USA World Cup Preview
As long time readers know once every four years the NBA-Jam blog steps out of its comfort zone to cover the World Cup. Now I’m not a soccer expert by any means. I never played the game and I don’t watch it a lot. However, I do follow our National Team VERY closely and consider myself a member of Sam’s Army. World Cup qualifying for Team USA ran from 6/15/08 to 10/14/09 and included 18 games. Of those 18 I only missed about one and a half, so I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the red, white and blue.
US soccer normally consists of a strong goalie, solid defense, shaky midfield play and no goal scoring. Well this version almost comes from the Bizarro World. Yes we still have a strong goalie, but our defense is very shaky, our midfield is solid and we actually have a bunch of guys that can put the biscuit in the basket for once.
ROSTER
(Club teams in parenthesis)
Goalies
Tim Howard (Everton, England) – Super athletic and smart he makes up for a lot of the mistakes that our back line commits. Without him we are toast.
Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England) & Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England) – It’s not like these guys are bad, but if they are playing we are in trouble.
Defenders
Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France) – Our Captain can play central defense if need be, but his best position for the team in this tournament is left back.
Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA) – Turnover prone and weak with ball. The only way he should see the field is if we have multiple injuries.
Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany) – Never been a big fan of his, but with the way the rest of our D has performed lately he almost has to play right back.
Jay DeMerit (Watford, England) – He’s solid overall but his form hasn’t been up to snuff in the run up to the Cup friendly’s.
Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway) – He has come out of nowhere in terms of the National Team. He’s very tall which is key on set pieces. I’d start him in the middle.
Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan, Italy) – Guch is one of our best players…when healthy. The problem is I don’t think he is. He hasn’t played a full 90 minutes since he ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee on 10/14/09. If fit he is a no brainer to start along side Goodson in the middle.
Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England) – Much like DeMerit he’s pretty solid but the problem is he hasn’t even been as good as Jay lately.
Midfielders
DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland) – One of my all time faves, he’s likely relegated to a situational substitute role in his third World Cup.
Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany) – The coach’s son is an integral piece to our midfield game. He can possess the ball in traffic, makes smart passes and is a heck of a tenacious defender.
Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany) – To my eyes he disappears a lot and almost avoids the ball. His main role is defense and he will likely start against England.
Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England) – Has a tendency to run hot and cold, but when he’s locked in he’s super creative and very dangerous in scoring situations.
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles) – In great form right now. Can run all day, hustles all over the place and is our best passer with ease. Has a lot to prove after his 2006 debacle.
Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland) – I like him but I’m not sure he’s good enough to earn minutes with all the depth at his position.
Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus, Denmark) – He’s weak with ball and I’m not really sure what he does well on the International level. Should not see the light of day.
Stuart Holden (Bolton, England) – He’s really coming into his own. Smart with ball and doesn’t make many mistakes. A possible starter or reserve.
Jose Torres (Pachuca, Mexico) – He always makes things happen with his hustle and creative passing. Is much stronger with the ball than he used to be. I’d start him, but if we are behind in the second half he HAS to play as a sub.
Forwards
Jozy Altidore (Hull, England) – Sprained his right ankle in training but *should* be fine by 6/12. Has the strength to hold the ball in tight spots, the speed to break away and a nice finishing touch. Our best striker and he’s only 20 years old.
Edson Buddle (Los Angeles) – This guy leads the MLS in goals scored and tallied two against Australia in our final tune up. Scorching hot right now.
Robbie Findley (Salt Lake) – Was a little surprised he made the team at first but his blinding speed is something we need. He has the athleticism to get himself into space but his first touch is lacking something fierce. He’s both dangerous and a questionable decision maker at the same time due to his lack of top level international experience.
Herculez Gomez (Puebla, Mexico) – He led the Mexican league in goals scored this season (the first American to do so in a top foreign league) and had one in the Czech Republic game and one more against Australia. Another guy who’s on fire right now.
STARTING 11
Coach Bob Bradley (BB) likes to use the 4-4-2 formation and outside of the defense has only two tough decisions to make. Obviously Howard, Bradley, Dempsey, Donovan and Altidore are locks. The question comes down to Clark/Holden/Torres for the last midfield spot and Buddle/Findley/Gomez up top with Jozy. (Never would have thought we'd have so many strikers playing well at the same time.)
Right now I’d go with Buddle & Altidore up front saving Findley’s speed and Gomez’s knack for being in the right place at the right time as subs. I’d go with Torres in the midfield without hesitation because of his ability to make things happen. But something tells me BB doesn’t share my view and we’re likely to see Clark or Holden instead because they are more steady and defensive oriented.
Saying our defense is in disarray right now might be kind. Bocanegra is the only definite starter, but where he plays is still up in the air. Goodson is short on big time experience but his form is the best of the rest outside of maybe Cherundolo at the moment. If just one of either Spector or DeMerit could get out of their own way right now I’d feel a lot better. But as is I almost prefer having a less than 100% Guch out there instead of those two. I honestly have no idea who BB will play, but I’d go with Boca/Goodson/Guch/Dolo if forced to choose.
GROUP C
(SPI rank in front of country, USA is #15)
3. England – This is the game everyone is talking about since the last time we played these guys in the World Cup (1950) we beat them 1-0 in what has since become known as the “Miracle on Grass.” Our D is going to be severely tested by the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. But there is a MASSIVE amount of pressure on these guys back home and while they have loads of talent their chemistry isn’t the best.
34. Slovenia – Everything I read about this squad says they are a disciplined team that packs in their defense and looks to counter attack. Exactly the type of team we usually struggle against.
65. Algeria – They will be without their best player, Mourad Meghni, due to patella tendonitis in his left knee. Like a lot of African teams they are up and down. They are just as likely to score a flurry of goals as they are to give up a bunch in a hurry.
PREDICTIONS
6/12 – Since we tend to play well as underdogs and never give up when behind something tells me we will get a result against the Brits. While I’m not ruling out an outright upset I see us getting a late equalizer and a draw here.
6/18 – Coming off the high of the previous game I see us slipping up and Slovenia getting a 1-0 win.
6/23 – Needing a win and a lot of goals to advance out of the group I think we get it done against Algeria 3-0.
If we don’t move on to the knock out stage I will be extremely disappointed. With the group we are in we should have no problem finishing second to England. If we do move on our likely opponent in the second round will be Germany, who we still owe from 2002 when we outplayed them and lost 1-0 in the Quarterfinals. From there who knows, but it wouldn’t shock me if we made it to the Quarters again or even…gasp…the Semis. Any more than that is probably asking too much, but hey, that’s why they play the games!
US soccer normally consists of a strong goalie, solid defense, shaky midfield play and no goal scoring. Well this version almost comes from the Bizarro World. Yes we still have a strong goalie, but our defense is very shaky, our midfield is solid and we actually have a bunch of guys that can put the biscuit in the basket for once.
ROSTER
(Club teams in parenthesis)
Goalies
Tim Howard (Everton, England) – Super athletic and smart he makes up for a lot of the mistakes that our back line commits. Without him we are toast.
Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England) & Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England) – It’s not like these guys are bad, but if they are playing we are in trouble.
Defenders
Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France) – Our Captain can play central defense if need be, but his best position for the team in this tournament is left back.
Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA) – Turnover prone and weak with ball. The only way he should see the field is if we have multiple injuries.
Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany) – Never been a big fan of his, but with the way the rest of our D has performed lately he almost has to play right back.
Jay DeMerit (Watford, England) – He’s solid overall but his form hasn’t been up to snuff in the run up to the Cup friendly’s.
Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway) – He has come out of nowhere in terms of the National Team. He’s very tall which is key on set pieces. I’d start him in the middle.
Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan, Italy) – Guch is one of our best players…when healthy. The problem is I don’t think he is. He hasn’t played a full 90 minutes since he ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee on 10/14/09. If fit he is a no brainer to start along side Goodson in the middle.
Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England) – Much like DeMerit he’s pretty solid but the problem is he hasn’t even been as good as Jay lately.
Midfielders
DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland) – One of my all time faves, he’s likely relegated to a situational substitute role in his third World Cup.
Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany) – The coach’s son is an integral piece to our midfield game. He can possess the ball in traffic, makes smart passes and is a heck of a tenacious defender.
Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany) – To my eyes he disappears a lot and almost avoids the ball. His main role is defense and he will likely start against England.
Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England) – Has a tendency to run hot and cold, but when he’s locked in he’s super creative and very dangerous in scoring situations.
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles) – In great form right now. Can run all day, hustles all over the place and is our best passer with ease. Has a lot to prove after his 2006 debacle.
Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland) – I like him but I’m not sure he’s good enough to earn minutes with all the depth at his position.
Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus, Denmark) – He’s weak with ball and I’m not really sure what he does well on the International level. Should not see the light of day.
Stuart Holden (Bolton, England) – He’s really coming into his own. Smart with ball and doesn’t make many mistakes. A possible starter or reserve.
Jose Torres (Pachuca, Mexico) – He always makes things happen with his hustle and creative passing. Is much stronger with the ball than he used to be. I’d start him, but if we are behind in the second half he HAS to play as a sub.
Forwards
Jozy Altidore (Hull, England) – Sprained his right ankle in training but *should* be fine by 6/12. Has the strength to hold the ball in tight spots, the speed to break away and a nice finishing touch. Our best striker and he’s only 20 years old.
Edson Buddle (Los Angeles) – This guy leads the MLS in goals scored and tallied two against Australia in our final tune up. Scorching hot right now.
Robbie Findley (Salt Lake) – Was a little surprised he made the team at first but his blinding speed is something we need. He has the athleticism to get himself into space but his first touch is lacking something fierce. He’s both dangerous and a questionable decision maker at the same time due to his lack of top level international experience.
Herculez Gomez (Puebla, Mexico) – He led the Mexican league in goals scored this season (the first American to do so in a top foreign league) and had one in the Czech Republic game and one more against Australia. Another guy who’s on fire right now.
STARTING 11
Coach Bob Bradley (BB) likes to use the 4-4-2 formation and outside of the defense has only two tough decisions to make. Obviously Howard, Bradley, Dempsey, Donovan and Altidore are locks. The question comes down to Clark/Holden/Torres for the last midfield spot and Buddle/Findley/Gomez up top with Jozy. (Never would have thought we'd have so many strikers playing well at the same time.)
Right now I’d go with Buddle & Altidore up front saving Findley’s speed and Gomez’s knack for being in the right place at the right time as subs. I’d go with Torres in the midfield without hesitation because of his ability to make things happen. But something tells me BB doesn’t share my view and we’re likely to see Clark or Holden instead because they are more steady and defensive oriented.
Saying our defense is in disarray right now might be kind. Bocanegra is the only definite starter, but where he plays is still up in the air. Goodson is short on big time experience but his form is the best of the rest outside of maybe Cherundolo at the moment. If just one of either Spector or DeMerit could get out of their own way right now I’d feel a lot better. But as is I almost prefer having a less than 100% Guch out there instead of those two. I honestly have no idea who BB will play, but I’d go with Boca/Goodson/Guch/Dolo if forced to choose.
GROUP C
(SPI rank in front of country, USA is #15)
3. England – This is the game everyone is talking about since the last time we played these guys in the World Cup (1950) we beat them 1-0 in what has since become known as the “Miracle on Grass.” Our D is going to be severely tested by the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. But there is a MASSIVE amount of pressure on these guys back home and while they have loads of talent their chemistry isn’t the best.
34. Slovenia – Everything I read about this squad says they are a disciplined team that packs in their defense and looks to counter attack. Exactly the type of team we usually struggle against.
65. Algeria – They will be without their best player, Mourad Meghni, due to patella tendonitis in his left knee. Like a lot of African teams they are up and down. They are just as likely to score a flurry of goals as they are to give up a bunch in a hurry.
PREDICTIONS
6/12 – Since we tend to play well as underdogs and never give up when behind something tells me we will get a result against the Brits. While I’m not ruling out an outright upset I see us getting a late equalizer and a draw here.
6/18 – Coming off the high of the previous game I see us slipping up and Slovenia getting a 1-0 win.
6/23 – Needing a win and a lot of goals to advance out of the group I think we get it done against Algeria 3-0.
If we don’t move on to the knock out stage I will be extremely disappointed. With the group we are in we should have no problem finishing second to England. If we do move on our likely opponent in the second round will be Germany, who we still owe from 2002 when we outplayed them and lost 1-0 in the Quarterfinals. From there who knows, but it wouldn’t shock me if we made it to the Quarters again or even…gasp…the Semis. Any more than that is probably asking too much, but hey, that’s why they play the games!
posted by D$ at 7:15 PM
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