The Week That Was: World Cup Qualifying

Following the 2-1 loss in Estadio Azteca last August, fans knew that the first week of September would be critical in the USMNT's quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Though the games were against the two cellar dwellers of the Hex, El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago, no one expected an easy six points, as CONCACAF qualifying is always a tricky process.

Fortunately for the Nats and their fans, Bob Bradley and company were able to come away with six points from these two games. The stretch, however, had its fair share of negatives in addition to the positives, which we will examine further.

First, a positive: 2 games, 6 points. It's hard to complain about the bottom line of matchdays 7 and 8, which is that the US won both games, one of which was on the road. The 6 additional points put the US at the top of the Hex with just two games remaining, putting them tantilizingly close to an automatic birth in South Africa and guaranteeing at least a place in the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff.

On a negative note, though, both games were unnecessarily nerve-wracking. Yes, CONCACAF qualifying is a tricky path to navigate, but games against the bottom two sides remaining shouldn't have been the white-knuckle, stomach-turning performances that they were. Though the Yanks were able to rebound nicely against El Salvador to overturn an early deficit, they failed to apply the killer blow (i.e. a third goal) that would have sealed the victory. Instead, they let Los Cuscatlecos hang around, which led to some frantic defending and nervous moments towards the end of the match.

In Trinidad, meanwhile, the US came out very slow and could have very easily been in a 3-0 deficit were it not for the spectacular goalkeeping of Tim Howard. A lackluster first half was almost overturned by a late effort on goal by Landon Donovan, but a save meant that the two sides went to half tied 0-0.

The US attack was still fairly anemic in the second half, and three points were only rescued by a swerving strike by Ricardo Clark, who was about to be subbed off. Clark's bullet was clutch in every sense of the word, and it was all the US needed to preserve the win.

Another positive, Stuart Holden continues to add energy to the US attack. The Houston Dynamo midfielder once again added some spark to the lineup with his insertion into both games. Holden is looking like a likely fixture in the World Cup roster, and he may be the player that comes on for Clint Dempsey or takes Dempsey's outside midfield position when Clint slides up top to relieve Jozy Altidore or Charlie Davies.

With one last negative, let's talk about the crowd in Sandy. While many of us were hoping for a duplication of the raucous, pro-US crowd that cheered the Nats on to victory over Costa Rica in the last cycle, we were disappointed to find that there were some empty seats and plenty of El Salvador fans at Rio Tinto.

Yes, the Salvadoran population in Los Angeles made this match accessible for some of the opponent's fans, but color me disappointed that Utah didn't step up to stake its claim as the "Columbus of the West". With the diverse population in our country, it's difficult to really get a homefield advantage against Central American teams, so the USSF needs to find other places like Crew Stadium to get decidely pro-US crowds. Though Rio Tinto definitely had a majority of US fans, it did not duplicate Salt Lake City's sold-out crowd that created a rare homefield advantage back in 2005. Could the recession play a factor with regards to the empty seats? Perhaps. But I was expecting more for such a big game. Nevertheless, Rio Tinto looked great, and the US fans in attendance had plenty to cheer about when all was said and done.

With two games left and World Cup hopes still hanging in the balance, fans will eagerly await the final week of qualifying. Bob Bradley and his staff have a little under a month to work out the kinks and prepare for two stiff tests that stand in their way of a trip to South Africa.