U.S. men

Americans look to defeat Cuba, earn berth in final qualifying round.

By Robert Wagman
SoccerTimes

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Friday, October 10, 2008) -- If there were to be an easy match for the United States men in the semifinal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, it would probably be Saturday's home contest against Cuba at RFK Stadium. The 7 p.m. (ET) match will be televised by ESPN Classic and Spanish-language Galavision.

The U.S. is 3-0 with nine points halfway through this round, including a 1-0 victory September 6 over Cuba (0-3) in Havana. Trinidad & Tobago and Guatemala are both 1-1-1 with four points with the top two teams from this six-match group advancing to next year's six-national final round.

U.S. coach Bob Bradley and his players are not taking Saturday's opponent lightly with a triumph over Cuba guaranteeing advancement to the final round. That would leave matches in T&T Wednesday and against Guatemala in Commerce City, Colo., November 19 to look at other players who might help the Americans in the final round or in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

"We're not taking this Cuban team lightly," Bradley said after a training session at RFK. "There is too much at stake. We have the chance to nail down a spot in the final round, so we are treating them as we would any of our CONCACAF opponents, and we're going to hopefully give a maximum effort."

Bradley never releases his starting lineup until an hour before match time, but the starting 11 will probably be the same as in a 3-0 qualifying win over T&T September 10 in Bridgeview, Ill., with one exception. A fit DaMarcus Beasley is expected to replace Sacha Kljestan in midfield.

The anticipated lineup with have Tim Howard in goal; Steve Cherundolo, Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu and Heath Pearce along the back-line; Maurice Edu, Michael Bradley, Beasley and Clint Dempsey in the midfield, with Landon Donovan and Brian Ching on top.

If prior games are an indication, Donovan will be more comfortable coming out of the midfield, as is Dempsey, leaving Ching to operate as a single striker.

Two players who have logged considerable minutes in recent national-team games are not here. Midfielders Eddie Lewis and Pablo Mastroeni were not called into this camp, at least for Saturday's clash with Cuba. Both have been left with their Major League Soccer teams, the Los Angeles Galaxy and Colorado Rapids, respectively, with the clubs meeting this weekend in the midst of the playoff race.

Bradley says he is glad the team is together for a full week ahead of the game Saturday, which is followed with Wednesday's date in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.

"We have players who are at the end of a long season and they are tired," Bradley said. "We have players who are just at the starts of their seasons. Then too, we have players who are not starting on their teams and playing week in and week out, so they are at a different level of fitness. But everyone here seems to be in good shape and ready to play."

Midfielder Freddy Adu, who sees just a few minutes as a reserve with Monaco of France, is ready to go.

"I am very fit," he said. "We have long training sessions (at Monaco) every day and the training sessions are my games. Several times a week, we have full 90-minute inter-squad scrimmages. So I am match-fit and ready to go a full 90 minutes whenever coach (Bradley) calls on me."

Cuba is still something of an unknown factor. Supposedly, its German coach Reinhold Franz has made several lineup changes since losing 1-0 at home to the U.S. September 6. One player who is known is veteran winger Jaine Colome, who was unable to play against the Americans in Havana. He is expected to be in the lineup Saturday.

Assuming the U.S. clinches its berth in the final round by defeating Cuba here on Saturday night, this would allow Bradley to experiment Wednesday against T&T.

"We have 23 players here in camp this week," Bradley said. "So we have the ability to make changes in who we take to Trinidad if we win on Saturday," he said. "We won't release a squad list until Sunday and it will depend greatly on the result Saturday night."

If the Americans win against Cuba, it is likely that a number of starters will head back to Europe. That would leave both Jozy Altidore and Freddy Adu, and goalkeeper Brad Guzan ready to step into the starting lineup. Forward Charlie Davies and newcomer José Francisco Torres, a midfielder, could earn their first caps.

Bradley did not rule out calling in additional MLS players for the trip to T&T.

Still, those at the current camp are trying not to look past Cuba. "We need to win this one on Saturday so we move on," keeper Tim Howard said. "In qualifying, you just can't afford to take anyone lightly."

Note: Defender Jay DeMerit will not play in either match with a strained hamstring.

Forwards (3): Reynier Alcantara, Leonel Duarte, Mario Ruiz.

Do you have a comment on this story or something to say about soccer in general? Send us a letter.