A look ahead to Saturday's World Cup qualifying matches has most of the power teams in Europe starting off their campaigns against teams that they shouldn't have much of a problem beating. France, begins their qualifying bid in Austria, which is probably the toughest match-up for a big squad. Not that anyone expects a shocking result there.
Two nations that begin their qualifying groups filled with more uncertainty and less expectation than they arrived in Germany with 2 years ago, are the U.S. and England. Both teams have suffered through an identity crisis or two in the past, something I'll touch on in future coverage, and are looking as much to shape their squads as they are looking for results in these first few matches.
U.S.A.Cuba vs. United States
Saturday, Sept. 6th
The U.S. squad heads into their second qualifying match against Cuba, ranked 28th in the world. A far cry from the excitement in the years leading up to Germany, where they were a top ten squad, at one point just before the WC 2006, reaching 4th in the world. That's right, it really happened, we were 4th in the world, a country laden with xenophobic "soccer" fans and media, trailed only Brazil, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. Of course, Fifa's ranking system is pretty ridiculous, as no one ever thought the Americans were the 4th best team in the world, but the expectations had been raised and that was a good thing.
The bad thing was our performance in that World Cup. Outside of a 1-1 draw with the eventual champions Italy, in a game in which the U.S. were hard done by the officials (the Italian team should have all won Oscars or Donatellos or whatever you get in Italy for acting like you've just been assaulted by street toughs), and were the better team, the games were a bust. Our men finished dead last, albeit in the toughest group, but still we were fourth in the world and finished fourth in our group. Landon Donovan's WC performance made Frank Lampard's play in Germany look Zindanish by comparison.
This time around the expectations our lower and our squad is probably more talented. Michael Bradley is developing into a fantastic midfielder and with his move to the Bundesliga, he should be even more tested for tough international battles. Maurice Edu, Clint Dempsey, and Freddy Adu are all playing at a high level in Europe. Oguchi Onyewu is a solid, if inconsistent, center back, and Jozy Altidore's move to Villareal should have him in fine form by 2010. And let's not forget our legion of talented goaltenders, Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann, and Brad Guzan.
The Cuba game should be interesting, as it is rare that we go into to Cuba and come out with anything but our tail between our legs (Wow, that joke would've had the CIA at my door in the 1960s). I look for the U.S. to find their feet and grind out victories on the road, until they can find a comfortable and consistent lineup, and gain some real cohesion. Bob Bradley has them going in the right direction though.
EnglandAndorra vs. England
Saturday Sept. 6th
Every time before a big tournament or during qualifying for one, you will hear a lot of the same thing from the England players. They will talk about how their star players have to come up big on the international stage, how they need to fit into their roles on the squad, and how each time out they need to send a message.
On Saturday, their message sending will be done against the tiny nation of Andorra, in a game that will be played in Barcelona. I recently had a conversation with a friend, while discussing the qualifying match-up, that went something like this......
Friend: So is Andorra in France or Spain?
Me: Neither, it's in Andorra.
Friend: Yeah, but what country surrounds it?
Me: It's in between France and Spain, in the Pyrenees.
Friend: The Pyrenees, what country is that?
Me: Oh boy, mountains, The Pyrenees are mountains.
Friend: Oh cool, so are Andorran people French or Spanish.
Me: Neither, they're Andorran.
I proceeded to tell him that they speak Catalan, but I quickly changed the subject before his head exploded.
I digress, so regardless of whether England beats Andorra 1-0 or 9-0, I don't think that Croatia will be any more or less concerned. What England needs to concern themselves with is the possible absence of Rio Ferdinand, and the definite no-shows, Steven Gerrard and Owen Hargreaves. I believe that Gerrard and Hargreaves should be their central midfielders for 2010, and they'll need them in the squad as much as possible in the next two years.
We hear a lot about players like, Gareth Barry, David Bentley, and Jermaine Defoe needing to shine to hold down a place in the squad. For me, I believe that it's Frank Lampard that should be on his last legs as an England international. He has been dreadful over and over again for his nation. Okay, 14 goals in 62 caps is not bad statistically, but he has disappeared in every single big match he has had for England. I think that this first half of the WC qualifiers should be his last chance to impress Capello.
And I know it has been said a million times, but he plays a similar attacking style to Stevie G (without those pesky 40 yard runs), and is non-existent on the other side of the pitch. Unless you count fumbling tackles and overplaying balls good defense. The two of them cannot coexist and Gerrard is, in my opinion, England's best player. Keeping Lampard as a late goal scoring substitute option would be okay, if he played well for his country, which he hasn't.
The hope is that England can get it together like Spain did this summer, and turn their collection of stars into a team. Maybe West Ham can make qualifying a little easier by prying the outlandish Croatian manager, Slaven Bilic, away from his national team.
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