USMNT v. Czech Republic: What I Will (And Won't) Be Watching For

We'll check off another item off of the pre-World Cup to-do list tomorrow night, as the USMNT kicks off it's final batch of friendlies with a match against one of their group stage opponents from 2006, the Czech Republic.  With the World Cup now just two and a half weeks away, a lot of people will be watching intently to try to gauge where certain players stand after months on the sidelines, not to mention how the team is gelling as a unit.

Here's what I'll be keeping my eye on at Rentschler Field:


Injured defenders: One of the obvious points of focus for tomorrow's match (and all of the tune-up friendlies, for that matter) will be Oguchi Onyewu's match fitness and sharpness.  With his last competitive appearance coming in that fateful October qualifier against Costa Rica, you have to wonder how Gooch will cope with the speed of play and pressures of international duty that can't be exactly simulated on the training pitch.  While plenty of folks on the ground in Princeton last week made mention of a visible limp in his stride, Onyewu insists that he's good to go and is a better player than he was prior to his injury.  That's all well and good, and I like the confidence, but at the same time I (and I'm sure I'm not alone on this) won't believe it until I see it.  Watching Peter Crouch create two England goals against Mexico this afternoon with his height only reinforces the obvious: having a healthy, sharp Gooch in the lineup will be a big asset come June 12th.

Beyond Onyewu, though, we now have the health of Carlos Bocanegra and Jay DeMerit to concern ourselves with.  Throughout my Yanks in Europe posts towards the end of the Ligue 1 season, I speculated that Bocanegra's exclusion from several Stade Rennes match day rosters must have been minor, as no real news had reached this side of the pond about some kind of serious setback.  Then we found out this week that the former Chicago Fire star actually underwent surgery for a sports hernia at the beginning of May, adding another wrinkle to the USMNT's World Cup build up.  DeMerit, meanwhile, had to deal with an abdominal strain down the stretch of his club season, which kept him out of Watford's final games and limited him in the first days of camp.  Both participated in full training in Princeton, but doubts still remain about their health.  Hopefully, any fears regarding their fitness will be allayed this week, though we may have to wait until the Turkey match for that if the pair is kept out of tomorrow's lineup for precautionary purposes.


The "new" forwards: While Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez both have caps to their name, it feels as if they are newcomers to the national team set-up due to their long respective gaps between call-ups.  Jozy Altidore is a lock for South Africa, and I stand by my belief that Brian Ching will also be on the plane thanks to Bob Bradley's frequent utilization of the target forward role, but after that it's still up in the air.  While Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey provide two solid options at striker, both have expressed in the past week that their preferred positions are out on the wings.  So, to allow Bob Bradley to keep the midfield in order and add depth up top, someone will need to step up and show their worth.  I expect Buddle and Gomez, arguably the most in-form players of any of the 30 on the roster, will get some minutes against the Czechs as a final audition (Bradley has stated that the final roster will be announced after tomorrow's match), so it will be interesting to see who shows well and who is able to mesh with some of the key starters.


DaMarcus Beasley: Beasley's career has been a roller coaster over the past year, with his rapid fall from grace at the Confederations Cup followed by a rise to Rangers stardom in the winter, which was then followed by a dip back down into the depths of unused substitutedom.  He had a brief resurgence with his solid showing against the Netherlands, only to remain rooted on the bench at Ibrox for months before one final (unimpressive) performance at the end of the season.  Despite those struggles, Beasley made it to camp, where he could ultimately show off his stuff to Bob Bradley, the man's whose opinion really matters in all of this.  I've heard that Beasley has looked pretty good in camp (despite turning the ripe old age of 28 today), and I think he has a good shot of earning a roster spot if he can turn in a good performance tomorrow night.  As much as we want to look at club performance to gauge a player's preparedness at this point, the only thing that really matters is what they are doing right now.  Beasley can quickly wipe away months-old concerns (for fans and coaches alike) by capping off the preliminary roster period with a quality appearance against the Czechs.  Of course, there is the chance that he doesn't even see the field tomorrow, but I have a feeling he will given his lack of game play over the last couple of months.


Clarence Goodson: With three center backs dealing with injuries, the fourth man on the depth chart suddenly becomes a lot more important.  Thanks to his good run of form with the national team this past winter, I think Goodson has the inside edge on that fourth spot, with his strong play at the club level with IK Start only strengthening his claims for a ticket to South Africa.  There's a good chance that he'll see some minutes tomorrow night, and I'll be eager to see how he fares for depth's sake. With that being said, I also wonder if we may see Maurice Edu slide into the back line at some point as another back-up option.


Those are just a couple of things that I'll be watching for, because really, I'll be watching for almost everything, and I don't want this post to get too long.  But there's one thing that I won't be watching for, and that is...

The scoreboard: The result doesn't matter.  Teams can play poorly and win, and teams can dominate and lose or draw.  All I care about is how the Yanks play, particularly the first XI.  If they move the ball well, defend well as a unit, and create some scoring opportunities, I'll be happy.  If their attack is stagnant and the back line is a mess, I'll be worried.  And that's regardless of the score.  What matters most is that the team is playing well ahead of South Africa, not whether they are ekeing out results in tune-up friendlies.  Hopefully, good play translates over to the scoreboard, so USMNT fans in attendance can go home happy, but all I'm looking for from tomorrow's match is quality team play from Landon Donovan and company.  A win would just be icing on the cake.



If there's something that you'll be watching for tomorrow night that I didn't mention, feel free to mention it in the comments section.