The United States men’s team might be without midfielder Stuart Holden (22), who broke his leg in a friendly against the Netherlands last week, when it travels to South Africa for the World Cup in June. | Courtesy of the Houston Dynamo
Last week was an excellent chance for teams and their fans to see where they sit in the World Cup food chain.
All the big players were in attendance, playing matches that would normally be seen in the semifinals. Spain showed why it is FIFA’s top-ranked team by beating France 2-0, while Argentina took revenge on Germany for its loss in the 2006 quarter-finals.
The United States also played against a top-ranking team when it faced off against the Netherlands on Wednesday. American soccer was once again shown its place in the world. After winning seven of eight matches in qualifying, the U.S. has lost recently to Slovakia, Denmark and Honduras. Its 2-1 loss to the Netherlands marks another European defeat and begs the question as to whether Bob Bradley’s boys can win outside of CONCACAF.
While the Netherlands looked comfortable and kept most of the possession in the first half, they were unable to score until the 40th minute when Jonathan Bornstein was forced to take down Wesley Sneijder in the penalty area after losing his marking. Surprisingly, Dirk Kuyt then easily beat fellow Premier League player Tim Howard. The Netherlands scored again in the 73rd minute on a deflected shot by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
The U.S. was unable to create any chances until late in the game, when captain Carlos Bocanegra beat the offside trap with a header off a free kick from DaMarcus Beasley. The 88th minute goal was too little too late though, as the U.S. left Europe with another loss.
Problems continue for the team, as Stuart Holden broke his leg on a hard challenge by Nigel De Jong. The Houston native recently moved to Bolton, where he was playing his best soccer and helping the team move out of relegation.
This was the last match before Bob Bradley was to make his final choice for the eleven who would start in South Africa. Holden, who is reported to miss six weeks, joins injured players Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyewu, Ricardo Clark and others who will be left off the list. It is still uncertain whether he will be fit to play in the World Cup.
The U.S. has only two more international friendlies scheduled before they play England in their first cup match. The first should hold significant importance for the team, as they will be playing against the Czech Republic. The two countries last played in the opener of the 2006 World Cup, where the Czech Republic humiliated the United States 3-0.
The game gets more intriguing, as the Czech Republic failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. They finished third behind Slovakia, who has already defeated the U.S. this year, and Slovenia who is in group C with the U.S. The U.S. needs to look at this game as a way of justifying their place at the World Cup.
A win against the Czech Republic would build confidence for their last friendly against Turkey, who also did not qualify. With 2006 still fresh in their minds, a strong showing in these last two matches is crucial if the U.S. is to improve from their recent losses against foreign clubs. If not, we might see another disappointing early exit from South Africa.
