If it's possible for a team to underwhelm its way to a World Cup qualifying berth, the U.S. men's national team might be the team to do it, with Saturday's 2-1 white-knuckle win over El Salvador just the latest in a line of shaky qualifying performances.
But on the road to South Africa, aesthetics count for little, and the Americans won't be concerned with how they play in Wednesday's vital match against Trinidad & Tobago in Port-of-Spain, just that that they walk away with three points.
And three points (for a win) -- not one (for a tie) -- is exactly what the U.S. must take from this match. Mexico's 3-0 road pasting of Costa Rica on Saturday has created even more of a logjam in the standings. Goal difference is all that is separating Honduras and the U.S. at the top, while El Tri and the Ticos are just a point behind.
But how CONCACAF's gang of four does against the likes of El Salvador and T&T likely will determine which teams secure the three automatic qualifying slots, and which unlucky side lands in fourth place and thus will face a playoff date, possibly with (gulp) Argentina. Mexico's win last Saturday made up for its shocking loss to El Salvador earlier in qualifying, while the same result negated Costa Rica's away win against T&T. Honduras and the U.S. each has garnered one point on the road while remaining perfect at home. And with the U.S. closing out qualifying with matches at Honduras and at home to Costa Rica, the Americans must do everything they can to give themselves some breathing room.
"We have to continue to fight for every point," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said after Saturday's win.
Getting those points out of T&T could prove trickier than it might first appear. Much has happened to the Soca Warriors since the U.S. dispatched them 3-0 in Nashville back on April 1. Shortly thereafter, Francisco Maturana resigned as head coach, with T&T legend Russell Latapy taking over. The Soca Warriors' other star, Dwight Yorke, later announced his international retirement and joined Latapy's staff as an assistant, all with the intention of reinvigorating a team that many thought had strayed from its free-flowing style.
"I think the biggest change comes just from ... guys starting over, maybe some guys who have grown frustrated are getting chances again," said Bradley in a recent phone interview about T&T's new management team. "That's not so much any one thing as much as it's just a fresh start across the board."
Yet Latapy's appointment hasn't immediately altered the team's fortunes on the field, with the Soca Warriors losing three of four matches since he took over. Even with Bolton Wanderers defender Jlloyd Samuel joining their ranks, the Soca Warriors were mauled 4-1 on Saturday by Honduras, making a return trip to the World Cup highly unlikely. It raises the question of just what T&T's mental state will be on Wednesday.
"I don't think anybody gives up, but obviously [the Honduras loss] is deflating for [T&T]," said goalkeeper Tim Howard after the El Salvador match. "It's still a home game and you wonder how their crowd will react to them. Will they get on their backs or will they give them a lift? It's tough to say. I think the best thing for us is to go down there with our focus and the right mindset."
Helping the Americans in that regard will be the return from suspension of defender Oguchi Onyewu. Not only will Onyewu's physical presence help to contain hulking T&T striker Kenwyne Jones, but his return should allow Carlos Bocanegra to return to left back. At first glance, Bocanegra doesn't seem to be the ideal candidate to go up against pacy flank players like T&T's Carlos Edwards, but given Jonathan Bornstein's struggles on Saturday, Bocanegra's experience makes him the best option available.
A bigger concern, however, is the Americans' continued inability to dictate a game's tempo, especially when they have a lead. With the U.S. clinging to a one-goal advantage on Saturday, they couldn't curb their go-for-broke attacking instincts, and the match turned into a track meet. Only Landon Donovan showed the kind of situational awareness to try to maintain possession instead of constantly going for goal. As a result, the U.S. had to survive some nervy moments in the game's latter stages when a bit more composure would have killed the game off more easily.
"If we look at the game again, I think we'll be a little disappointed on the fact that the game was so open," said attacker Clint Dempsey.
To come away with a win on Wednesday, it's imperative that the U.S. learns this lesson. The Americans' road form has been decidedly subpar during the final round of qualifying, and to counter this trend, more will be needed from the midfield tandem of Michael Bradley and Benny Feilhaber. The Americans' central duo was solid on Saturday, but they'll need to impose more of their will against T&T. Some better hold-up play from forwards Jozy Altidore and Charlie Davies -- whose calf injury is not believed to be serious -- would help, as well.
"It's important to have the mentality to play on the road aggressively and play the game on your terms," said coach Bradley. "That is something that's important, and something we're trying to instill."
If the U.S. is successful in this regard on Wednesday, then another giant step towards South Africa will be taken, and all talk of aesthetics can wait for another day.
Bornstein not the answer at left back for U.S.
By Ives Galarcep, Special to ESPN Soccernet.
Almost 20 years after Paul Caligiuri's historic World Cup berth-securing goal in Trinidad, the U.S. men's national team is once again heading to Port of Spain. And while it might seem natural to revel in the nostalgia of that unforgettable moment two decades ago when Caligiuri gave the United States its first World Cup berth in 40 years, the Americans had better be sure not to forget the lessons of the match it just played two days ago.
The U.S. team's 2-1 win versus El Salvador was ugly and left plenty of question marks for an American squad that is far from home free in a qualifying race that has grown tighter with each passing week. As impressive as the U.S. attack was at creating chances, it also wasted many of them, and as much as the Americans won the possession battle, they also committed bad turnovers that gave El Salvador some extremely dangerous chances.
Trinidad & Tobago's qualifying hopes are on life support, and essentially impossible, but that won't stop the hosts from wanting to knock off the Americans and maybe score some payback for that 1989 loss that cost T&T a World Cup berth.
So what should the Americans take away from Saturday's victory?
1. Jonathan Bornstein is not the answer at left back.
It is hard to argue that Bornstein wasn't the worst player on the field for the Americans versus El Salvador. He lacked confidence on the ball, struggled with El Salvador's shifty attackers and provided nothing going forward. In short, he did little to instill confidence in his being able to do the job at left back during this qualifying campaign.
That leaves us with this question: Who will coach Bob Bradley turn to? Does he move Carlos Bocanegra to left back and give Chad Marshall a start alongside Oguchi Onyewu if Jay DeMerit can't play? Does he move Jonathan Spector to left back, where he has played for West Ham this season, and start Steve Cherundolo at right back?
Bocanegra is a better option than he gets credit for. Two disappointing performances by Bocanegra that stand out are versus Brazil in the Confederations Cup final and last month versus Mexico. He didn't play well in either of those matches (he played left back in both), but he also went up against Brazil's Elano and Maicon and Mexico's Giovani Dos Santos. Not exactly chopped liver. Bocanegra starts at left back from French club Rennes and has enough ability and experience to play well against most opponents.
Bradley's decision about left back is especially crucial versus Trinidad & Tobago, which boasts speedy winger Carlos Edwards on the right flank. DaMarcus Beasley did a good job of neutralizing Edwards when these teams met on April 1, but none of the current left-back options boasts Beasley's speed, meaning whoever starts at left back will need some help to slow down the Sunderland midfielder.
2. The central midfield must be more careful.
The tandem of Michael Bradley (the coach's son) and Benny Feilhaber figured to produce more chances and establish more possession than a potential Bradley-Ricardo Clark central midfield pairing, but the duo also showed some flaws, including their penchant for getting forward in unison and leaving a large gap in front of the defense for the counterattacking Salvadorans to exploit.
While that could be explained away by the desire for the Americans to take the space in central midfield left open by El Salvador, what could not be explained or justified was the handful of unforced and sloppy turnovers at the edge of the defensive third, an area of the field where mistakes are usually punished. Bradley was guilty of this on a handful of occasions, and while none of the sequences produced a goal, making similar mistakes against Trinidad & Tobago, which boasts standout forward Kenwyne Jones, could be costly.
Will Bob Bradley stick with Feilhaber and Michael Bradley? Don't be surprised to see Bradley and Clark get the nod, with the focus being on controlling possession and cutting off passing lanes to T&T's forward tandem of Jones and Cornell Glen.
3. Altidore and Davies should be the forward tandem
This wasn't really a revelation to U.S. fans who have been clamoring for the Altidore-Davies duo since the Confederations Cup, but the El Salvador match showed us yet again that the supremely talented youngsters should remain the starting forwards. There were concerns heading into the El Salvador match about Altidore's fitness, but he answered those with a stellar 83-minute performance that saw him score the game winner and add a second disallowed goal that should have counted. Davies was also dangerous, having one shot cleared off the line and another go wide by inches. He showed a good understanding with Landon Donovan and his speed offers a perfect complement to Altidore's power. Perhaps it is fitting that Altidore and Davies will get the start versus Trinidad on Wednesday. It was in Port of Spain last October that we first caught a glimpse of what they could do together, as Altidore set up a Davies goal in a 2-1 loss to T&T.
4. Stuart Holden has earned the role of super sub.
Holden followed up his good outing versus Mexico with another energetic and effective substitute performance versus El Salvador. His speed, tenacity and attacking qualities make him the ideal bench option, and now that he has provided a boost for a second straight qualifier, it will be tough to keep him off the field on Wednesday, especially when legs begin to tire from a second qualifier in four days.
5. Jose Francisco Torres merits more minutes.
He played only six minutes, but Torres made the most of that cameo versus El Salvador, powering a beautiful header at goal that only a highlight-reel save could stop. It was his first national team appearance of any kind since getting the halftime hook in the U.S. team's 3-0 loss to Costa Rica in June. He looked confident in his brief appearance on Saturday and will merit longer looks in the U.S. team's remaining qualifiers.
If the Americans can embrace the lessons learned from Saturday's win, both the good ones and the bad ones, they should be able to record a win and move a step closer to the 2010 World Cup.
U.S. men's schedule
Wednesday
U.S. vs. Trinidad and Tobago
Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad
6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Classic, ESPN360.com