Preview: USA – England

Saturday marks the most hyped soccer game I’ve ever seen in the US. In their first game of the 2010 World Cup, the US National Team will play against England in Rustenburg, South Africa. Although this is only the first in three group stage games, the atmosphere around the game makes it seem like much more. If the US can beat England on the world stage, could that result do what bringing David Beckham to the MLS or beating top-ranked Spain in the Confederations Cup failed to do? Will soccer finally get the attention it deserves from the US and will the US Soccer gain respect from the rest of the world?

Truth be told, I doubt it. While winning the game will give the American fan, sitting at a bar with a beer watching the soccer game, something to gloat about to the Brits watching the football match at the pub with a pint, in order to win the attention of most of America, the US will probably have to win the whole thing. That does not mean, however, that the reputation of US soccer won’t be improved (even if just slightly) in the eyes of its critics by beating the team that invented the sport, but have not won the World Cup since 1966.

The US and England have quite a bit in common in regard to the up coming game and each has two different sides to the issue.  A win will pretty much guarantee either team a trip to the knockout stage, but neither can ignore possible upsets by Slovenia and Algeria, even a tie in the wrong match can mean a trip home. Both squads have something to prove. England needs to back up its reputation as a soccer powerhouse and the US wants to be some day added to that list and to have our players included in the best of the world.

England’s attack is centered on star forward Wayne Rooney. The Manchester United player is very skilled in addition to being a physical player that will rarely let up on the defense. This past Premier League season Rooney found the back of the net 26 times in 32 games. Rooney is dangerous pretty much anywhere on the field and had recently become a large threat in the air despite his lack of height. The backline for the US contains three players who have faced off against Rooney in England at one time or another, but probable center pairing of Onyewu and DeMerit will still have their hands full containing Rooney. However, there is another side of Rooney that may aid the US in their attempt to keep him off the score sheet.

After a recent warm-up match between England and South African club team Platinum Stars, Wayne Rooney’s short temper was once again brought up. As England’s primary attacker, Rooney cannot afford to lose his temper too much and find himself walking out of the stadium before the final whistle blows. Many things are starting to stack up against Rooney’s temper. US players have already admitted that part of their game plan is to get under Rooney’s skin and the referee for the game, Carlos Simon, has a reputation for handing out bookings after showing 17 yellow cards and one red card in the three games he refereed in the 2006 World Cup. There are also reports that the refs are brushing up on their English swear words.

The American counterparts to the English attack are a number of players looking to prove themselves at the international level and a couple that need to show they are as good as the hype that has surrounded them, particularly Landon Donovan. After a terrible showing at the 2006 World Cup, the US has been under a lot of pressure to improve their performance. Donovan specifically has been targeted by critics of the 2006 team, but he now agrees that he was not in the correct mindset to have been effective. In the months and even years leading up to the World Cup in South Africa, Donovan has improved his play and his attitude and now feels he is ready to lead the US team out of their group. In the last MLS season Donovan was awarded the league MVP as he led the LA Galaxy to the MLS Cup final. Donovan was also able to silence some critics about his inability to perform outside of the MLS when he finally had a successful, though short, campaign in Europe playing for Everton FC in England.

Despite his new-found focus, Donovan could still find some trouble getting into the flow of play. England will be keeping a close eye on him and with enough defensive pressure Donovan might find it difficult to be effective. Donovan could also end up taking himself out of the game like he did in the first half of the warm-up game against Turkey if he doesn’t make an impact early on. Donovan will have to play at his expected level in order for the US to truly compete with England or the next two group games will carry more weight than the Americans would like.

When key defender Oguchi Onyewu went down with an injury last October he left a very large hole in the US backline that no other player could have easily filled.  However, Gooch recovered in enough time to make it onto the US roster for South Africa. The question now is whether or not he will be able to play a full 90 minutes let a lone at his pre-injury form. US fans were not given a convincing performance in the game against the Czech Republic when Onyewu was unable to out jump the Czech player he was marking, resulting in a goal. In the two warm-up games following, Onyewu had to settle for coming on as a second half sub. In all three matches Gooch did not play a full 90 min, but in recent reports Gooch has said he is confident in his abilities and is ready to face the attacking threats of England.

On the other side, England had its own defensive woes when center back and team captain Rio Ferdinand was removed from the 23-man roster because of an injury. I’m not quite sure whether it is better to be missing your best defender or to use a starting spot on a questionable one, but England has a solid back four even with one replacement so I don’t anticipate Ferdinand’s absence affecting England too much. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have a second English captain in John Terry, though he wears his armband under his sleeve instead of on top.

While there have been a lot of questions surrounding Yank’s back line, the man behind the defense is where the US has gained an edge over England. Tim Howard was set as the US’s number one keeper since the Americans qualified for the World Cup and has been given the edge over all three of his English counterparts. But which keeper will be in the opposite net? With the game against the US just two days away, English coach Fabio Capello has not revealed, even to his own team, who will be their number 1 keeper. So as far as we know England still has all three keepers on their 23-man roster in the running to start against the US. Depending on what source you read, Portsmouth keeper David James and West Ham goalie Robert Green are both in the lead to start against the US, though some say that England’s third choice Joe Heart, who played with Birmingham City this past season, is also still in the running. The interaction between the goalie and his back line is an essential one. I think leaving the team in the dark about who will be starting between the posts could hurt England in their first game.

Unless the US makes it farther in this World Cup than they did in 2002, I’m anticipating this game to be the biggest game the US will have. A win for the US would be optimal, but if we end up in a tie or even a loss, making it out of the group is a definite possibility. So this Saturday, get yourself down to the Sweetwater at 1:30 pm and watch the game with other Minnesota soccer fans. If you can’t make it down, the game will be televised on ABC.