U.S. Soccer still needs work
Alex Kozela
Issue date: 1/26/10 Section: Sports
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Last Saturday's U.S. national team friendly game against Honduras was supposed to find suitable replacements for players that are currently injured as well as serve as a chance to test the strength of what is essentially the second string.
Instead, what fans got was another lackluster performance, as fellow World Cup participants Honduras prevailed 3-1. The last time the U.S. played with its second team it lost in a 5-0 Mexico rout in the Gold Cup final last August.
Fortunately, the U.S. won't have to play with a second string team again for a while. Most of the starters are in the middle of their European club seasons so they weren't called up for last Saturday's game and the preceding month-long training camp, which was made up of only players to play their trade in MLS and Scandinavian leagues, which are on winter break. The real pre-World Cup test will come on March 3, when the team travels to Amsterdam to face the Netherlands in the last full international before head coach Bob Bradley names his 23-man World Cup squad that will board a plane to South Africa in June.
That doesn't mean the loss wasn't troubling, however. It was U.S.'s third straight friendly loss, after falling on the road to Slovakia and Denmark last November. Also, for a team currently missing three starters - defender Oguchi Onyewu, midfielder Clint Dempsey, and striker Charlie Davies are all out injured - it is necessary to find suitable replacements in case they won't be able to play in South Africa. Onyewu and Dempsey are expected to be back in time, but since Davies was injured in a fatal car crash last October, his return remains doubtful.
As expected, Davies' absence leaves a massive hole up front for the Americans. While there is a glimmer of hope he could make it back in time - doctors are confident he should be running in March and that he should make a full recovery in time for June - his comeback only nine months after suffering multiple broken bones in his right leg, a lacerated bladder and a broken elbow would be downright miraculous. Onyewu and Dempsey should be back in time, yet fans should still prepare for the worst; just because a player is recovered from an injury doesn't mean he is match-ready.
Dempsey, who normally plays out wide for the U.S. but as a striker for club side Fulham, has long been seen as a possible replacement for Davies, but now that he is out things become tougher for Bradley. Because of the little connection between the midfield and forwards against Honduras, strikers Robbie Findley and Jeff Cunningham rarely received much help and failed to create many solid chances. Findley, who helped lead Real Salt Lake to MLS Cup last year, has arguably the best chance of taking Davies' spot at the World Cup, but with only two international appearances he is still raw.