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| Posted By | Discussion Topic: It's Do or Die for U.S. | ||||
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| NYR2119935 | posted on 10-05-2001 @ 2:03 PM |    | |||
| Psychopath Registered: May. 00  |  Throw out everything that has happened throughout the World Cup qualifying that began last July 16 in Mazatenango, Guatemala with a disappointing 1-1 tie. It means nothing now. Forget about the rise of Clint Mathis and Josh Wolff. Or the falling off the immediate radar screen of such players as Eddie Lewis, Jason Kreis and Frankie Hejduk for various reasons. Even the triumphant return and then international retirement of Tab Ramos, who in my opinion is the most gifted U.S. soccer player in history, and if fully healthy could still help this team right now.  None of it matters now. All the last 15 months of drama-filled play has led to one game for the Sons of Bruce Arena – Sunday’s match against Jamaica in the friendly confines of Foxboro Stadium. It’s not win-and-you’re-in, but it’s more than likely lose-and-you’re-out. Considering the U.S. takes on a reeling Trinidad & Tobago team on Nov. 11 to close out qualifying, the game where points need to be gained on Honduras (14) and Mexico (13) is against the Jamaicans. One point on Sunday from a tie would give the Americans 14 total points and set them up for an overwhelmingly solid chance of garnering 17 points, which would give them an excellent shot at getting their ticket punched to Asia next June. But six points, coming from two wins in these last two games, clinch a berth automatically. To do that, it will mean beating Jamaica, a team the U.S. looked sluggish against back on June 16 on a sun-worn Kingston pitch. “We know that’s it’s do or die in this game,†said head coach Bruce Arena. “We know that we need three points if we hope to be in Asia next year.†Four months ago, getting the three necessary points at home wouldn’t have seemed like a monumental challenge, but a continuing bevy of injuries and horrid play at times throughout the past three qualifying losses in a row showed that any sort of result was possible. Even at home to a Honduras squad that lost on its own turf to the U.S. on March 28. "I think our problems were some mental errors and our team movement,†said Arena, who used various formations in the losses including a 4-3-3 against Honduras and a peculiar 5-3-2 against Costa Rica. “In the Honduras game, a lot of their quality chances in the second half were a result of our throw-ins, which is highly unusual. And our decisions by our back line to step or drop and having them move together. The issues of defense were not solely the responsibility of our back four. Our midfield wasn't in good spots to help. “And we've talked about moving better as a team, and if we can do that we will be tough to crack. We've lost our team shape over the last couple of games, we've made some bad mistakes and we've also been called for two penalty kicks that have resulted in two goals. We need to correct some of those mistakes and we have discussed it with our players." Many such mistakes were on the defensive side. Both once-cemented starters at outside back – David Regis on the left and Steve Cherundolo on the right – made crucial errors and were exposed at times. Jeff Agoos, causing one of the penalty kicks against Costa Rica, has also not been the same player seen in the first four or five qualifiers when he could do no wrong in the central defense. In one of the more surprising lineup moves in his tenure, Arena slotted Greg Vanney into the left back position against Costa Rica, and Tony Sanneh at right back after he served dutifully as both a wide midfielder on both sides and as a defensive midfielder alongside Chris Armas. Coming into this match, the only certainty is that Carlos Llamosa, who is serving a one-game suspension due to yellow card accumulation, will not be in the mix. Otherwise, it is wide open in the back. “We haven’t determined yet whether we’re going to play with three in the back or four in the back,†said Arena. “If we play with four in the back, it’s pretty obvious our choices at right back are going to be either Sanneh or Cherundolo.†This is a big decision for Arena, seeing that he expects the Jamaicans to attack at will along the flanks again with Ricardo Gardner and Jermaine Johnson. Cherundolo possesses great speed on the outside and moves up the field smoothly on overlaps, but he’s made a few errors as of late and gives up a size advantage at 5-foot-6 when in the box against a fairly tall side that the Jamaicans have. Sanneh, on the other hand, has been playing strong over in Germany for FC Nürnberg, where he made waves by earning "Player of the Week" in the German Bundesliga after scoring a game-winning goal in a 2-1 upset over FC Cologne on Sept. 22. Arena has faith in his former D.C. United standout, and is likely to be on the field whether at right back or in the midfield. It’s not as easy on the other side of the field. “At the left back position, we have a couple of choices – Agoos, Regis, Vanney are all possibilities at that position,†said Arena. Remember back to the Jamaica game in June and you may recall Regis at his worst in the National Team kit. He allowed flank midfielders to get behind him time and time again, and was not effective utilizing the open left side of the midfield that was done to increase his role in the attack. Unless the U.S. goes back to a four-man defense and has Agoos in the middle alongside Eddie Pope, it’d be wise to expect Agoos playing on the left side. It wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone to see Arena utilize a 3-5-2 in this match, to help neutralize Jamaica’s speed on the outside and to get Claudio Reyna (“We can see that in a couple of days, he should be 100% percent,†said Arena), Earnie Stewart, Chris Armas and John O’Brien all on the field together now that all are healthy to play. This would allow Reyna and Stewart to renew their partnership in the offensive central midfield, with O’Brien possibly playing to the left, Armas in his familiar defensive center midfield spot and either a Cobi Jones or Sanneh on the right side. Though O’Brien hasn’t started a World Cup qualifier as of yet and hasn’t been available for the last four games, Arena basically announced he’d be starting. “John, obviously, adds to a void that we’ve had in the midfield,†he said. “Our passing hasn’t been good, and that certainly is one of John’s good qualities. Hopefully, he can help us on Sunday as well.†He also commented that O’Brien, who plays for Ajax Amsterdam, was a smart player and “something we’ve been lacking over the last three games or so.†If the U.S. is to win this match, they will need to create more chances than seen over the past few games. Stewart is always a threat to score from the midfield, but he must get help from the forward line to open up room. One of those players Arena may look to is Ante Razov, who returns to the side after being unavailable due to injuries the past three qualifiers. “Ante’s a good addition to have back,†said Arena. “Ante’s a forward. He thinks like a forward. He wants to score goals. That’s a real plus. The last couple of games, we weren’t at our best at that position. Ante offers us that.†Arena mentioned that there are five candidates to start up front in Razov, Landon Donovan, Joe-Max Moore, Jovan Kirovski and Cobi Jones. Donovan’s torrid play in the MLS playoffs and decent showing in the match against Honduras last month may earn him a nod next to Razov. At the same time, Moore has played 90 times for the United States, and has been on the pitch in several pressure-cooker matches over his 10-year career with the Nats. He also spent four years playing at Foxboro Stadium for the New England Revolution. No matter who starts up front, it’s safe to assume that Moore, Razov, Donovan and Jones (possibly as a starting midfielder or midfield substitute, as well) will leave an imprint on this match. Having a Clint Mathis/Brian McBride combo up top with Josh Wolff coming off the bench would be ideal against Jamaica. But each of the players listed above has considerable talent and is capable of wreaking havoc in the Jamaican defense if given the proper balls from the midfield, which, ultimately, is where this game will be won. Arena has a loaded midfield at his disposal and two tempo-changing players back in Reyna and O’Brien. Just the addition of those two to the starting 11 should be enough to help the side regain its shape and have necessary links between the defense and offense, one of many aspects of the game that wasn’t apparent in the play of the U.S. last month. “I'm confident that we can put the previous games behind us and we have a team that's ready to step on the field and play hard for 90 minutes,†said Arena of his squad that is now 4-3-1 in qualifying. “If we can do that, we can come away with three points." And probably a berth in the 2002 World Cup  CART Taco Bell Ice Hockey MetallicA | ||||
| NYR2119935 | posted on 10-07-2001 @ 9:45 AM | | |||
| Psychopath Registered: May. 00 | It should be a good matchup. Let's hope Team USA wins! :) CART Taco Bell Ice Hockey MetallicA | ||||
| NYR2119935 | posted on 10-08-2001 @ 1:06 AM | | |||
| Psychopath Registered: May. 00 | http://msn.espn.go.com/soccer/news/2001/1007/1260799.html Moore's penalty kick the clincher [Associated Press] FOXBORO, Mass. -- The United States is back in the World Cup, arriving in a most unusual way. In the 80th minute Sunday, the Americans were tied with Jamaica, which could have pushed them to the brink of elimination. Seventeen minutes later, they clinched a berth in next year's 32-nation field. "It's a funny game," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said, unable to keep a grin from filling his face. Joe-Max Moore converted a penalty in the 81st minute Sunday that led the United States over Jamaica 2-1. Then, after the final nine minutes of the second half and four minutes of stoppage time, the Americans gathered on the north end of Foxboro Stadium to wait. Three minutes later, Costa Rica finished a scoreless tie against Mexico. One minute after that, Trinidad and Tobago upset Honduras 1-0. The giant huddle of American players started jumping up and down. Fans left from the crowd of 40,483 started waving the Stars and Stripes and cheering. The trip to Japan and South Korea was on. The United States made it with one qualifier to spare. "We have so many kids playing soccer," Moore said. "For them not having this team in the World Cup would have been devastating." About 90 minutes before the start of the game, news spread of the U.S. military attacks on Afghanistan. Arena didn't hesitate to tell the players, and some of them were misty-eyed during the national anthem. "Once the whistle began, I didn't think about what was happening in the outside world at all," Moore said. Because of military action, ABC dropped its telecast of the game, meaning the fans in the stadium on a cool and blustery afternoon were the only ones to witness the U.S. clinching a World Cup berth on home soil for the first time. After the game, the Americans tried to put the victory in perspective. "If you can't make a commitment to play for 90 minutes in some stupid little soccer game, you don't belong on the field," Arena said. Then he thought about what he had said. "It's not a stupid little soccer game. But really, in the big picture, if I could substitute a victory today for the lives of the 6,000 people we lost a month ago, I would do that." The Americans clearly were proud of their accomplishment and the events of the last month didn't prevent champagne corks from being popped in the U.S. locker room. Of the 21 nations that have qualified for next year's tournament, the United States is among just six to have made it for the fourth straight time, a group that includes Argentina, Cameroon, Italy, South Korea and Spain. The Americans thought they'd need to win their final two games, but the strange scores assured themselves of finishing among the top three nations in the North and Central American and Caribbean region. Costa Rica (6-1-2), which clinched one of the region's three berths by beating the Americans last month, is first with 20 points, followed by the United States (5-3-1) with 16. Mexico and Honduras have 14 each at 4-3-2 but because they meet Nov. 11, only one could overtake the Americans. "I would have bet my house on the result in Trinidad not being what it was today," Arena said. Coming off its first three-game losing streak in 29 years, the United States played only so-so. Moore scored 3:01 in when he dived to redirect a pass into the net from Claudio Reyna, back from a suspension and groin injury that caused him to miss the three defeats. But James Lawrence tied the score in the 14th minute when U.S. defenders stood in the penalty area and gave him room to trap the ball with his chest, and then shoot past goalkeeper Brad Friedel. Reyna created the play that led to the penalty kick, sending a pass to Landon Donovan, who was streaking into the penalty area. Jamaica's Tyrone Marshall, a Miami Fusion forward who entered in the 63rd minute, pulled down Donovan with a sliding tackle. Referee Rodolfo Sibrian of El Salvador immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Last month, Earnie Stewart missed a penalty kick, swinging the momentum in a 3-2 loss to Honduras that created all the uncertainty about qualification. Arena, who made the players practice penalty kicks Saturday, let them decide who would take it. The final candidates were Stewart, Jeff Agoos or Moore, whose point-blank shot bounced off goalkeeper Aaron Lawrence's shoulder early in the second half. "How do you feel?" Stewart asked Moore. "Great," Moore replied. He got the ball, walked to the penalty spot and immediately decided low right. That's where he sent it, and Lawrence had no chance. After that, the Americans held on, with Agoos clearing a tough shot by Paul Hall from the goal area two minutes into injury time. Game notes Mexico can clinch a berth with a win or a tie against Honduras. ... Jamaica, which made the tournament for the first time in 1998, was eliminated. ... Moore has 24 international goals, second on the U.S. list behind Eric Wynalda (34). CART Taco Bell Ice Hockey MetallicA | ||||
...And now the battle between us and them has begun. JYD-4-LIFE. | posted on 10-08-2001 @ 1:13 AM | | |||
| O&A Board Veteran Registered: May. 00 | it must really suck when you are the only one replying to your own threads Across the field you see the sky ripped open See the rain through a gaping wound Pounding on the women and children Who run Into the arms Of America-U2 | ||||
| GonzoStyle | posted on 10-08-2001 @ 1:38 AM | | |||
| Hanger-On Registered: Jan. 70 | quote: Well IMOVERHERENOW has quit wackbag, things that make you go hmmmmm.  "These dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth." -- Abraham Lincoln She-Mail Me Here | ||||
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