But never have I seen the United States win a game, or indeed imagined them winning one, like Wednesday night’s–a road game on the treacherous Central American turf, where they were totally outplayed by the opposition and straitjacketed by a Guatemalan referee. Now I have. With just a few minutes to go in its World Cup qualifying contest against the Honduras, Clint Mathis curled a free kick just over a five-man wall and just past the outstretched hands of the diving goalkeeper. The perfect 22-yarder gave the United States a 2-1 victory, its second upset win in a row, and a perch atop its World Cup qualifying group.
The United States has never had a particularly easy time qualifying for the World Cup. In fact, it has been almost a dozen years since the United States won a World Cup qualifying game on the road in Central America. Moreover, this six-team group from North and Central America and the Caribbean, out of which three teams qualify for the Finals, seemed the strongest ever. But the United States has now bested what may be the two toughest teams in the field, Mexico and Honduras. And if it can defend its home turf, as it usually does, next month against Costa Rica in Kansas City, Mo., the Yanks may just breeze into the 2002 Cup, to be held in Japan and South Korea.
What made the victory even more amazing is that the United States played without four injured front-liners: arguably its best midfield playmaker, Claudio Reyna, its two top strikers, Brian McBride and Joe-Max Moore, and its swiftest defender, Eddie Pope. In addition, coach Bruce Arena played Brad Friedel in goal, even after recalling the putative starter, Kasey Keller, from Spain for the contest. It is unimaginable that the United States could have won such a game four years ago. What has changed is the depth of the U.S. squad, a welcome byproduct of Major League Soccer’s development of young, homegrown talent. The Americans may not yet be loaded with stars, but they are now deep-deeply solid or deeply mediocre depending if you’re a glass half-empty or half-full kind of fan.
Make no mistake. The only thing really impressive was the final score, which required a fluke deflection and Mathis’s magic bullet. The front line of Ante Razov and Josh Wolff was practically invisible, a particular disappointment after Wolff’s surprising star turn against Mexico. The defensive back line, particularly on its veteran left side, seemed to allow the skillful Hondurans too much free reign. And though Friedel made one stunning save (and was bailed out another time by the crossbar), he seemed unusually tentative-especially for a 6-foot-4 keeper who towered over the Honduran attackers-on balls lofted into the box.
There were also composure issues. Veteran Cobi Jones, a late substitute, made an unconscionable mistake by getting tossed out of the game in the final minute, even if he was the victim of a horrendous noncall. That’s the kind of immature mistake that has plagued the U.S. on these road trips, where they’ve experienced everything from atrocious refereeing to fan abuse to raucous celebrations outside the hotel rooms in which they were trying to sleep. But this is the nature of the soccer beast (and why soccer makes such a ridiculous candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, for which it was actually nominated). On the road, the team has to expect the worst and not get lured into silly and blatant retaliation.
To make it to the next competitive level, which would be a World Cup threat rather than just a World Cup perennial, the United States has to, occasionally, win games like this. And now that they’ve done it once, it should be easier. Coach Arena faces some interesting decisions in juggling personnel. Reyna should be ready for the next match, but it’s hard to imagine Mathis consigned to the sidelines after his critical scoring role in both U.S. victories. It may be time to switch alignments, shifting Reyna back to a more defensive role, which is what he plays with the Glasgow Rangers, his club team in Scotland. The United States figures to try a lot of lineups and formations before June 2002. This jump-start in the qualifying makes experimentation a luxury the Yanks can now afford.
