By Ridge Mahoney in Columbus, Ohio Most of the familiar faces will be in their regular places Saturday when the U.S. national team faces Mexico with a chance to clinch a spot in the 2006 World Cup.
One face, though, that of Revs midfielder Steve Ralston, hasn't been seen all that often in such a big game. By his own admission, he's played mostly friendlies and the odd game against lesser opposition for much of his national team career. Yet – although Coach Bruce Arena has refused to reveal his starting lineup – Ralston is expected to start against Mexico.
''In past years I played mostly in friendlies here and there,'' said Ralston, whose 12 appearances in 2005 are by far the most he's played in a year since his debut in 1997. He did not confirm that he would start but is ready to go if that is the case. ''This year I've played in qualifiers and in a lot of games, so I feel more confident about my game.
''You have to be mentally prepared for every single play. That's the biggest thing. Maybe in MLS you can get away with little things but at this level, it's tough. It's not just the speed, it's the mental part as well.''
There's always a critical mental element when the U.S. plays Mexico, and this matchup has the added allure of clinching a spot in the 2006 World Cup for the winner. Both teams are virtually assured of qualification, anyway, yet the Americans are itching to reverse a 2-1 loss to Mexico at Azteca Stadium in March and maintain their fine record (3-0-3) at Crew Stadium. At the insistence of Arena, this game is being played in Columbus to maximize the homefield advantage and minimize the effect of whatever Mexican fans attend.
''Hopefully we will have that homefield edge and I'm thinking we will,'' said striker Brian McBride, an inaugural member of the Columbus Crew who left to play in England for Fulham in January, 2004. ''They've hired a new groundskeeper and he's cut the grass short. It's a flat surface and a great surface to play on.''
Mexico is missing suspended midfielder Pavel Pardo and fiery attacker Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who wasn't chosen by Coach Ricardo LaVolpe. Salvador Carmona and Aaron Galindo were given a one-year suspension for testing positive for a derivative of nandrolone, a banned anabolic steroid, at the Confederations Cup.
Out through injury are U.S. defenders Steve Cherundolo and Cory Gibbs. Released earlier this week to play for their MLS teams were Clint Dempsey and Matt Reis (New England), Greg Vanney (FC Dallas), Justin Mapp (Chicago), and Chad Marshall (Columbus). They could be recalled for the match Wednesday in Guatemala City, depending on the result and what transpires in the other two CONCACAF matches today: Trinidad & Tobago-Guatemala and Panama-Costa Rica.
U.S. Soccer has declared the game a sellout but there are auxiliary seating areas for which tickets are being sold. The official capacity of 22,500 will be exceeded but a federation official couldn't say by just how much. The 2001 encounter, won 2-0 by the U.S. and popularly known as La Guerra Fria, drew 24,624.
A college marching band will perform the national anthem, a parachutist will – weather permitting – drop from the sky trailing a huge American flag, and there will be fireworks display after the game – but only if the U.S. wins.
Said Landon Donovan, ''Everything balled up into one: Beat Mexico and qualify. There's no better scenario.''