U.S. Team Seeks Spot in Holland
Peering through the gloom at the rain-sodden Home Depot Center on Monday, Sigi Schmid could discern a distant silver lining.
If he gets his United States under-20 national soccer team through the next six days without mishap, there is a summer of sun to look forward to in the Netherlands.
To get there, though, the U.S. first has to overcome Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday night, Panama on Friday night and Costa Rica on Sunday afternoon to qualify for the 11th FIFA World Youth Championship in June.
The top two teams advance, so winning two out of three might be enough, but Schmid isn’t looking beyond Wednesday’s 8 p.m. opener against Trinidad and Tobago.
“Trinidad is a team that has got some good physical qualities -- they’ve got good size, they’ve got good speed,†he said. “They’re a team you that have to worry about because, if you get caught ball watching, their speed up front can really cause you some problems.â€
The recent rain has not only hampered training, but made the Home Depot Center field difficult to play on.
“I think it’s going to impact our game a lot more than the first game,†Schmid said in reference to the Costa Rica-Panama matchup at 5:30. “By the time we get on it, it’s going to be cut up a little more and, as a result, it will make the game a little more direct, a little more athletic, and that plays into the hands of Trinidad because they’re a big, athletic team.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to match that and still come out with something.â€
Schmid cut his roster to the final 18 Monday afternoon, after forward Jacob Peterson, who won the 2004 NCAA championship with Indiana University at the Home Depot Center last month, had passed a late fitness test.
The U.S. squad features five professionals and 13 collegiate players.
The pros are starting goalkeeper Quentin Westberg, who plays for Troyes in the French second division, and the Major League Soccer quartet of forward Freddy Adu of MLS champion D.C. United, along with midfielders Arturo Alvarez of the San Jose Earthquakes, Eddie Gaven of the MetroStars and Danny Szetela of the Columbus Crew.
Blending the pros and college players has not been a problem, Schmid said.
“The chemistry has been good, and that’s a tribute to the pro guys,†he said. “They just mix in with the other guys.... There’s definitely a team feeling in the group.â€
The U.S. has qualified for the previous four FIFA World Youth Championships and reached the quarterfinals in the United Arab Emirates in 2003.
Thomas Rongen, now coach of Chivas USA, guided that team before handing it over to Schmid, who since October has directed the Americans to a 6-0 record.
But Trinidad and Tobago, Panama and Costa Rica are potentially troublesome foes.
“Panama did well last time in qualifying for the world championship,†Schmid said. “They’ve got some big defenders. They’re a pretty disciplined team that’s gaining a lot of confidence right now.... They’re probably the most disciplined team in the group ... a team that is very quick to pounce on your mistakes.
“But ... I think our team can compete with anybody.
“What makes the task a little bit more difficult than in the past is that you’ve got three countries that got through last time -- Panama, Costa Rica and ourselves. So one of those teams is going to be left hanging.â€
Two other teams from this region will advance from a second qualifying tournament to be played in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, starting Jan. 26 and featuring Canada, Honduras, Jamaica and Mexico.
The world championship will be played June 10 to July 2 in the Dutch cities of Emmen, Enschede, Kerkrade, Tilburg and Utrecht.
For five of the Americans, getting there will be the second step on a ladder that leads from the under-17 world championship to the under-20 world championship to the Olympic Games to the U.S. national team to the World Cup.
Adu, Gaven, Peterson, Szetela and Westberg played for the U.S. at the FIFA Under-17 World Championship in Finland in 2003, and Adu also played for the under-20 team in the United Arab Emirates later that year.
Gaven already has played for the U.S. national team, and he, Adu and others are on track to play in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. But that is a long way down the road.
“I think they’re just focused on what we need to do here and they’re not looking ahead at all,†Schmid said.
“Obviously, being able to bank a little bit on the experience of guys who have gone through qualifying tournaments before helps us, but every country here is a little bit in the same boat.â€
Considering the weather, a boat might come in handy.
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
*--* U.S. Under-20 Team Coach: Sigi Schmid Name Pos. Age Club/College Freddy Adu F 15 D.C. United Arturo Alvarez M 19 San Jose Earthquakes Chad Barrett F 19 UCLA Greg Dalby D/M 19 Notre Dame Charlie Davies F 18 Boston College Benny Feilhaber M 19 UCLA Hunter Freeman D/M 19 Virginia Eddie Gaven M 18 MetroStars Patrick Ianni D/M 19 UCLA Will John F/M 19 St. Louis University Andrew Kartunen G 19 Stanford Sacha Kljestan M 19 Seton Hall Jacob Peterson F 18 Indiana Patrick Phelan D 19 Wake Forest Danny Szetela M 17 Columbus Crew Tim Ward D 17 St. Louis University Quentin Westberg G 18 ESTAC Troyes (France) Marvell Wynne D 18 UCLA G =goalkeeper; D = defender; M = midfielder; F = forward.
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