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 Sunday, April 29, 2001
Nine points is all about the D
By Marc Connolly
ABC Sports Online
After Wednesday's 1-0 victory over Costa Rica, consider this: Had the United States attained the five points most people hoped and expected at this stage of CONCACAF qualifying, they would still be sitting pretty at the head of the pack. And in great shape too, since one-point ties have struck each of the other five teams in the regions.
But nine points? Nine points? That was a number that would have made one seem both naďve and insane if mentioned back in January when the Nats qualified for the final round of World Cup qualification.
Striker Josh Wolff, who scored the game-winner on a lefty tap-in of the head (officially)/arm (unofficially) of Clint Mathis, says the team certainly didn't expect to have nine points in the kitty in April.
"If you looked at it and predicted it, no," said the Chicago Fire star. "You look to win your games at home and tie on the road."
Even following that traditional formula, the point total would have added up to seven. And no one would have been upset in the least bit if Mexico had stolen a point on the road back in late February in Columbus.
Yet none of that matters now. All the pre-tournament speculation, roster decisions, injuries, suspensions and European player availability issues mean nothing now. Bruce Arena's squad is in a position where it may only need to come through with a win and a tie (4 points) over the 3-game stretch from June 16-July 1 when it faces Jamaica (June 16), Trinidad & Tobago (June 20) and Mexico (July 1) in order to qualify for World Cup 2002. That'd give them 13 points, which is wildly thought to be the magic number to move on as one of the top three teams in the region.
Of course, the logical prediction total from those games would have to be either six or seven points, considering a victory in Foxboro over last-place Trinidad (0-2-1) is expected and a tie in Kingston, Jamaica (1-1-1) would be a mild disappointment after what's been accomplished thus far.
At the absolute worst -- we're talking OH!-and-three here -- the U.S. has four games left to play even after it returns from Mexico to end the busy three-game stretch when it still would only need to win its two home games against Honduras and Jamaica to gain the 15 points that would be sufficient for tickets to Japan next June.
Remember, there is no seeding in the World Cup. The four-team groupings are purely luck of the draw. So whether advancement comes via a next-to-impossible 30-point first-place finish or a disappointing third-place qualifier in CONCACAF, the end reward is the same.
Quite the scenario, yes. Anyone feel like they're from Brazil or Italy yet?
|  | | U.S. defender David Regis (6) tries to keep the ball away from Costa Rica forward Steven Bryce (16) during their World Cup qualifying match. |
The whole reason the U.S. is sitting on such high ground in uncharted qualifying waters after Wednesday's game is the same one that carried the squad against Mexico and Honduras -- the backline, which has only allowed a mere goal in three qualifiers. Once again, Arena's four-man defense man-marked to precision and covered for each other with the type of understanding and communication that is surprising considering it's a fairly new partnership.
For starters, it was only the second time 22-year-old Steve Cherundolo joined the unit at right back. And, once again, he was outstanding in frustrating his assigned striker, keeping Hernán Medford at bay all night.
"Cherundolo was excellent," said Arena after the game. "Medford played quite well and they really rely on his ability to get past players and get dangerous service into the box for (Paulo César) Wanchope. And I think for the night, Steve did an outstanding job. We asked him at halftime to get a little more forward into the attack, when the opportunity arose, and he did that as well."
Then there was the continued excellence shown by central defenders Jeff Agoos and Carlos Llamosa. With Eddie Pope nursing a sore toe the past two games, Llamosa has perfectly stepped in to provide the U.S. with a calm presence in the back to go along with his savvy play and superior positioning.
Agoos, on the other hand, has been seemingly reborn in this role after several years as either a right or left back. Not only does he have the grit and smarts to stay with the best striker each team throws at him (this time being the gazelle-like Wanchope), he possesses a touch with his left foot that aids the squad both off corners and in long balls played to the front. It was never more noticeable than on his arcing serve into the box to Clint Mathis that resulted in Wolff's game-winner.
Coming off another tremendous performance as the quarterback back there, Arena couldn't say enough about him.
"A guy that people don't give a lot of credit to is Jeff Agoos," said Arena of the 32-year-old. "He is a great leader in the back and he does a great job. He has a French speaking left back, and a native of Colombia on his right, and he is able to communicate quite well with those two guys. I have a lot of confidence in him. He does a super job organizing our team and his distribution out of the back goes unnoticed as well.
"So, I think he has been the key."
Combine that with left back David Regis, who sent three dangerous balls to the 18 that all could have resulted in U.S. goals, tireless defensive midfielder Chris Armas in front of them, and the expected brilliance between the posts from both Brad Friedel and Kasey Keller, and you have the definitive reason why the U.S. is quickly becoming a world-beater.
"We've had the same defense now for three games in a row, which is something we didn't have during the first round of qualifying," said Keller, who was in command the entire night. "It really looks like we are starting to gel together."
Marc Connolly is a senior writer for ABC Sports Online.
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