By Paul Kennedy, Managing Editor
Soccer America
in Dortmund, Germany

The stakes in Wednesday's Germany-USA game here (TV, ESPN2, live, 2:25 pm ET) show how differently soccer in the two countries is viewed.

A loss for Germany would be disaster, says U.S. right back Steve Cherundolo, a veteran of seven German league seasons. There isn't a German fan who doesn't believe that a loss at home would cost Coach Juergen Klinsmann his job.

A USA loss would, well, reinforce the impression here that the USA still isn't much of a soccer nation, even though it has split its last four meetings with Germany and reached the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup.

Bruce Arena, the U.S. coach, is the dean of national team coaches – no coach currently in his job has served for a longer period of time than he has – but he's a realist.

"I don't think," he says, "there are too many coaches in Europe who are looking at me and are very impressed, believe me. You realize the respect Americans have at this point is small."

One coach who respects Arena is Klinsmann. Arena took the USA job in 1998, at about the same time Klinsmann retired as a player and moved his family to Southern California, not far from the Home Depot Center, where Arena's U.S. team often trains. Arena and Klinsmann often talked – but not about their jobs.

"Juergen is a friend,' Arena said. "We never discussed our jobs. He doesn't need to coach my team, and I don't need to coach his team."

Arena would love to see soccer grow in the United States, but he isn't too sure "after seeing how everyone has treated my friend Juergen. I'm not sure if I'd want this kind of pressure in the United States."

That pressure included Klinsman being called to meet last week with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Franz Beckenbauer, the head of the World Cup organizing committee.

Approaching the end of his second World Cup cycle as national team coach, Arena says the hype surrounding any friendly game – Wednesday's included – is ridiculous.

"In the big picture, a result is not that important for either team," Arena said. "The most important game is the opening game of the World Cup. If we beat Germany tomorrow, that's not important to me. I need a result against Italy, the Czech Republic and Ghana at the World Cup."

What is important about the Germany game for Arena is that World Cup candidates play well and ease his task of picking the 23 players who will return to Germany to play in the World Cup in 10 weeks.

"I think I'm comfortable with anywhere from 12-16 players and probably a little bit closer [to the final 23]," Arena says. "And we have this game and our game in April [against Jamaica in Cary, N.C.] before I have to make our final determination on May 15. I think if I had to name a roster today, I could do it."

The USA goes into the Germany game the heavy underdog. Claudio Reyna, Brian McBride, Carlos Bocanegra and Eddie Lewis weren't called in from England – the game is not a FIFA friendly fixture date – and DaMarcus Beasley like Reyna, McBride and Lewis, a holdover from the 2002 World Cup – remained at PSV, where he has experienced a worrying loss of form.

Landon Donovan and Frankie Hejduk were scratched for injuries after the roster was announced, and Eddie Pope is ill and hasn't trained in Dortmund. That's three more World Cup vets out.

The Germany game will give Arena a chance to see the form of Cory Gibbs, who hasn't appeared for the USA since he was injured last May and hasn't played in the Dutch Eredivisie for ADO since leaving Feyenoord in January. One lesson of '02 is not to again get caught short of defenders late in the World Cup. Gibbs, Jimmy Conrad and Gregg Berhalter could seal World Cup spots with strong games next to Cherundolo, a sure bet at right back come June, against Germany.

Bobby Convey has won a spot on the U.S. 23 but would make a case for inclusion in the Starting XI in the opener against the Czech Republic on June 12 with another strong performance like the one he had in the 1-0 win against Poland in the snow three weeks ago in Kaiserslautern.

Arena is expected to take only four forwards to Germany in June, which means one of the four who's here – Taylor Twellman, Josh Wolff, Eddie Johnson or Brian Ching – could slip if he doesn't play well against Germany. (McBride is a go for a third World Cup unless he's injured.)

"We have a number of players fighting for positions on the final roster," Arena said, "and this game will tell us a lot."