World Cup Countdown

By Ridge Mahoney, Senior Editor
Soccer America Magazine

Bruce Arena has less than four months to pick his 23-player squad for the 2006 World Cup. Will new faces burst onto the scene as they did in the lead-up to the 2002 World Cup?

U.S. coach Bruce Arena has two objectives before the USA is off to Germany: Prepare his team to get out of the first round, and make it better than it was while qualifying, quite easily, out of CONCACAF.

Both tasks will be tough slogs up a steep slope.

The odds are heavily against the U.S. surprising teams as it did Portugal and Mexico in 2002, and its poor record (5-10-4) against European teams since Arena took the U.S. job in late 1998 makes the prospects of getting points off Italy and the Czech Republic daunting.

Arena can sharpen the abilities of the players heÆs already auditioned, but itÆs unlikely a significant new face will be found by April when he plans to announce his 23-player squad. The cards he will hold wonÆt change dramatically.

Arena and his staff do have valuable experience from the success of 2002, which was attained by an intelligent run-up to the World Cup, smart choices of facilities and a home base in the South Korean capital of Seoul, and shrewd use of players and tactics in the tournament itself. He also has a larger and better core of players at this stage than he did when he learned who the U.S. would play in the 2002 World Cup first round. In December 2001, Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley had a combined 11 caps, Pablo Mastroeni was a newcomer, and Frankie Hejduk and Eddie Lewis were mired on the bench in Europe.

ôReally the primary responsibility lies in the players in terms of where theyÆre at with their clubs,ö says Arena in reference to all of his players. ôThatÆs what will get the players in the kind of form we need for them to be ready in the World Cup. Hopefully, weÆll have players who are healthy and playing in their first teams. If thatÆs the case, it will help get our team to where it needs to go.ö

Arena has said as many as 14 of the 23 World Cup slots could be filled by European-based players. Several of them are either not playing regularly or injured. The MLS cast includes two or three irreplaceables and many more head-scratchers. If all the candidates are healthy, there are probably two dozen players vying to claim four or five spots.

ôThe domestic players are a big question mark, a couple of players abroad are question marks, so I think the lessons weÆve learned from last time is youÆve got to be patient and have an open mind and see what makes sense as we get closer to our camp,ö says Arena.

We arenÆt that patient, so hereÆs our guess at whom we think Arena will take to Germany. The playersÆ names that appear in bold type are in our squad.

FORWARDS
JohnsonÆs big toe holds key

Brian McBride, whose downfalls are regularly predicted and just as consistently disproved, turns 34 during the 2006 World Cup and bears the dents of dings of throwing himself into tackles and hulking defenders and goalmouth melees. That no strapping, strong, fearless young lad has emerged to replace him is a testament to his value and determination.

The ideal partner for him, or most forwards for that matter, is Eddie Johnson. A striker like Johnson, mobile, strong, fast, hungry and adapting quickly to the perils and pitfalls of the international game, hasnÆt been seen before in U.S. jersey. A tough customer in the box with a defender on his back, Johnson can drift wide and pierce the right flank, as he showed a few times in the qualifiers.

He scares teams, plain and simple, and also gives Arena much more flexibility in how to use Landon Donovan, who can roam in midfield in support of two forwards if not required to play up front himself.

JohnsonÆs injury, a right big toe plagued by stress fractures and sprained ligaments, is most worrying, though. FC Dallas rushed him back into action last August; he played a few games and hasnÆt been seen since.

Much debated is which is the best position for Donovan. The answer: where the team needs him most. HeÆs a game-breaker and a dangerous attacker, sure, but just as valuable are the acres of ground he covers pressuring opponents and sweeping up loose balls.

Speed and experience canÆt be replaced. Along with a reasonable scoring rate of nine goals in 38 internationals, thatÆs why Josh Wolff keeps a spot. His passes can be incisive, as was the case with a diagonal ball to DaMarcus Beasley in November against Scotland. It yielded a penalty Wolff coolly put away despite a loud crowd screaming and whistling.

A rugged backup for McBride may be needed and despite rather poor form since recovering from his latest injury, the chances are that Brian Ching will get this spot ahead of Taylor Twellman.

By occasionally playing with three up top ù a striker flanked by two wingers ù Arena has added another nuance to his attack. The wide players can push high, or drop deep. HeÆs used a combination of midfielders and forwards in the wide positions. First choice on the left is Beasley; other options are Bobby Convey and Eddie Lewis. Donovan, Johnson, Wolff, Justin Mapp and Santino Quaranta have been tried on the right.

MIDFIELDERS
Big hole on right side

Regardless of whether he plays left mid or left wing or somewhere in the middle, Beasley is just as irreplaceable as Donovan. In Europe, heÆs become a much better finisher. HeÆs a pest, and as Mexico confirmed by hacking him repeatedly during the clinching 2-0 U.S. win in Columbus, teams fear him. When BeasleyÆs on, space opens up.

Beasley, Convey and Lewis can play a traditional left mid, and there are plenty of candidates for the central roles besides Donovan: Claudio Reyna, John OÆBrien and Pablo Mastroeni. Yet there remains a hole on the right side, which Donovan often fills and has been used to test Quaranta, Eddie Gaven and Steve Ralston, among others. Another choice, mainly for defensive purposes, would be Frankie Hejduk, who only played seven games in 2005, yet his 68 caps include two World Cups. Frankie can also fill in at the back. (Another name from the past: Cobi Jones, whom Arena recalled for a few qualifiers in 2004.)

Arena says he hasnÆt decided how the team will play, but with as strong a lineup of opponents as Italy, Czech Republic and Ghana, it will have to be resilient in midfield.

If OÆBrien canÆt make the tournament, Donovan is probably used more in midfield than up front to supplement ReynaÆs ability to hold the ball and regulate the tempo of play. The absence of both Reyna and OÆBrien would leave the U.S. dangerously thin in midfield, but with Beasley and Donovan four years further along than they were last time, they add experience as well as physical gifts.

DEFENDERS
Three or four in the back?

Since he took over the national team, Arena has stressed the importance of outside backs being able to trigger attacks by playing balls forward and moving up in support. Steve Cherundolo does this well, but inconsistent tackling and hesitant decision-making cost him a starting spot on the original 2002 team. Only injuries that sidelined first Chris Armas, then Gregg Vanney less than a month before the tournament moved Cherundolo onto the squad of 23. He didnÆt play in the tournament but in the interim has helped German club Hannover stay in the Bundesliga.

This time around, a much stronger and more confident Cherundolo is the right back of choice.

For years, Arena has been searching for a reliable left back, and the search continues into 2006. Unless Lewis proves to the answer or Jonathan Spector suddenly becomes Paolo Maldini, Arena will turn to Carlos Bocanegra in the absence of a clear-cut choice. Chris Albright, although right-footed and more comfortable on the side he plays for the Galaxy, and Spector have been the left backs of recent choice. Convey and Lewis have both been used as de facto left backs in a hybrid role that stations them a bit further up the field than three outright defenders.

ôThere arenÆt that many,ö says Arena of his limited choices. ôThatÆs the way it is.ö Arena will keep the option of playing three in the back, which he used so devastatingly in 2002 against Mexico, in his arsenal. The four-man back line requires crisp communication and synchronization as well as two distinct types: more rugged central players with size and decent speed, and quicker outside backs who can get forward into the attack, pass accurately, and tackle confidently. It also requires a drill sergeant to run the show.

In a three-man system, the duties are straightforward; usually, two players mark and one cleans up as needed, with players interchanging roles if and when circumstances dictate.

Should Arena field just three in the back, Cherundolo, a sweeper with the U-20s, is equally capable of handling the right side. Not so clear is the status of Eddie Pope, a veteran of two World Cups whose inconsistency the past two years belies his reputation as Steady Eddie.

Leaving behind both Pope and Gregg Berhalter would leave the team without an experienced central defender. Jeff Agoos had his faults, and the 2002 World Cup came a year too late for his legs and reactions, but he commanded the back line through two qualification campaigns as well as the 1998 World Cup.

Berhalter took over for Agoos in the 2002 knockout rounds and played well against Mexico and Germany. HeÆll be a bit younger than his former teammate next summer. Agoos was 34 at the 2002 World Cup; Berhalter turns 33 three weeks after the 2006 tournament concludes. Pope will be just 32 next summer.

Pairing the young and strong yet relatively untested Oguchi Onyewu and Cory Gibbs might work in a Gold Cup or a low-level qualifier; it could be catastrophic in a World Cup. Bocanegra has played 38 U.S. games but also lacks World Cup experience. Bocanegra has been used more at left back than in middle by Arena, mirroring his deployment at Fulham last season.

This season, Fulham manager Chris Coleman has given Bocanegra extensive time in the middle. Bocanegra and Berhalter performed solidly in the 1-1 tie with Scotland as the central defenders in a 4-4-2.

GOALKEEPERS
Kasey, then who?

No deep concerns about the starter but what will be the plan should Kasey Keller suffer an injury or be red-carded during the tournament?

For all his insistence that Tim Howard is the U.S. keeper of the future, Arena has backed off anointing him No. 2. Reason? Simple. His lack of first-team playing time, which Marcus Hahnemann is getting plenty of at Reading. Hahnemann isnÆt as gifted, but itÆs likely heÆll be sharper than Howard come May when the European club seasons conclude and MLS candidates will be a month into their seasons. For political reasons, itÆs doubtful Arena would take an MLS keeper as the No. 3 destined to sit and watch. He did with Tony Meola in 2002, but Meola played for him at UVa.

REPLACEMENTS
Auditions in midfield

At the moment, the greatest injury concerns are OÆBrien, Gibbs and Johnson. Arena may not necessarily replace one of these players with another of similar abilities. In 2002, Armas, a projected starter at holding midfielder, gave way to Vanney, then Cherundolo, both outside backs.

The loss of OÆBrien would leave a huge gap in midfield, however, and recently Arena has auditioned Brian Carroll and Ricardo Clark as alternatives to Kerry Zavagnin and Armas. For more depth in the back in the absence of Gibbs, Spector would probably move in.

(This article originally appeared in the January 2006 issue of Soccer America Magazine.)