|
U.S. men's schedule, results
U.S. men's roster
Bocanegra header is enough for 1-1 draw with Poland
Lackadaisical Americans are lucky to tie Poland.
Americans take it to next round with 3-2 defeat of Grenada.
Mission accomplished for Americans in disposing of Grenada.
Beasley's pair sparks 3-0 victory over Grenada to open qualifing series.
Second-half goals relieve pressure on U.S. for Grenada return leg.
McBride's two goals spark 4-0 romp over Honduras as Reyna reaches 100-cap milestone.
U.S. heads into qualifying on positive note after drubbing Honduras.
Pope knocks home rebound in stoppage time to defeat Mexico 1-0.
U.S. put in impressive effort against Mexico, even before Pope won it.
Beasley goal defeats Poland 1-0, hands Arena first win over host Europeans.
Gritty American effort defeats Poland for first win of 2004.
Califf's tally late in stoppage time salvages 1-1 draw with Haiti.
Outplayed by Haiti, Americans are fortunate to gain 1-1 draw.
|
U.S. men Arena is assembling roster for qualifier against Jamaica.By Robert Wagman
(Thursday, August 12, 2004) -- While the United States women are center stage in Greece with their Summer Olympics quest for gold, the American men are getting ready for some important work of their own. U.S. men's coach Bruce Arena is quietly -- some say secretively -- putting together a 22-man roster for the semifinal round of World Cup qualifying which starts Wednesday at Jamaica. Just about everybody Arena chooses will play a weekend game with his club -- in Europe or Major League Soccer -- and then report to Miami, Fla. Arena will announce the roster Sunday night or Monday morning. The U.S. easily disposed of Grenada 3-0 at home and 3-2 away for an aggregate of 6-2 in its first qualifying action on the road to the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The U.S. moved into Group A with Jamaica, Panama and El Salvador for the semifinal round, the third overall round in CONCACAF, the region that includes North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Twelve nations, broken into three four-team round-robin groups, remain in competition for CONCACAF's three or four berths in the 2006 World Cup. The top two countries from each group advance to the final round, a six-team round-robin affair. The other semifinal groups:
Five semifinal matches will be played Wednesday. In addition to Jamaica hosting the U.S. at the National Stadium in Kingston, Panama travels to San Salvador to meet El Salvador at the Estadio Cuscatlán. Canada hosts Guatemala at Swangard Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, while Honduras visits Costa Rica at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela. St. Vincent & The Grenadines hosts Trinidad & Tobago at the Arnos Vale Playing Field in Kingstown. Mexico's trip to Warner Park Stadium in Basseterre to face St. Kitts & Nevis was rescheduled for November 13. In each group, the members play each other twice, home and away, for a total of six matches. With three points for a victory and one point for a tie and the top two making it to the final round, 11 points or more will secure advancement and 10 points will just about assure moving ahead. The common wisdom in qualifying is to win at home and play for a draw on the road. Winning all three home games means that one victory, or a draw or two on the road, would mean advancement. The CONCACAF semifinal round will be completed in November. The final round will be played in 2005 and consist of six nations, playing each other member twice for a total of 10 games. The top three automatically qualify for the 2006 World Cup while the fourth-place team plays Asia's fifth-place finisher in a two-game, aggregate-goals series for a fourth Cup berth. The outlook for CONCACAF semifinal groups: Group A -- The U.S. and Jamaica are the two favorites to advance going into the round. Clearly, Panama is the weak sister. El Salvador traditionally has had a great home-field advantage, but has had poor results recently. Meanwhile, Jamaica, with its nucleus of European and MLS-based players, has looked good. The U.S. should be able to win its home games and get some points on the road, but one bad result on home soil shouldn't prove fatal. Group B -- This is clearly the toughest group with any of the four members capable of advancing. At the moment, Costa Rica would seem the slight favorite, but barely slipped by Cuba in the second round in a tiebreaker (2-1 advantage on road goals), leading to the firing of its coach Steve Sampson. Canada, under former San Jose Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop, looks improved from four years ago with a nucleus of European-based players. Honduras is a question mark after coach Bora Milutinovic walked out because of media and fan criticism despite advancing from the second round. New coach Raúl Martínez Sambulá seems to have the team playing well. Guatemala, led by coach Ramón (Primitivo) Maradiaga is also playing well lately, led by the Los Angeles Galaxy striker Carlos Ruiz. Guatemala is hoping to live down its disappointing qualifying results of four years ago. Group C -- Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago should have no trouble getting by weak sisters, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, and St. Kitts & Nevis. The Mexican Federation's biggest problem will probably be selling tickets to its home matches. T&T must at least be wary. Since easily dispatching the Domincan Republic in the second round, the Trinidadians have suffered through some poor results recently.
Robert Wagman is a SoccerTimes senior correspondent. E-mail Robert Wagman. |
