I can't wait to watch the US in World Cup soccer action in Germany this summer. I went to an exhibit match against Japan in San Francisco a few months ago and the US team looked pretty strong.
Here's part of the article in today SF Chronicle:
The team strikes a balance between players competing professionally overseas (12) and those competing in Major League Soccer. It is also a blend of World Cup veterans -- midfielder Claudio Reyna and goalie Kasey Keller, for instance, are among the 12 players who have been to soccer's premier tournament -- and rookies, including two former San Jose Earthquakes in forward Brian Ching and defender Jimmy Conrad.
And it is a team that, as (Coach Bruce)Arena said during a teleconference with the national media, "can challenge anybody."
Midfielder Landon Donovan, another former Earthquake who has been wearing the team captain's armband in recent matches, says the 2006 Cup roster "is deeper from 1 through 23 and better" than the squad that made a surprising run to the quarterfinals in the 2002 World Cup. And with an average age of 28.6 and an average of 44.2 international appearances, the team is one of the most experienced sides the United States has produced.
What is at issue is how far can the Americans go.
"Our focus, our objective," Arena said, "is to advance out of group play."
Donovan is even more narrow-minded.
"All we must think about is June 12 (the date of the Czech match)," he said. "We can't think about June 17 (versus Italy); we can't think about June 22 (Ghana). If we take it one game at a time, we have a realistic chance of getting out of our group.
"We want to put ourselves into that situation."
It's Arena's selections that can make that happen.
Briefly: The team will gather May 10 in Cary, N.C., for training camp, then play three warm-up games -- against Morocco on May 23 in Nashville, against Venezuela on May 26 in Cleveland and against Latvia on May 28 in East Hartford, Conn. -- before heading to Germany. All those friendlies will be televised on ESPN2. ... The oldest player on Arena's roster is 36-year-old Keller; the youngest is 22-year-old forward Eddie Johnson. ... Reyna, who has made a team-high 108 international appearances with the U.S. team, and Keller, who has 91 caps, will be appearing in their fourth World Cups.
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