ESPN Network:
ESPN.com
ESPN Deportes
Fantasy Games
|
|
|
| Saturday, March 9, 2002 10:50 EST |
Jobs are on the line for U.S.
[Associated Press]
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Bruce Arena says he's pretty much
narrowed down his World Cup roster.
His players aren't taking his word for it, competing like jobs
are at stake in Sunday's exhibition game against Ecuador at Legion
Field, where soccer definitely is not the football that fans are
used to.
"There's really no secure spots that are guaranteed, so
everybody's fighting for a spot," said defender Jeff Agoos, a
14-year member of the national team.
"It makes you sharp on a daily basis. It makes you compete, it
makes you fight, and you don't get lazy in what you're doing. Being
competitive to keep your job is a good thing."
This is the penultimate test for many Major League Soccer
players hoping to make the 23-man World Cup roster. The Americans
will play Mexico on April 3 in Denver, the last World Cup warmup
without most Europe-based players.
"It's great for me to be able to evaluate a fine group of
players from MLS," said Arena, the U.S. coach. "Hopefully, it's a
real positive week in terms of that."
Arena said he's pretty close to settling on his top 23.
"There's obviously some competition for several players, but
for the most part, I'm getting close to that," he said.
Pablo Mastroeni of the Colorado Rapids is trying not to fixate
on his chances.
"It's been a pleasure to come in whenever I can and help the
team out however I can," he said. "As it gets closer, that's in
the back of your mind. That'd be the downfall of my chances on this
team, if I started thinking about that instead of just playing the
kind of soccer that I've been playing.
"Bruce has said there would be no guaranteed spots. It kind of
keeps everyone on their toes. That makes the practice sessions a
lot more intense and it obviously makes the games more
competitive."
Agoos has been on both sides, as a young player trying to make a
name for himself and a veteran fighting to maintain his spot. He
was bumped from the 1994 World Cup roster a week or two before the
tournament began.
"It's a really, really difficult place to be," Agoos said of
the roster bubble.
The United States is 6-1 this year and coming off a 4-0 shutout
of Honduras in which Clint Mathis and Landon Donovan each scored
two goals. It was the first time the U.S. team has had two players
with multigoal games since Dec. 5, 1993, against El Salvador.
"This is probably the deepest team we've had," Agoos said.
"We've got guys who now have six years of experience in a domestic
league and we've got guys from Europe. We're very deep and very
competitive at every spot.
"We've got some guys that are very dangerous. I hope that when
we get to the World Cup, other teams underestimate us."
After this, the Americans play March 27 at Germany, then return
home for the Mexico game before playing at Ireland on April 17.
Final preparations include games against Uruguay on May 12 at
Washington; Jamaica on May 16 at East Rutherford, N.J.; and the
Netherlands on May 19 at Foxboro, Mass. At the World Cup, the U.S.
team plays Portugal (June 5), South Korea (June 10) and Poland
(June 14), all in South Korea.
|
|
|
|
|
|
