI exam and the scan showed no damage! None the less, the team is taking no chances as they will not play him in their next two friendlies.

I did see the match and his injury didn't look that bad. They took him off to be safe, cautionary. I would have been completely shocked if they announced he was out.
The US didn't get into any sort of a rhythm until after the first 30 minutes. I think the only way to describe the Moroccan team is pesky. They liked to control the ball with short passes and they were very patient moving it slowly forward. The US was passing well until they got into the last third of the pitch. A lot of their cross shots and passes into the penalty area kept on getting deflected. It was v. frustrating.
John O'Brien was amazing and Mastroeni was a great sub for Reyna. He was more attacking but still had control. The Moroccan g'keeper was tested a lot but nothing got passed him. Our first chance was a pass from O'Brien to Donovan. The pass was perfect but it looked as if Donovan did an offsides check before going for it and then he was barely able to tip the ball for an easy stop. I don't know if anyone else thought that and the announcers didn't notice it but that's what it looked like. Late in the match Donovan had another clear chance and the announcers said that it looked like he was deciding whether to knock it hard or finesse it. He hit it softly and it went left of goal. Donovan had some great passes and handled the ball well but wasn't good on goal.
The second half was great. Convey came on for O'Brien and was awesome. He created so many chances for us. I know in a previous post I kinda questioned why he was on the team because I hadn't seen a lot of his play but he was brilliant. And now his Reading team will be in the EPL next season. Anyway, he brought some life to the American side and everyone stepped up. Then came Dempsey. He came on with about 15 minutes in the match and lit everyone on. He controlled the match from that point on. He was getting in the Moroccan defense. We almost had it. Then the Moroccan stole the mishandled ball from Cherundolo, passed it & in for a goal by Moubarek (sp?) in the 90th minute. It was the only time that Keller was tested all day in my opinion. The couple other shots they had were way off target. Then deep into stoppage time the US had another flurry of opportunities near the goal with no luck. The last free kick by Convey was long and fast and only slightly off hitting the side net. So close.
Besides efforts by Donovan, Convey, McBride, Johnson had a couple of shots, Onyewu, Gibbs had a shot and Wolf had like 3 shots. A strong effort but nothing connected through.
:mad:
On to Venezuela on Friday & Latvia on Sunday.

[ May 24, 2006, 02:17 PM: Message edited by: simontexas ]

Johnson had a chance for a spectacular volley off a rebound of a Donovan shot, but he completely mis-hit it. Convey's free kick was beautiful- I actually started cheering because I thought it was in. Cherundolo had a great first half, but he was robbed on the goal. He had a chance to drop the ball back to Keller, but instead, he tried to turn and clear it upfield. The Morroccan forward was right there and poked the ball loose as soon as Cherundolo exposed it. It was a mistake that one might expect to see in a high school game, not in an international match...

Bobby Convey looked phenomenal in the second half, but Clint Dempsey, who some considered the U.S.'s answer at right midfield, failed to impress. Brian Ching looks slower than Brian McBride, but he had a good outing.

My fantasy play this morning: McBride after being rested most of the game with just enough playing time to get his legs, is sent in in the last fifteen minutes of a tied game to be the focus of an option play on a corner kick, where he either gets the header or acts as a decoy for Beasley and Donovan to blitz in underneath. They have to improvise of course. Ching is the wildcard.

Fantasy aside I like this USA teams chances. Onyewu may be a key on defense (and that's the name of the game in the sport and especially the Cup) but seeing him rip off his shirt after a goal would be a pleasure second only to seeing Ching do the same thing.

Okay, their only fantasies. But give an old guy his pleasures already!

On with the CUP!!!

Another injury hits the team...

This one's a little less expected. Cory Gibbs, a powerful defender who looked pretty sharp against Morocco, has been diagnosed with a severe right knee injury and removed from the roster. Replacing him will be experienced defender Gregg Berhalter.

Upside to this injury is that the U.S. gains another experienced defender...downside is they lose Gibbs's speed and versatility. Watch for Carlos Bocanegra to slide into the left defender role, and either Berhalter or Pope to anchor the center defense with Onyewu.

The U.S. continued their Send-off Series tonight, making a stop in Cleveland for the first time in 12 years. Venezuela were more offensive than Morocco were Tuesday night, but the U.S. did well to contain and earn a great 2-0 win. Browns Stadium was rocking with almost 30,000 fans, a record attendance for a soccer game in Ohio, almost 6,000 more than the capacity of the Columbus Crew Stadium. Brian Ching scored the first goal off a cross from Bobby Convey, who played a phenomenal game again tonight. The second goal came from Clint Dempsey soon after Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley were subbed in to the game. Goalkeeper Tim Howard wasn't troubled too much, except for a free-kick in the second half that he saved brilliantly, flying across the goal to keep the ball out of the upper corner.

The team played rather defensive in the first 20 minutes or so, but started to control the match around the 25th minute. I felt that the roster fielded by Bruce Arena left the team without a midfield who could possess the ball (someone like Reyna, Mastroeni, or O'Brien), and that seemed to be part of the reason they struggled early on.

Sadly, we were on the opposite side of the stadium from where the teams walked in, so I could neither propose to Steve Cherundolo nor worship Oguchi Onyewu. The atmosphere was spectacular though- Sam's Army was out in full strength, and many cheers were started by other fans as well. And plus, after the game, the players applauded the fans, then walked around shirtless for about 10 minutes...needless to say, I found that quite pleasing!

Getting to see Landon Donovan without a shirt...growl hahaha

Glad to see you enjoyed the game pal...the US are lookin ready for the World Cup but I still dont think they can get past the Czech's and Italy but hey I've been wrong before.

Plus it's the World Cup...ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN

Woo-Hoo! MLS footballers showing them how it's done. Ching & Dempsey both with beautiful goals. Brian with the delicate foot volley & Clint with the diving header. I hope it gives them some confidence going into Germany. And what a great save by Howard. Right before the free kick my friend Stephen said, "C'mon Tim, show us why you play for ManU!" He sure did. Convey is on. What a good match for him and the crowd was awesome.
I'm glad you had a good time MM13. Any digi-pics of the shirtless players?

No, sadly I don't. I stupidly forgot my digital camera and my marker, so I have neither pics of the shirtless boys nor autographs/Steve Cherundolo's signature on our marriage license frown

So at work we have a program where we get hilites from virtually every single game/event possible. It was slow last night so while looking for something to do, I realized that it had hilites from USA-Latvia.

I think it was McBride who got headbutt in the head...but Jesus, that welt on his head...WOW. It was growing live on television haha. It looked like something from Alien. And the fact he managed to finish the game...MUCH RESPECT!

After watching all the hilites from their last few games (thanks to that program) I'm changing my stance a little bit....I'm really thinking that the US could upset Italy and sneak into the next round.

That's awesome that you have a program like that. Personally, after watching their last three games, I'm changing my stance a bit too. I don't know if the U.S. is going to make it out of their group now. Latvia is not a good team, and thus the U.S. had buckets of chances...but only one finish. Donovan, Beasley, and Johnson all need to improve in the next two weeks, or the U.S. will not be able to compete with the Czechs and Italians...

You can't underestimate Latvia as they're a team that can easily limit good teams to just one goal. I agree that they should have scored a few more, but let's not go all crazy now hahah

True...they played Germany to a 0-0 draw in Euro 2004, correct?

[ May 29, 2006, 04:30 PM: Message edited by: metromathis13 ]

Just looking back at the results...

Latvia - 1 Czech Rep - 2
(Czech's scoring the winning goal with just 5min left in the game)

Latvia - 0 Germany - 0

Latvia - 0 Netherlands - 3

Not bad for such a small country

And looking at qualifying for World Cup 2006...

4 Wins, 3 Draws, 5 Losses

Consider they had Portugal, Slovakia, and Russia among others, in their group. Not bad at all.

[ May 29, 2006, 05:57 PM: Message edited by: Enigma ]

Yeah...that's better than not bad- that's excellent. I remembered that game against Germany b/c I was in Spain at during the Euro 2004 group stages. The Germany-Latvia game was one of the ones I watched; I think I watched the Czech Republic-Latvia one too, now I remember someone scoring very early for Latvia...

Well anyway, it's less than two weeks to Germany-Costa Rica. Anyone have any plans for that game? Any predictions?

I'm think that four months ago, Germany would have tied or lost to Costa Rica. They are starting to gel now though, and I think Costa Rica is not going to be a huge challenge for Michael Ballack and company

Hard to judge the quality of any team from these friendlies. No one plays their A-list, and a lot of experimentation is going on, that may not show up at all in a game that counts.

I've also noticed that many teams are holding out their best players with injuries. Of course no one would ever fake anything in soccer (NOT!!!), but I wonder about some of them. Lots of politics and psyche-games being played right now I think. Hold your fire!!

Well it was a mistake for Arena to come down so hard and so publicly on the USA players. Czechs are solid and have the best goalie in the game.

They need to get over it quick. Unfortunately we have guests all weekend and I may miss both the USA and the Aussies, Sat. and Sun., but I might be able to talk one of our guests (they are both Aussies) into catching some of that one.

Wish me luck. I think USA will need me. :cool: