Hotmail
Which U.S. team will show up at Confederations Cup?
FIFA Confederations Cup
The Americans have been drawn in a brutal group, and will have to face Brazil and Egypt in the opening stages. They'll need at least one win — perhaps more — to have any chance of progressing to the semifinal stage.
The eight-team tournament, a dry-run for next year's World Cup, sees hosts South Africa with a comparatively easier path, against favorites Spain, underdogs Iraq and lightly regarded New Zealand.
Most observers, mindful of the Americans' poor track record against good teams away from home, fear a three-and-out performance — losses against Italy and Brazil, and perhaps a draw against Egypt, especially if that final match is a dead rubber.
However, there is some hope for the USA. They are no more than average and have not looked particularly composed recently. But, the USA may have a couple of advantages and a bit of history on their side. These factors might be enough to give even the most frustrated of American soccer fans hope in what will be this summer's biggest international soccer tournament.
The Americans have been in three previous editions of the Confederations Cup, an event with a strange pedigree that stretches back to its Arabian origins. Originally called the King Fahd Cup, the tournament began as a four-team invitational in 1992. America, who qualified as the 1991 Gold Cup champs, finished third. Curly-haird forward Bruce Murray ended up as tied for the event's Golden Boot award with Argentina's Gabriel Batistuta (both men scored twice).
The King Fahd Cup was held again in 1995, again as a four-team exhibition, but in 1997, FIFA took it over, renamed it, and increased it to the current eight-team field. The Americans made their next appearance in 1999 as Gold Cup runners-up, when host Mexico got an automatic bye.
There, the USA stunned observers with arguably their best performance at the international level. The USA opened with a win over New Zealand in Guadalajara, lost to Brazil on an early goal scored by Ronaldinho, but then shocked Germany 2-0 to make the semifinals. There, they lost to Mexico on a golden goal by Cuauhtemoc Blanco at the Azteca, and went on to beat the Saudis in the third place game back at the Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara.
That performance was the first triumph under then-new coach Bruce Arena, and featured some of the men who would go on to perform so well at the 2002 World Cup. But it is largely forgotten because the games were not widely available on TV and it came after the United States had finished last in the 1998 French World Cup, effectively making them invisible to much of the American media (I was one of the few reporters who traveled to it).
Under pressure from the major federations, who viewed the tournament as a nuisance, FIFA determined that the Confederations Cup could be used as a dry-run for upcoming World Cups. The 2001 event went to Korea and Japan with Mexico representing our region.
The final biennial pre-tourney was held in France in 2003, with the Americans appearing again as Gold Cup winners. After the success of Korea 2002, much was expected from Arena's team, but the Americans scored only one goal, and only one point, in a disappointing series of games against Cameroon, Turkey and Brazil.
And, in the 2005 edition in Germany, the USA failed to make the cut.
What's notable about this record — two third-place finishes in three appearances — is that the Americans performed best on either truly neutral turf (such as Saudi Arabia) or in their own backyard (Mexico). Their performances also turned out to be a reliable indicator of future success in the World Cup, with 1992 and 1999 presaging good fortune in 1994 and 2002, respectively, and 2003's lousy showing indicating trouble ahead in 2006.
What also could help this time is the fact that Italy and Brazil — neither with anything to gain other than experience of South African playing conditions — are using this tournament as a warmup of sorts.
Italy, vowing to play an experimental squad, has combined youth with experience. Of note to American fans is the presence of Giuseppi Rossi, the New Jersey-born striker who plays for the Italian national team. Italy also enters the tournament on a sour note, having suffered something of an embarrassment in a 4-3 friendly win over New Zealand. The Kiwis went up three times in the match, and blushes were spared thanks to braces from Alberto Gilardino and Vincenzo Iaquinta.
Brazil also is a mixed bag with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Diego all out, but big names like Maicon, Anderson, Kaka and the Duck (Alexandre Pato) all on board. Only six members of the squad are Brazil-based, however, and most come from teams that played deep into the European calendar. Brazil trounced Uruguay in Montevideo last Saturday with a 4-0 World Cup qualifying win, then followed that Wednesday with a 2-1 victory over Paraguay to seize top spot in CONMEBOL. That could be enough to satisfy the often-feriocious home media and may allow a certain relaxation to creep into their Confederations Cup effort.
U.S. Soccer in the spotlight
Then there's Egypt, who have slumped badly in African qualification. Algeria pulled off a 3-1 win last Saturday in Blida to send the Pharaohs to the bottom of Group D and virtually kill their hopes of a first finals appearance since 1990.
As back-to-back African champions, Egypt had begun qualifying with the highest of hopes, but it has all gone wrong. Who knows how they will approach a tournament that offers little more than leftover pickings in the wake of another World Cup qualifying collapse.
The Africans will also be without the services of injured Amr Zaki and Wigan's Mido, who was excluded from the provisional roster.
American fans must hope that they see more out of the squad Monday in Pretoria than they did in San Jose, Costa Rica last week. They also must hope that their opponents underestimate them. Most of all, they have to get strong showings from the players that have too often underwhelmed with club and country — the likes of DaMarcus Beasley, Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore.
If coach Bob Bradley can convince his charges that this event is important, he might be able to right a listing ship. If not, he and his team will surely come under more, and harsher scrutiny.
Even allowing for the challenging schedule ahead next week, this is the moment when Bradley's team either shows itself ready for prime time or must accept the fact that playing well at home against CONCACAF foes really has little to do with making an impression on the world stage.
Jamie Trecker's newest book, "Love and Blood: At the World Cup with the Footballers, Fans and Freaks" is out now from Harcourt. Jamie is assisted by Jerry and Janice Trecker. Contact Jamie at jamie.trecker@gmail.com and visit his blog and website at www.jamietrecker.com.
The views and opinions expressed by Jamie Trecker do not necessarily reflect those of the Fox Soccer Channel or FoxSoccer.com.
Add a comment
advertisement
