Well folks, here we are, just 36 days away from the most exciting sporting event of the year. Nope, it’s not the NBA or NHL finals, although those will be happening around the same time. I’m talking about the start of the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. I know that most Americans, even those like myself who follow soccer are thinking, “Well that’s cool, but it’s not like the United States is good or anything. We can’t beat a team like Argentina or France.” Well listen up all you unbelievers, I’m here to tell you that we can.
On Tuesday, U.S. men’s soccer coach Bruce Arena named the final 23-man roster that will represent the United States in Korea when the World Cup kicks off on May 31. Included in that roster are several players who have been on the U.S. squad for three World Cups and are sure to make the team a formidable foe come this summer. Among them are, U.S. captain Claudio Reyna, Joe-Max Moore, Cobi Jones and Earnie Stewart, as well as all three U.S. goal keepers, Brad Friedel, Kasey Keller and Tony Meola.
Arena who has led the United States to a 7-3-1 record this year in international play, including the 2002 Gold Cup championship, is coming into this year’s World Cup with the best team the United States has fielded since 1994, when it lost 1-0 to eventual champion Brazil.
While the average age of this year’s squad is 28.7-years-old, the most mature team the United States has sent to the Cup in recent history, several younger players playing Major League Soccer such as the San Jose Earthquake’s Landon Donovan and the Chicago Fire’s DeMarcus Beasley, will give the U.S. team speed and energy to complement the older and more polished veterans on the roster.
The United States, one of only seven nations that have qualified for the World Cup finals four times in a row, will start this year’s World Cup quest against Portugal in Suwon, South Korea on June 5. The team will then face cup host South Korea on June 10, followed by Poland on June 14. While all of these opponents are competitive this year, I would be extremely surprised if the United States did not make it out of the first round. If they do make it out as expected, they will most likely face Italy in the round of 16, which will be the first real challenge for the team. If they can somehow make it out of the second round, then it is anybody’s game, as the World Cup always offers surprises.
This year’s U.S. team is really something for anyone who cares about U.S. sports to get ecstatic about. The United States gets dumped on for its lack of soccer skill and lack of support for the MLS. For those that are fans of soccer, it is imperative that the United States have a good showing at this year’s World Cup. It might be the only chance that soccer has to survive on the professional level within the United States. This is the year for U.S. soccer (yes, soccer, not football) to finally show the world that we can play. For the United States to fall out early in their 2002 campaign would be devastating and would make the World Cup hard to watch deep into the summer. The only thing that could possibly make it worse is another freakin’ Ricky Martin song as the World Cup theme.
