It Seems To Me . . .

Qualifying success does not mask lack of U.S. attack.

By Robert Wagman
SoccerTimes

PANAMA CITY, Panama (Friday, September 10, 2004) -- It's three down and three to go in this semifinal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. The U.S. sits on top of Group A with a victory at home and two draws on the road. With two of their three remaining matches at home, the Americans are in a very strong position to move on to the final qualifying round next year. Still, the U.S. performance last night has to worry manager Bruce Arena, and it should trouble him.

Arena would probably rest more comfortably if he could find a forward who could consistently play at an international pace, take the attendant pounding, create chances and, above all, finish the opportunities that come his way.

In escaping with a 1-1 draw here Wednesday night against Panama, the U.S. used the considerable experience represented by its starting lineup to withstand a furious start from the pumped up home side. After Panama controlled the opening 10 minutes, the Americans took charge and dominated over much of the next 35 minutes. A number of U.S. players created chances, but no one could finish.

That failure proved costly when Panama assumed total control after intermission and received the inevitable goal when Roberto Brown scored off a rebound following a point-blank save by Kasey Keller in the 69th minute. Panama probably should have scored a couple more, but left the door open for the Americans to manage a last-gasp draw.

After Brian Ching gave the U.S. a 1-1 draw at Jamaica August 18 with a tally in the 89th minute, Cobi Jones provided the heroics Wednesday, scoring from eight yards when Landon Donovan's attempted shot from a large puddle instead squirted to Jones' feet.

When the U.S. had trouble finishing in the Group A opener in Jamaica, the word was that once Conor Casey got healthy and Ching gained a bit of international experience, the American offense would get rolling. Well Casey is healthy and Ching started his second qualifying match, but if the performance against Panama was any indication, neither seems to be the answer for now.

Perhaps, the biggest surprise other than Panama taking over with such dominance in the final 45 minutes, was the way Casey was pushed around, despite his size. The German Bundesliga, where he plays with Mainz, is supposed to be a physical league, but Casey was on the ground an awful lot here and had difficulty maintaining his position when challenged by a defender.

The U.S. attack seems out of balance and off kilter. With no natural defensive midfielder available with injuries to both Chris Armas and Pablo Masteroni, Claudio Reyna was needed to slip back into that slot and try to orchestrate the offense from deeper in the back. One result is much of the U.S. offense tended to move down the wings. When an opponent can deny the ball to DaMarcus Beasley on the left, as Panama did, with close and physical marking, the Americans have problems.

Normally, the U.S. can depend on good team defense and strong goalkeeping. In the second half Wednesday, it seemed the waterlogged field got to several American defenders. With the outside midfielders not dropping back quickly enough to help, Panama was given too much space and it seemed only matter of time until the home team scored.

"In these away matches, if you don't get a goal early, you end up in trouble," said Keller, a veteran of more than a decade of CONCACAF qualifiers all around Central America and the Caribbean. "It happened in Jamaica last month and again tonight."

Arena appears not to be too concerned, at least about this round. "I've said it over and over, it's always difficult to play away qualifiers in this confederation (with) the crowds, the field conditions," he said. "But the way you advance is by winning at home and then denying your opponents two points on the road. We're right on schedule."

But Arena certainly should be concerned for the longer term. He needs to start getting some offensive consistency. On one level, he can be proud of the way the teams fought back for two road draws, "Passing the character test," the way he put it. However, this team seems too deep and too talented to be having so much trouble scoring goals.

Group A has developed quite differently than most people believed at the start of the round, when it seemed the U.S. and Jamaica would walk away with the two slots that advance to the next round. After an opening match loss to El Salvador, Panama was written off by many, but after winning at Jamaica and nearly defeating the U.S., it remains in the thick of things.

"We should have won, but I'm satisfied to be were we are at this point." said Panamanian coach Jose (Cheche) Hernandez said through an interpreter. "We are playing very positively and that's what makes me satisfied."

Next for the U.S. is a difficult October 9 visit to El Salvador, a place where the Americans have never won a qualifying match. Right now, El Salvador is at the bottom of the group standings but only a point behind Panama and Jamaica and two behind the U.S. The Salvadorans are within striking distance, but have their backs to the wall. The match in El Salvador, especially given the bad blood stirred up Saturday in the 2-0 loss to the U.S. in Foxborough, Mass., points to an even uglier, more contentious struggle in San Salvador than usually takes place when the U.S. visits.

Arena has some work to do. If the U.S. can't start scoring early on the road, the next round of qualifying, with five road matches, might become very long indeed.

Robert Wagman is a SoccerTimes senior correspondent. E-mail Robert Wagman.