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 Thursday, March 1, 2001
More options available to Arena after decisive victory
By Marc Connolly
ABC Sports Online
The U.S. National Team has registered some eye-opening victories under Bruce Arena since he took over for Steve Sampson in 1998, including two consecutive blowouts over the Germans (5-0 combined) and an impressive 1-0 victory over Argentina in 1999. None of those triumphs even compare to what an undermanned American squad accomplished on Wednesday night by downing Mexico 2-0 in Columbus, Ohio, to open CONCACAF region qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.
|  | | Clint Mathis, left, and Earnie Stewart celebrate after beating Mexico. Both midfielders gave head coach Bruce Arena strong performances. |
After not beating Mexico in a World Cup qualifier in 21 years, it was a victory that means a lot more than a mere three points considering the seething rivalry and Mexico's standing as the region's top seed.
"It's a long haul, we can't make more out of it today than it really is," said Arena shortly after the match. "We can't say where we stand at this point in the competition and which players are better than others. I think it is going to be a real battle the next nine games, and we are simply happy we were able to protect our home turf."
No matter what anyone says, when you beat the mighty Tri Colores with your top striker (Brian McBride) and best player (Claudio Reyna) out for most of the match with everything on the line, you earn feared-nation status in the soccer world. And a lot of that has to do with the superb decision-making of Arena.
When McBride's right eye blew up to Rocky Balboa proportions after catching a skull to the brow on a head ball in the 11th minute, the obvious choice to replace him at forward would have been Ante Razov. Razov is in the midst of his first season at Racing de Ferrol in Spain, where he has excelled since leaving the Chicago Fire. But Arena chose to dress Josh Wolff on the 18-man roster instead, a bold move considering the 24-year-old Chicago Fire striker isn't in a league in season and has less international experience (four previous appearances with the National Team).
"I had to make a decision between Razov and Wolff (on the active line-up) and we thought that this was a game where his speed and quickness would be a factor, and that is what we told Ante," said Arena.
It was an even bolder move inserting Wolff into the match, where he contributed a goal and an assist. One might have expected to see teenage sensation Landon Donovan get the call after two impressive friendlies with the U.S. this year. Arena also could have easily substituted a midfielder and moved either Cobi Jones or Earnie Stewart up front to partner with Joe-Max Moore, but he saw something in the Olympic star's game that he felt would best work against Mexico's five-man backline.
"We talked to Josh the last couple of days and we really emphasized to him that his speed could make a difference in this game," said Arena. "Josh is very good at running off the ball, and I thought he was a factor as soon as he stepped on the field today."
Arena was right. Wolff's diagonal runs to space gave the midfield and outside backs Tony Sanneh and David Regis options right off the bat. When Clint Mathis pierced a beautiful through ball between two defenders to set up Wolff's goal to start the second half, Wolff was the only man on the field capable of reaching the ball before Mexican goalkeeper Jorge Campos had a chance to make a play. His cutback pass to the penalty stripe to set up Stewart for the second goal came on a play where Wolff slashed his way through three defenders before showing enough poise in the box to hold the ball just long enough to force Campos to commit to him.
"It is tough to get out of a situation like that, but he was able to pull it off and get us a good cushion," said Mathis, who was also open in front of the net. "If we don't get that second goal there, anything can
happen at the end. That was a huge play by Josh to get the ball to Earnie."
It was the type of individual performance that the U.S. has rarely seen, even out of snipers of years past such as Bruce Murray, Eric Wynalda, and Moore.
"Hopefully he can continue to fill a void we've had with having that kind of speed up top and hopefully get us goals," said Arena.
Just like that, Wolff is now a major part of the equation, to be considered along with McBride, Moore, Razov and Donovan as the U.S. prepares to travel to Honduras on March 28 for its next qualifier. With the Americans taking on Brazil in a friendly on Saturday (ABC, 4 p.m. ET) at the Rose Bowl, Arena has much to consider at each position after so many of his troops turned out the best performances in a long time against Mexico.
Forwards:
Wolff and Moore were an unknown partnership heading into Wednesday, but proved that the U.S. can survive without a true back-to-the-goal target man up front. They crisscrossed the field, opening up space for runs by Mathis, Stewart and Jones, especially in the second half when the U.S. had the possession it needed to utilize such room. Moore made a few one-on-one moves to create scoring chances and made forays back into the midfield to help start the attack often, but he wasn't as effective as usual. It's likely that he'll sit against Brazil after rolling his ankle before he heads back across the pond to rejoin Everton.
Expect to see Razov and Donovan (perhaps in Reyna's usual role as the attacking midfielder) get some minutes against Brazil, along with Wolff.
Midfielders:
Stewart and Jones gave the U.S. the needed speed on the flanks against Mexico's 5-3-2. In the first half when Mexico pushed forward, both wing midfielders covered a lot of ground to take the pressure off of Sanneh and Regis in the back. Having these two on opposite sides of the field gives Arena a bonus in that both can play either side and often switch up during the game by communicating throughout.
|  | | Clint Mathis fires a shot past Mexico's Alberto Macias during the second half of the U.S.-Mexico World Cup qualifier. |
Chris Armas was once again a rock in the middle, and was particularly valuable down the stretch when Mexico switched to a five-midfielder set. His steady presence allowed Mathis, who was outstanding, to remain forward after he took over the playmaker role for Reyna in the first half.
Perhaps Chris Klein (Kansas City Wizards) will get a look against Brazil as a flank midfielder. The same goes for Ben Olsen, depending on his health.
Defense:
Aside from Wolff's heroics, the two best performances of the night came from the central defense. Both Eddie Pope and Jeff Agoos shut down a powerful Mexican front line featuring cheap-shot artist Luis Hernandez and Francisco Palencia. It was Pope the U.S. came to rely on throughout qualifying in 1997, and one of Agoos' finest nights of his long career with the national side. They were strong in the air and switched assignments on the fly without any mishaps. Both players made critical clearances in the second half on dangerous crosses to the box, situations that the Mexicans are known for capitalizing on.
Regis once again looks like the best option Arena has at left back. His calm demeanor in close spaces and ability to start the attack from the back with balls to space were on display all night. It is on the right side where Arena might want to change things up. Sanneh offers a strong presence in the air on crosses and someone who can move up the field with fluidity out of the back, but his man-marking can be suspect. His touch was also off, particularly in the first half.
Frankie Hejduk may get a look at that spot against Brazil, or perhaps Carlos Llamosa, who came on late in the game to provide an extra body on the backline against a frenzied Mexican offense.
Goalkeeper:
Brad Friedel's superb positioning made his job look a lot easier than it could have been on Wednesday night. In the 70th minute, Palencia came in alone from the right side and was stoned by Friedel on a play where many keepers would have prematurely committed to one side or another. It may be his job to lose, Kasey Keller or no.
Anytime you get to play Brazil -- friendly or not -- it is a major deal, and one that won't be treated as a mere exhibition. Arena will surely tinker his lineup to get a look at some of the players who didn't get in against Mexico, but that shouldn't affect the skill level on the field due to the close level of talent among his players and his team's depth.
Only a few of the American players were on the Rose Bowl field on July 4, 1994 in the 1-0 loss to eventual World Cup champion Brazil (Tony Meola, Jones and Stewart), but every one of them watched the game. Though Brazil does not have its full squad on hand, they have enough regulars and well-known players such as Romario to embarrass any squad that comes to play a simple friendly.
"We are all excited about the opportunity to play Brazil," said Arena. "Obviously they are one of the top teams in the world and our guys are excited about playing them. We are hopeful we will get a great turnout in Pasadena, and that's a game we need support from our American fans, and hopefully that will be the case on Saturday."
Marc Connolly is a senior writer for ABC Sports Online.
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