Two attractive international friendlies will proceed three very important CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers for the U.S. Men’s National team.
The U.S. will play Belgium on May 29 in Cleveland, OH, and then take on Germany June 2, at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC.
Both are among the top teams in Europe. Germany is #2 in the FIFA World Rankings and Belgium is #16. The U.S. is currently #28.
But those games are just the warm-up matches for the qualifiers. The U.S. goes to Jamaica on June 7, and then has back-to-back matches on U.S. soil with Panama on June 11 and Honduras on June 18 in Sandy, Utah.
The U.S. is tied with Costa Rica for second in the hexagonal standings with four points on a 1-1-1 start in the 10-game round robin. Surprisingly, Panama, without a loss, is first with five points.
Jamaica is without a win, but has a tie with Mexico. Mexico is without a win, but has three draws.
With three positive results, the U.S. can gain some separation from the other five teams. The top three will earn berths in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Team #4 will have a shot with a play-in opportunity.
The wild card situation is what comes after the three qualifiers. The Gold Cup?
That regional championship begins the first week in July, and will be played in the USA. There is some feeling that this is an unimportant tournament, but those that feel that way would be wrong.
It is unlikely that U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann will have many of the players from his roster for the friendlies and the qualifiers available for the Gold Cup. Who does that leave as options for Klinsmann? Will those left off of the qualifier rosters be anxious to play in the Gold Cup.
Klinsmann did not chose Landon Donovan among the list of 26 he brought into training before the friendlies.
“I think Landon is catching up,” said Klinsmann answering questions about the USA’s marquee midfielder. “We’re all excited he has decided to continue to play. There are others who are ahead of him at this point.
“It’s not going to be for these upcoming games, but maybe later on we’ll definitely expect him back on the team. We watched Landon, and if we think he’s good to go for the Gold Cup then this is definitely an option we can consider.”
He didn’t bring in veteran Steve Chrundolo or former team captain Carlos Bocanegra. He didn’t bring in Tim Chandler. Chrundolo has just come back from a knee injury, and could be called in after the friendlies for the qualifiers. Chandler is out with an injury, but may be ready to take the field in July.
Bocanegra is getting some time with his club team. He has not been called into the U.S. camp this year.
Chances are a number of Major League Soccer players will get the call for the Gold Cup. One of those might be Georgia native Jack McInerney.
One player who is back is Stuart Holden, who is back on the field after missing more than two years recovering from a serious leg injury. It is likely that he is one European-based player who will be available for all of the upcoming competitions.
The immergence of Graham Zusi at midfield gives Klinsmann a solid option in place of Donovan.
Up top the U.S. has Jozy Altidore and Terrence Boyd, both prolific scorers this past season with their club teams. They need to show they can do it with the national team.
Clint Dempsey is likely to be called on to carry the scoring load, but he needs some help in order to take some of the pressure away from him.
In the last qualifying games it was another veteran player who stepped up on the defensive end of the field. DaMarcus Beasley, normally a winger, played left back against both Costa Rica, a 1-0 win in the snow, and the scoreless draw in Mexico City.
His next appearance for the U.S. will be his 100th international cap.
Brek Shea, who has many appearances for the USA under Klinsmann, was brought into training camp despite carrying an injury. He is unlikely to play in the friendlies, and could be a candidate for the Gold Cup.
The good thing about Klinsmann’s player pool is that he’s played a lot of players. The bad thing is that he’s played a lot of players.