There won’t be much nail-biting, thanks to win in Honduras
Four years ago, it took the Americans five Hexagonal games to get their first six points. Coach Steve Sampson’s squad was as deep as a suntan.
SAN PEDRO SULA – “Not Hussein. Not Castro. Not Gadaffi. Now, he is the most feared man in the United States.”
That accompanied a giant mugshot of a glaring Carlos Pavon on a full page ad that Daniela’s, a sporting goods chain, ran on Honduras-USA game day.
Pavon, Honduras’ leading scorer in World Cup qualifying and a hero for his exploits in the Mexican League, barely got a sniff of the ball in his country’s 2-1 loss to the United States.
And the Daniela’s ad writers weren’t the only ones who got it wrong.
A long-distance phone company invited Hondurans to use its service to, “Call your relatives in the USA and tell them about the Honduras victory.”
The Americans didn’t play scared. They played smart. They played defensively and got a win while going for a tie. They came away with the full six points out of its first two games – having also beaten Mexico at home in Ohio in February.
JUMP START. Before the Honduras match, U.S. coach Bruce Arena said, “Three points after two games would OK, four very good, six terrific.”
There you have it. A terrific start to the 10-game qualifying battle. But how terrific? Four years ago, 14 points was enough to qualify Jamaica from the Hexagonal. The United States has eight games left with 24 points up for grabs – that includes the 12 points available in four homes games.
“Are you crazy!?” hollered U.S. Soccer vice president Sunil Gulati when asked if we could already bank on the U.S. qualification.
“This is a 10-game journey,” said Federation secretary general Dan Flynn, “and if anything, we’ve done our best to educate people how complicated this journey is.”
Are these guys sand-bagging in public and doing cartwheels in private? Their team has shown in two straight games an ability to win despite a slew of injuries. That indicates player-pool strength unforeseen in U.S. history.
Four years ago, it took the Americans five Hexagonal games to get their first six points. Coach Steve Sampson’s squad was as deep as a suntan. MLS had played only one season when his Hexagonal started, and Sampson had to recruit German-raised David Wagner and Michael Mason to fill the ranks.
MLS FACTOR. Six players who saw action against Honduras started their pro careers in MLS, and that doesn’t include a 21-year-old Californian, Steve Cherundolo, who plays in the German Second Division. Arena hailed the performance of his young players. But, of course, he’d be the last guy to begin premature celebrations.
“I think this is going to get crazy,” he said. “I really do. Trinidad has been on the road their first two games. They’re going to get back into it at some point. Jamaica’s in decent shape with three points and having gotten Azteca out of the way.”
Perhaps, but the region’s history shows that the teams that get off to a bad start have great difficulty recovering.
Only Mexico has a sustained history of success, and the others, for which qualification is rare, are inclined to lose confidence quickly. Financial problems also kick in, making it difficult for federations to recall foreign-based players, who are often unwilling to risk the reliable paycheck they do have.
And in the United States is bound to gain momentum as the Hexagonal proceeds. After toiling in its first five games, Sampson’s team picked up eight points in the next four to clinch with 14 – then beat El Salvador to finish at 17. Attribute the improvement to the MLS season, which hadn’t started before the first three U.S. games.
Arena’s squad has picked up two victories before MLS’s kickoff, and 10 of the 18 players he’s fielded are MLS men. They’ll surely be in even better shape for the upcoming qualifiers. Plus, Arena has yet to use Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley.
And if the team keeps its early command of first place, we’ll expect some attack-minded soccer.
by Soccer America executive editor Mike Woitalla