USMNT Group Stage Priorities

Monday, December 14, 2009 | View Comments
Makhaya Ntini, Simphiwe Dludlu, David Beckham, Charlize Theron, Jerome Valcke, John Smit, Simphiwe Dludlu

The United States will get three chances to gain precious points and advance out of the group stage of the World Cup next June in South Africa. Whether it's England, Slovenia, or Algeria, every match is worth the exactly the same; there is no "bonus" for beating the highly-rated English, just as there is no penalty for earning points in the other two matches alone.


Fully aware of that particular reality, and because the US will find itself with an easier task (note I said "easier" not "easy") against Slovenia and Algeria, there must be some temptation for American head coach Bob Bradley to focus more energy on the two lesser teams in the group than on big fish England.


And could we really blame him?


There's a problem with that thinking, however, and we only need to look back to 2006 to identify it; the Americans, led by Bruce Arena, and admittedly in a much tougher group than they will see in South Africa, started the tournament on a low with a crushing 0-3 defeat to the Czech Republic. Although the Americans rebounded a bit in their second match against eventual champion Italy, a notorious slow starter themselves, they crashed to earth in their final match, losing 1-2 to Ghana. All of that added up to one point, last place in the group, and a depressing return home with nothing to show for the effort. The argument could be made that the first game of the group round set the tone for the rest of the schedule; by laying an egg against the Czechs, the Americans may have lost any confidence they had and carried that bad feeling into the remaining two matches. It wasn't necessarily the loss that did them in, but the reverberations of a utterly terrible performance.


Hence the dilemma for 2010. Bob Bradley has a daunting task ahead of him, regardless of the opponents his team will face in June. Slovenia and Algeria, while not the caliber of England, are no pushovers. Advancing to the knockout round is not a guarantee, and it will take strong efforts and cohesive team play in each and every match to amass enough points to move on. To that point, a strong start against England, the first match of the round on June 12th, is crucial to gaining that most enigmatic of sports principles, momentum.


A win isn't absolutely necessary, though playing well enough to deserve one might be. Bradley's preparations, both in terms of scouting and tactics, will likely be evenly split between each of the three opponents; but if a good start is massively important, and England is the best team in the group, shouldn't more focus go to Fabio Capello's team to best prepare the Americans for the match?


That's where my vote lies. That isn't to say that Bradley and his team can afford to take either Slovenia or Algeria, or both, lightly; it's just that a strong start to the tournament seems so important to the Americans that bringing more to bear on the opener is the right way to go. Besides, the two aren't mutually exclusive; the US can both focus more of their energy on the clash with England and still give the proper respect to their other two opponents. It's a delicate balance, but one Bob Bradley gets paid to maintain, and if he's either unequipped or unable to do so, then the US is doomed no matter how they decide to approach the group stage.


Though the points don't count more, there is a "bonus" element to any gained against England. The US isn't supposed to win or draw that match, meaning that doing so would put them in the catbird seat to advance. With another win, against one of the two more beatable teams in the group, their passage to the knockout rounds could be cemented. Adding the surge of adrenaline, confidence, and yes, swagger, to the mix would certainly serve them well heading into a match against another quality opponent from Group D (made up of Germany, Australia, Ghana, and Serbia).


But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First things first, and that just so happens to be England. To trot out a well-worn cliché so often used in American sports, it's all about "one game at a time".


So Bob, do your team a favor and apply that axiom. Put everything you can into the first match on your schedule. Give the English hell, because it's the best way to turn this World Cup into an American success story.
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