By Ridge Mahoney
Africa is Africa, one huge, mysterious continent to the rest of the world, except when you're talking about soccer.
Want to get a Nigerian riled up? Tell him how good Cameroon is. Needless to say, the pragmatic Cameroonian reliance on defense doesn't impress fans in Lagos. And vice versa.
So to put a lot of faith in Morocco, tonight's U.S. foe in the first of three warmup matches* prior to the team's departure for Germany, being much like Ghana is scarcely relevant. As Coach Bruce Arena stated repeatedly throughout the team's training camp in Cary, N.C., these games are about his team, not anybody else's
(The USA-Morocco friendly on Tuesday airs 7 pm ET/4 pm PT on live ESPN2, delay on Telemundo, 11:30 ET/PT)
Fitness levels vary wildly, players are in various stages of overall health, and these three games are vital to establish rhythms and patterns, sharpen cohesion, work on tactics, and forge fortitude.
Latvia equals Czech Republic? Absurd. Venezuela a mirror image to Italy? Except for the fact both countries are embroiled in political upheavals, no.
Facing three matches in six days, the Americans could start one squad in games one and three and field a different XI for game two. Arena followed this procedure during the 2003 Confederations Cup, and with 24 players in camp – Herenveen midfield Michael Bradley has been training with the team and will dress for all three games – he could do so again.
The Tuesday and Sunday matches also follow the same schedule as the first round of the World Cup, during which there will be four days of rest between games.
The 23 players chosen by Arena can be neatly allotted in a 4-4-2 formation with two players at each field position, plus the three goalkeepers. In a 3-5-2 or variation thereof, the breakdown is not so clear, but versatility in the squad gives Arena the luxury of using a Landon Donovan or Josh Wolff or Eddie Lewis or Clint Dempsey or Chris Albright or Cory Gibbs in more than one spot.
The long search for a left back has led Lewis to that position, but he just returned from England and a 3-0 Leeds United loss to Watford in the English Premier League promotion final. Will Arena choose Gibbs or Carlos Bocanegra instead, or tweak his formation? The speed of Gibbs gives him an edge on the outside but hes solid in the middle as well.
Bobby Convey buzzed through an excellent season for Reading, which romped to the League Championship title and clinched an EPL spot more than month ago.
Convey's an obvious alternative to DaMarcus Beasley at left mid, and although Arena has tried him at left back it wasnt a good fit. Convey played centrally with the U.S. under-20s but only rarely under Arena. If more than one of the central midfielders were to break down, Donovan probably would be first choice to fill in, assuming the right mid spot is taken.
In some games Wolff lined up at forward and Donovan at right mid, but during the match they interchanged positions. Dempsey has been impressive in camp, yet hes not a wide player, and would tuck further inside than the other two.
Dempsey will be watched closely, as he brings the same boldness and brio to the team as did Donovan and Beasley in 2002. Many eyes will scrutinize John O'Brien, still short of sufficient fitness to play 90 minutes. He'll get at least one start but perhaps not tonight. Also of critical importance is Pablo Mastroeni, the first alternative to O'Brien and Claudio Reyna if the injury bug bites again.
During camp, Eddie Johnson showed some of the edge and spark that brought him eight goals in his first eight internationals. Perhaps he's put his mind and body right. He'll see a lot of time in these three games, paired with either of the Brians, McBride and Ching. Or Donovan. Arena has occasionally played with a single outright striker and two wingers/forwards out wide.
Do three games mean each of the three goalies gets a start? A minor point, except that the choice of a No. 2 goalkeeper would be critical if Kasey Keller were to be ejected or injured during the tournament.
Tim Howard played a very sharp half in the 1-0 win over Poland on March 1 and Arena wants him to get another taste of "real" action before landing in Germany. Marcus Hahnemann last played a "real" game weeks ago when Reading clinched the League Championship title.
Players and coaches are already in World Cup mode. Nobody is discussing starters, subs, formations, or tactics. Safe to say all concerned are taking these three games one at a time.
* USA Farewell Tour Schedule
Tuesday, May 23 USA vs. Morocco in Nashville, Tenn. (TV: 7 pm ET/4 pm PT on ESPN2)
Friday, May 26 USA vs. Venezuela in Cleveland, Ohio (TV: 7 pm ET/4 pm PT on ESPN2)
Sunday, May 28 USA vs. Latvia in East Hartford, Conn. (TV: 7 pm ET/4 pm PT on ESPN2)
(Telemundo will carry all the games on same-day delay)