U.S. men

Advancement in hand, Bradley calls in inexperienced team to face Guatemala.

By Robert Wagman
SoccerTimes

(Tuesday, November 18, 2008) -- With advancement to the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying secured, United States men's coach Bob Bradley has the luxury of calling in a team almost exclusively consisting of reserves for tomorrow night's final semifinal match against Guatemala at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.

The 8 p.m. (ET) game against Guatemala will be televised by ESPN Classic and Spanish-language Galavision.

The U.S. (4-1, 12 points) clinched first place in Group A but, while Wednesday night's match is meaningless for the Americans, it is desperately important to Guatemala. The only way the Guatemalans (1-2-2, 5) advance is to win, while last-place Cuba (1-4, 3) defeats Trinidad and Tobago (2-1-2, 8).

Guatemala's hopes of advancement were dealt a serious blow when it lost its last qualifier at home to T&T 3-1. With the top two teams from each of three CONCACAF advancing to the final round, if Guatemala wins and T&T loses, the two teams will be tied, but Guatemala will advance on better goal differential.

Bradley will have the opportunity to look at several players he might otherwise not see. Maybe one or more of those will demonstrate something that might prove helpful in the final round of qualifying or the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, should the U.S. advance.

Several of Bradley's players are looking to make their first international appearance. Only midfielders Ricardo Clark, Sacha Kljestan and Pablo Mastroeni, and forward Brian Ching have seen significant playing time in the past.

Most of the squad comes from Major League Soccer. Bradley has added five European-based players -- goalkeepers Brad Guzan and Troy Perkins, midfielders Clarence Goodson and Freddy Adu, and striker Jozy Altidore.

"This match gives us an opportunity to test many of our players in what will be a very hard game," Bradley said. "Guatemala will certainly be pressing for a victory and we want to end this round on a positive note. Dick's Sporting Goods Park is one of the finest soccer facilities in the country and we are looking forward to our first appearance there."

There is no indication as to what the American starting lineup will be, Bradley might give rugged striker Kenny Cooper the start that many fans have been clamoring for, pairing him with Altidore in front of Adu in the center of the midfield.

After losing to T&T, Ramon Madariaga was fired as Guatemala coach, while former player Benjamin Monterroso was hired to replace him. This is Monterroso's third time around, having previously coached the Chapines in 1998-99 and 2003-04. He also coached during the Olympic qualifying rounds in 2000.

The visiting U.S. defeated Guatemala 1-0 in Guatemala City in the opening game of this round in a bruising, physical match. The young team Bradley fields Wednesday can expect the same kind of game and it will be interesting to see if the inexperienced U.S. squad will be able to match the intensity.

The U.S. Costa Rica and El Salvador have already advanced to the final round and the three remaining teams to go forward will emerge tomorrow. Barring major upsets, Mexico, T&T and either Jamaica or Honduras should move on.

Forwards (6): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal, Spain), Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards, MLS), Conor Casey (Colorado, MLS), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo, MLS), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas, MLS), Chris Rolfe (Chicago, MLS).

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