Of course, it won’t require much–anything better than a train wreck on route to the first game–to improve on the French debacle, where the American team stumbled on the field and squabbled off it. The U.S. wound up 32nd of 32 teams and scored a grand total of one goal in its three strikes and out first round.
The current edition, even with half its members veterans of France, is more talented and–thanks to increased opportunities for U.S. players, especially with Major League Soccer–much deeper. It has matured into a regional power, perhaps only a step behind Mexico, and a team against which no team can be confident of victory when it plays at home. At the same time, it is a team that scares nobody, especially on the road. It lost all three of its road games this year, though two were against European powers–Italy and Germany–and the third was against Ireland, all of whom are almost unbeatable at home. The American team features the unfortunate and unusual combination of being a bit small and a bit slow. And it hasn’t yet demonstrated the kind of cohesion that promises success at the World Cup level.
The possible remedy, as well as perhaps the biggest question mark for Arena, is his pair of dynamic 20-year-olds, Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley. Both have world-class speed, ball-handling flair and instincts that belie their age. They are brash, unintimidated, aggressive on the field and capable of instigating gamebreaking plays, as Beasley did recently against Uruguay and Donovan demonstrated a few days later against Jamaica. But they are inexperienced at this level and capable of major errors and mind-glitches that could prove costly. Still, when defensive stalwart Chris Armas was available, Arena had the option of confining the duo to spot duty. With Armas now injured and out for the World Cup, Arena may be forced to gamble that the kids will deliver more than they will give up.
The U.S. didn’t draw the toughest group in the tournament, but it is far from the easiest either. And it bears a strong resemblance to the Germany, Iran, Yugoslavia first-round draw of four years ago. Portugal (June 5) is one of the top European powers, a mature team with a pair of superstars in Luis Figo and Rui Costa to match any in the field. It qualified for the World Cup by winning the most difficult European group. Poland (June 14) also won its group, a lesser one admittedly, quite impressively. It plays a very physical game. But its defense is slow-footed and its offense boasts only one real scoring threat. In between, the U.S. team will face a must-win game against scrappy South Korea (June 10). The Yanks might be favored anywhere else in the world, but playing the cohosts at home will represent a significant challenge.
Arena has scoured the American soccer ranks to come up with this squad. More than 90 players were called into the U.S. training camps during his three-plus-year tenure and 73 of those earned caps–38 players their first ever–in international competition. In a final three-game exhibition swing up the East Coast last week, Arena was still experimenting with lineups. And he probably won’t name his starting team for the opener until several days before the game.
But here’s how the team will likely line up.
FORWARDS
Who’d have thunk that the American attack might be one of the team’s plusses? But while the team now generates some real offense, it still has trouble finishing, as 18 shots with no goals against Holland demonstrated in the final U.S. tune-up.
Probable Starters
Clint Mathis: Perhaps the key American player in this tournament. At only 25, he is coming back from a second major knee surgery and Arena has publicly chided him for not getting into better shape. But he has a wicked shot and an instinct for creating chaos and then capitalizing on it. He is the one reliable finisher on the team and could be the scoring threat the U.S. has so desperately sought. He can disappear for long stretches and then rise up with a single blast.
Brian McBride: The best U.S. weapon in the air. At 6 foot 1 inch, he can sky and is reckless with his body in front of the net. He has not yet demonstrated any great chemistry with Mathis, and this pairing would mean the team sacrifices real speed up front.
Key sub
Josh Wolff: Arena likes the veteran Joe-Max Moore. He went out of his way to praise Moore’s play in the Jamaica exhibition, even though Moore didn’t score and Wolff bagged a pair of goals. But Wolff’s speed may be a bigger asset than anything Moore brings to the pitch. He made the single best play by an American in World Cup qualifying, setting up a key goal in a big win against Mexico. And he has the advantage of having played with Mathis in college at the University of South Carolina. If the U.S. is down late, Wolff will likely appear.
MIDFIELD
The Armas injury has scotched Arena’s preferred lineup. Fortunately, the U.S. side is blessed with some depth and versatility here.
Probable starters
Claudio Reyna: Arena raves about his captain. He is the team’s unequivocal leader, has the best ball-handling and passing skills and, Arena says, calms the team from central midfield. But some critics say what he actually does is sedate the team–that he slows up the offense with an innate caution. He does, however, look more comfortable back in a defensive position than as the offensive linchpin. Once billed as America’s first superstar, Reyna has proved a complementary player rather than one who can solo successfully. His play for the national team has never rivaled his pro play in Scotland and England. Claudio has also been injury-prone and susceptible to brutish attacks. The U.S. may not have been destined for good things in France, but everything seemed to fall apart in the opening minutes of the very first game when a German defender unloaded on Reyna with an elbow. He was no factor the rest of the way and the Americans folded. But he’s a tougher, more mature player now and should be able to take the heat.
Earnie Stewart: Stewart has been the most consistent player on the American team for the past decade. He has several key virtues. He never stops running and working. And he has tremendous confidence, thus isn’t reluctant to fire on the net. On a team that, in the past, has too often been tempted to try to make one more perfect pass, Stewart’s willingness to shoot has made him America’s all-time leading scorer in World Cup qualifying.
John O’Brien: He is still just 24 years old. But having played professionally in Holland for seven years now, most recently as a starter for the powerful Ajax team, O’Brien is an exceptionally mature talent for an American youngster. He is versatile, like Reyna able to assume either an attacking or a defensive midfield role. His spin move in the box against a world-class Dutch defender in the final exhibition was a glimpse of his potential. But he then fired over the net. At the least, though he should take some pressure off Reyna to steady the attack.
Landon Donovan: Donovan is probably the most ballyhooed young talent to ever come along in American soccer. At 17, he was lured to the Bundesliga to play for Bayer Leverkusen. He never got the playing time, but after loaning him to Major League Soccer last season, Leverkusen has seen the error of its ways and desperately wants him back. He has a fantastic burst of speed, a deft touch and extraordinary creativity, the eyes-in-the-back-of-the-head talent that Americans have witnessed from their best NBA talents, but never on the soccer field. Still, he is prone, as all young players are, to mental errors.
Key sub
DaMarcus Beasley: Beasley has been regarded as just a step behind Donovan with similar talents and virtues. But he could wind up starting with Donovan coming off the bench. The two have been soccer soulmates since they led America’s Under-17 team to a fourth-place showing and finished one-two in the tournament MVP voting. Beasley is so slight and frail looking–he weighs just 134 pounds–that he may not be able to withstand the type of pounding that a full World Cup clash offers. But he is resilient and defenders who think they can just knock him off his game can get burned by Beasley’s blinding speed and great agility. In the three-exhibition tune-up, he was probably the biggest surprise, at least on the positive side.
DEFENDERS Despite having a veteran foursome (average age: 32) as its back line, defense is no longer a U.S. strength. It is particularly weak on the flank. But the defense has had almost as many problems handling counterattacks up the middle, yielding breakaways, as it has had dealing with speed on the outside.
Probable Starters
Tony Sanneh: Sanneh has both size and experience, playing in the Bundesliga. But he has not yet proved very effective as the right back. Opposing scouts have identified Sanneh’s flank as the best place to mount an attack and have outrun him with relative ease. Nor has he been very effective on attack, giving up the ball too easily with errant passes and ineffective crosses, even when he’s not under pressure. He did, however, finish on an up note with his best game in a long time against Holland.
David Regis: Regis was an inadvertent catalyst of the team implosion in the ‘98 World Cup when he gained U.S. citizenship (through marriage) and, at the last second, was given Jeff Agoos’s starting job. Four years later, Regis, who was born in Martinique and plays in France, speaks a little more English and is still ensconced at that left back position. He too has had difficulty containing speed on the flank and has, at times, appeared confused and dangerously tentative. But he is more effective than Sanneh in servicing the front line on attack.
Jeff Agoos: At 34, Agoos is finally getting his World Cup opportunity. He played for Arena at both the University of Virginia and DC United, and the coach has confidence that his savvy play will help steady the defense. His speed, or absence of it, is less of a problem in the central defense than it was on the outside. While he has pretty much eliminated the occasional brain-glitches that once marred his game, he can still get burned because of his lack of both speed and height. When he gets forward, he is an effective, offensive weapon with his left foot. Agoos has become increasingly dangerous on free kicks from just outside the penalty area.
Eddie Pope: The best athlete on the back line, Pope has been slowed by an assortment of injuries and has, as a result, been off his game. He appears to have rounded back in shape at just the right time and has the height and speed to mark the opposition’s top attacker. And he can be dangerous on attack off set pieces. Pope was considered the most promising young player on the ‘98 team and he will now have to live up to that billing for the U.S. to get through the first round.
Key sub
If there was a truly reliable sub on defense, he would be in the starting lineup. Frankie Hejduk is feisty and helpful on offense, but undependable on the outside. Carlos Llamosa could once be counted on for steady play, but he has lost a step and is further slowed by injury. Gregg Berhalter is mistake-prone. The best prospect may be Pablo Mastroeni, who has the fewest caps–just nine national games–of anyone on the team. He is aggressive, a decent ball-handler and is very versatile. He could wind up playing defense at the back of the midfield.
GOALKEEPER
This is the one spot in which the U.S. stacks up against any country in the Cup. Each of its three goalkeepers will be playing in their third World Cup. And nothing less than the keeper’s A-game will be required.
Probable Starter
Kasey Keller: It’s a crapshoot between Keller, the ‘98 starter, and Brad Friedel, the backup in both ‘94 and ‘98. Both men have been stalwart in England’s Premiership. And both have been impressive in the runup to the World Cup. And while the decision as to who starts may be Arena’s toughest call, it may also be the least consequential given the talent level of the two men. Arena’s choice will be little more than a gut feeling. My gut feeling is that Keller is more likely to come up with the spectacular save. And the U.S. keeper will likely have to do that a few times for the U.S. to advance.
COACH
Arena has earned his reputation as a players’ coach (he is certainly not an organization man or a reporter’s dream) and has reunited a fractious team that had been ripped asunder by failure and dissension. Of course, that’s before he names his starting World Cup team. Still, Arena has clearly instilled confidence in his team as well as a much more aggressive style. While he believes his team fully capable of making the second round, he has not put it under undue pressure by establishing lofty public goals. “If we play well and lose three games,” he told me, “that would be all right.” And that would be a quantum leap up from ‘98.
The U.S.’s first-round schedule (all times EDT):
June 5, 5:00 a.m., versus Portugal
June 10, 2:30 a.m., versus South Korea
June 14 7:30 a.m., versus Poland
