[an error occurred while processing this directive] Winless Poland has U.S. worried

Americans may need tie or victory to advance

06/13/2002

Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea – The United States needs only a tie against Poland on Friday to advance to the second round of the World Cup, and Poland lost its first two games of the tournament.

Still, the Americans are worried.

"They have not played as capable as they are in the first two games and that scares me," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said Thursday.

United States vs. Poland
When: 6:30 a.m. Friday at Daejeon, South Korea (ESPN, Ch. 23).

Injury update: Midfielder Earnie Stewart is listed as 50-50. All other U.S. starters are healthy.

To advance: The United States moves into the second round with a win or tie. The Americans can even advance with a loss, if South Korea beats Portugal.

The U.S. team, which lost all its games and finished last out of 32 teams in the last World Cup four years ago, is in a much better position this time around.

With their 3-2 upset of fifth-ranked Portugal last week and their 1-1 tie with co-host South Korea in front of 61,000 roaring, red-clad fans, the Americans moved within one point of advancing to the second round for the first time since 1994. They would advance with a win, a tie – or even a loss if South Korea either beats the Portuguese or loses in a rout.

Still, the U.S. team isn't taking winless Poland lightly.

"I think we better win the game outright," defender Eddie Pope said. "I think it's dangerous to try and play for a tie. That's certainly something that I don't think most of the guys feel comfortable with."

Arena and his team are proud of the reaction back home, maybe even a little surprised at the number of soccer fans who are gathering to watch games at odd hours.

In 1998, when the tournament was in France, games were televised during the daytime in the United States. It was hard to gauge coming in how many people would watch games that start at 1:30 a.m., 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Dallas time, but the first two U.S. games were watched in more than 1 million households each.

The team thinks that can only help the sport.

"My understanding is our performance to date has drawn a lot of attention in the United States," Arena said. "We're growing, not by leaps and bounds, but we're making progress."

Poland, which will be eliminated from the tournament no matter what happens in Friday's game, is trying to salvage something in its first World Cup appearance since 1986. Goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek said he thinks the Poles have almost an obligation to beat the Americans.

"We have to make some present or gift for the Korean people," he said. "We want to win for them, because if we beat the United States, it might help the Koreans go through to the next round – and they should."

In Thursday's World Cup action, Turkey leapfrogged Costa Rica into second place in its group, and into the second round, with a 3-0 victory over China.

The World Cup's first round includes eight groups of four teams each. After each group is pared to the top two teams, single-elimination play begins. Brazil had already guaranteed itself a spot in the second round, but the second spot from its group was still up for grabs between Turkey and Costa Rica.

Brazil beat Costa Rica 5-2 on Thursday. That, combined with Turkey's victory, meant the Turks and Costa Ricans had four points each overall. Turkey advanced because it had a better goal differential (goals scored compared to goals allowed) for the tournament.

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