With the 2006 World Cup receding into a distant (and bad) memory, the U.S. national team now has to successfully defend its 2005 Gold Cup title in order to reassert itself on the international stage, says Luis Bueno of L.A. Soccer News. The Gold Cup is perhaps the only tournament in which the U.S. should be considered the favorite, because “it features a wealth of challenging sides but only one other truly strong nation,” Bueno says. To boot, the competition is being held on home soil, and as the rivalry statistics show, the U.S. is fully capable of beating Mexico on U.S. soil — so no excuses.
More importantly, Bueno says, the team needs to reestablish the confidence was so thoroughly decimated by the Czech Republic in last summer’s World Cup opener. One thing that new head coach Bob Bradley certainly brings to the table is a level of preparedness, both mentally and tactically, that was sorely lacking in that horrible game against Czechs.
The fact that just about everyone in the region (minus the beleaguered Soca Warriors from Trinidad & Tobago due to, um, housekeeping reasons) is bringing in their strongest side shows how important this battle for CONCACAF supremacy has become. As Bueno says, it’s time to show the world that the U.S., undisputedly, is best around here. It all starts Thursday night at 9 PM ET on Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision.