My left eye burst open as the all too familiar shrieking of my alarm clock pierced the calm silence of my bedroom this morning. Still not fully aware of what was happening, muscle memory had located and silenced the offender within a matter of seconds. The right side of my face still buried in a pillow, my left eyeball scanned the room for some sort of explanation of what in the name of Jake Gyllenhaal’s beard was happening. Slowly things started to come together. It’s 5:30… it’s Saturday… hands are a little clammy… forehead is a little warm. It’s all vaguely familiar. I remembered a similar sensation from a few summers ago. Ah, yes… yes I remember now. The Fever. I’ve come down with a case of the World Cup Fever. Symptoms include rising with the sun every day for a month, regularly throwing back a pint with breakfast, and overuse of terms such as “match” and “pitch” in place of the more Americanized “game” and “field.”
World Cup fever is definitely back, and despite being six days out of the official start of the tournament, I found myself stumbling out to the recliner at 5:30 Arizona time this morning to watch the US take on Australia in their final tuneup “match” before taking to the “pitch” against England next Saturday, June 12. The contest came and went in very similar fashion to their two previous friendlies against Czech Republic and Turkey. There were some offensive highlights, some defensive miscues, and overall I came away with a sense that I had just watched a team that is still struggling to figure out exactly who they are. Which begs the question: Who exactly are these guys, and what chance do they stand of making a name for themselves amongst the world’s elite over the next few weeks? I’m glad you asked.
The Roster
The US roster is a relatively inexperienced one, in terms of international competition. While names like Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Tim Howard are fairly well-known in the worldwide soccer community, the rest of the roster has traveled to South Africa in relative anonymity. From head coach Bob Bradley on down, the team as a whole is putting on a confident front going into the competition. An attitude to which they may be entitled, considering that most experts are picking them to advance out of their group into the knockout stages. However, those predictions are most likely based more on the teams the Americans will be facing, rather than on the roster itself. Algeria and Slovenia, while not pushovers, are considered among the weaker teams in the field of 32. As a result, England and the USA are really the most logical choices to advance from Group C.
The roster itself suffered a big blow when striker Charlie Davies was severely injured in an auto accident last fall, and suffered another big setback less than a month later when top defender Oguchi Onyewu tore his patellar tendon in a qualifying match. Onyewu returned to training early this spring, but still seems very uncertain on that knee, and it is starting to become obvious that he is still quite a ways out from being the dominant physical presence that the US need him to be in the heart of their defense. Davies, despite a miraculous recovery to return to training in the spring, was left off of the World Cup roster.
The one area in which the Americans can be comfortable, is goalkeeping. Top keeper Tim Howard is regarded as one of the world’s best, and he is not only healthy, but also playing at the pinnacle of his career. Backups Marcus Hahnemann and Brad Guzan are very adequate if they need to be called upon.
The defense in front of Howard has looked shaky at best over the last few weeks. Onyewu remains a question mark, and fellow central defender Jay Demerit does not seem to have the awareness to orchestrate the defensive organization. The outside defenders have repeatedly been caught watching when the attacks come from the opposite side of the field, giving opponents numerous clear looks when they crash in on the back post. As a general rule for outside defensive players: The fewer times the announcers mention your name, the better your performance. I have been hearing the names Spector, Cherundolo, and Bocanegra far too often, and I feel that if the US is to have a chance in this tournament, these players need to figure out a way to step up their game.
The good news in terms of midfield is that Bob Bradley seems to have his lineup figured out, they seem to be healthy, and three of the four starters are legitimate international level players. The bad news in terms of the midfield is the fourth starter: Ricardo Clark. I have never seen a central midfielder do less on a soccer field. This morning against the Socceroos he played the entire game, and I think I heard his name called two or three times. This has been his motif since he became a regular on the national side a couple of years ago. He must be an amazing practice player, because Bob Bradley is sticking with him, and most games I have no idea he is even on the field until the oppositions center midfield makes a wide open run through our defense and I scream “Who’s man was that!” If it weren’t for Tivo I’d have no idea how bad Ricardo Clark really is. Michael Bradley is a very capable center midfielder, and Donovan and Dempsey on the wings will give defenses fits from both sides. Personally, I’d rather see Dempsey start at forward with Stuart Holden on the wing, but Bob Bradley does not return my calls.
In the front, no one really knows what to expect. The team’s most experienced striker, Jozy Altidore, is twenty years old and may have a bum ankle. If he can go, he will be one of the starters, and despite the young age he is a rare combination of size and speed that will certainly make a difference for the US. The other three roster forwards: Edson Buddle, Robbie Findley, and Hercules Gomez, have almost no experience on the international level. Gomez has scored goals in two of the last three games off the bench, and I think could be a very effective super-sub coming late into games. Edson Buddle put two in the back of the net today, possibly earning himself a starting spot against England next weekend. Findley made the team because he is the closest thing the US has to Charlie Davies. His speed will keep the defenses honest and create spaces for the offense that won’t be there when he is on the bench. Findley has had some ups and downs in the last couple of contests, and is a bit of a wildcard going into the tournament.
Analysis
As a unit, I think the US has played below their potential in the three tuneup matches. They seem to be lacking consistency because they don’t quite know what type of team they are. This identity crisis is the difference between this team and the one from last year’s Confederations Cup. Last summer the team hunkered down on the defensive end, and relied on their speed and athleticism to catch teams off-guard and create dangerous counterattacks. My feeling is that with the available personnel, this same strategy is the United States’ best chance of success. They don’t have the talent to control and move the ball like a Brazil or an England, and if they get stretched their defense is not good enough to hold without help from the midfield.
As of the writing of this sentence, we are faced with six days, nineteen hours and twenty-six minutes until we find out what the boys in blue are capable of.
