Happy to be among the final eight, thrilled for the chance to move even
further, a U.S. soccer team with zero fear factor faces its toughest
assignment yet as the quarterfinal debutante of World Cup's modern times.
Team USA's reward for its first win in a World Cup elimination match is
a date against Germany, a three-time champion that may be rising anew
after some hard times -- relatively speaking -- in the 1990s.
U.S. players who already have over-achieved can charge loosey-goosey
into their 6:30 a.m. CDT quarterfinal in the industrial city of Ulsan,
South Korea.
"It's been amazing," said U.S. midfielder Pablo Mastroeni, a starter in
Monday's 2-0 second-round win over Mexico.
"It's been a long drive coming in, and this is the icing on the cake.
It's just an amazing accomplishment for us."
The United States is liable to encounter a hostile crowd in Ulsan, a
shipping center and home to Korean giant Hyundai Motor Company. Co. Many
of the U.S. backers that who trekked to Asia, never expecting their team
to push this far in the 31-day tournament, have returned stateside and
will have to settle for TV coverage of the most eagerly anticipated U.S.
game since the 1994 second-round loss to Brazil. That leaves more seats
for locals, many of whom resent the U.S. continued military presence
there.
But its underdog status has yet to rattle a U.S. bunch that has
performed poorly just once in four outings so far -- the first-round
finale against Poland, a match the United States was expected to win.
Germany won the 1990 World Cup but hasn't advanced past the
quarterfinals since. Coach Rudi Voeller is introducing a younger
generation of German talent to the world. Midfielder Michael Ballack
(age 25), defender Sabastian Kehl (22) and forward Miroslav Klose (24)
form the backbone of the team. Along with steady goalkeeper Oliver Kahn,
Germany blazed into Korea-Japan 2002 with an 8-0 win over Saudi Arabia,
alarming for its ease, but has looked more mortal since.
Germany won the 1990 World Cup but hasn't advanced past the
quarterfinals since. Coach Rudi Voeller is introducing a younger
generation of German talent to the world. Midfielder Michael Ballack
(age 25), defender Sabastian Kehl (22) and forward Miroslav Klose (24)
form the backbone of the team, along with steady, veteran goalkeeper
Oliver Kahn. Up against superior talent, with history stacked against
his side, U.S. coach Bruce Arena has remained unflappable.
"We'll roll the ball out and see what the game looks like," he said.
Much of the U.S. burden falls on the Americans' fearless Brooklyn-born
coach. He has been masterful in rearranging the chess pieces so far,
altering tactics and personnel by the game. Arena has used 19 of 20
available field players.
Arena's men stunned Portugal by maximizing their speed on the flanks in
counterattacks. They tied a spirited South Korean team (something three
other World Cup opponents couldn't do) by matching the co-host's
tireless effort. They beat Mexico by changing formations, seamlessly
moving out of Arena's preferred 4-4-2 into a 3-5-2 arrangement (three
defenders, five midfielders, two forwards). That allowed the United
States, missing two injured defenders, to get its best players on the
field and to frustrate a Mexican team that didn't expect being so
crowded in the midfield.
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The USA-Germany quarterfinal World Cup game begins at 6:30
a.m. (Central) Friday morning.
CLICK HERE for a list of Dallas-area bars/restaurants that are hosting
soccer-watching parties.
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Arena said the changes have also served to keep the entire roster
focused and snappy.
"One thing that is healthy is when a number of players get on the
field," he said. "I think they hang in there with you better mentally
and over a long haul -- which it has been, a long haul."
The ranks employed include versatile midfielder Landon Donovan, 20, the
youngest player so far to score at Korea-Japan 2002, and feisty defender
Frankie Hejduk, who may return after a one-game suspension for yellow
card accumulation against Mexico. DaMarcus Beasley, also 20, also may
return to the lineup, as well as Clint Mathis, who scored twice in a 4-2
exhibition loss to Germany in March.
Expertly finishing their opportunities on scoring opportunities has been
essential in all four U.S. games. Brian McBride and the other U.S.
attackers generated just four, maybe five, decent chances against
Mexico. They converted two and need a similarly impressive ratio against
Germany.
Arena may choose to defend and counterattack -- the most likely ploy --
or set loose the attack against a German defense that left two key,
injured pieces at home. Either way, American players must deal with the
physical superiority of a bigger team.
"We have to be good in a lot of areas to neutralize their physical
quality," Arena said. "We're not going to get any taller or any thicker
overnight ... so we're going to have to make up for it with a little bit
of quickness and some brains and some positioning."
Beasley, for one, isn't intimidated -- even if he is the probably the
smallest player in the tournament at 126 pounds.
"I can push with the best of them," he told Soccer America. "They're not
gods. They're human."
E-mail
stevedavis@dallasnews.com
Staff Writer Steve Davis looks at what each team must do to advance:
The U.S. moves on if ...
* Coach Bruce Arena devises another
masterful blueprint, as he did against Portugal and Mexico.
* Brian
McBride wins his share of aerial battles and the U.S. attack generates
four good scoring chances.
* American midfielders, with two fewer
days' rest, find the legs to doggedly shut down service from the German
midfield.
Germany moves on if ...
* Miroslav Klose gets free inside the
U.S. penalty area.
* Rudi Voeller's young defense is physical – yet
smart – with the fast U.S. attackers.
* Germany's grit and
organization wear down a defensive U.S. squad, baiting the Americans
before pouncing on mistakes in the back.