This coming summer is going to be one that soccer fans wont forget for a long time, if ever. Whenever there is a world cup, there is drama, there is miracles, and there is something we all take away from it. In 2006 it was the horrendous reffing, the Ronaldo Rooney drama, that miracle of a shot by Rodriguez against Mexico in the knockout phases, the dreadful draw and play of the Americans, the Brazilians chocking against the French, and the French choking against the Italians. Zidane etches his name in history as one of the greatest just to put a giant asterisk next to it as the guy that famously headbutted another player. You cant just make this stuff up, the world cup always brings out the best and worst of a country, its players, its fans, etc. With that said, lets look at the world cup for the United States of America.
Lets first examine the group phase for the Yanks. While there is no such thing as a "easy draw" in a world cup, this one is more than favorable. Playing against England wont be "fun" by any means, but Algeria and Slovenia are teams people were saying would be the best case scenario for the US of A. I see this group phase being much harder then some will say, but it wont be anything like the 2006 group phase. Opening against England will be a plus in my book. The US will have that game out of the way, and any points gained in it are a HUGE plus. I honestly see us drawing against the three lions with a healthy squad. That is a huge if, I know, but not impossible. Against the next two I expect wins. They aren't going to be blow outs or easy wins, but the US should be able to get 6 points off of Algeria and Slovenia (again with a healthy squad) and see our way through the group phases. Now, say we somehow catch a break against England and win, that would be awesome for a couple reasons. First, everyone hates England. Even if you "like them" you know, given this scenario, you will hate them. John Terry is a douche, Frank Lampard is a sock puppet, Wayne Rooney is good but not THAT good, and Jermaine Defoe couldn't get past Gooch on his birthday. It will also be good because if we win the group, we will also avoid (likely) having to play the Germans in the next match. While revenge against those bastards would be nice (you know 2002 still pisses you off) avoiding them would also be nice (they are damn good). So, to do this, I have said we will need a healthy team. Here is the 23 man (assuming health) roster:
3 GK) Howard, Guzan, Hahnemann
8 DF) Bornstein, Gooch, Demerit, Bocanegra, Dolo, Spector, Goodson, Pearce
9 MF) Donovan, Dempsey, Bradley, Edu, Clark, Feilhaber, Holden, Torres, Kljestan/Beasley
3 FW) Jozy, Davies, Ching
Lets examine the potential players that wont be fully fit:
Gooch: I think Gooch will be fully fit, but if by some freak accident (again) he isnt. Chad Marshall will step up. Right now, he isn't in because Goodson has impressed while Marshall sure hasn't.
Dolo: I think he will also be fit, but again if there is a freak accident Simek would be my backup.
Dempsey: He better be fit, a lot of the US hopes ride on his shoulders. If he isn't, I think you will see Findley maybe get a chance, or whoever gets left off between Kljestan and Beasley slide in.
Feilhaber: This is one of my favorite players on the squad, if he isn't fit it will really hurt his career (that seems to never really "take off"). If he is out, along with another mid, Findley will be in and the other person in the Kljestan/Beasley combo will stay as well.
Davies: While many, including myself, thought it would take more than a miracle for this kid to even have hopes of playing again, its now an AWESOME possibility. I haven't seen someone with this kids drive ever in my life. To be where he is at right now is incredible (France). I say he is there, but if he has some complications (sure hope not) then I think we see Eddie Johnson be the first pick. Now that doesn't make much sense at first, but I think you have to look at what is on the squad. Why wouldn't it be Findley if he is out? Because Findley doesn't have the touch to play in a WC yet. Johnson, while not as athletic or fast as Findley, has a better touch. He slides up, only if Davies is out though. Weird, but its just how I see it.
There is a lot I could go into on the world cup, and I fully intend to, but that's for another post. I fully plan on evaluating each of the groups before the start of the world cup (summer cant come soon enough) and I plan on evaluating a handful of teams I see as having a chance at it or just as something that would be interesting to look into. For now though, lets all hope for a fast recovery to the injured Americans. A fully healthy squad could do some serious damage at the World Cup this summer, I fully believe that.
Cheers,
15 to 32
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