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USA eyes World Cup berth
Canadian Press
The Americans (2-1-5), with a little help from their friends, can qualify for the World Cup soccer finals with a win Sunday (TSN, 4 p.m. EST) over Canada (1-4-3) in Burnaby, B.C. The Canadians are still in the hunt mathematically, but realistically their World Cup chances are zero after a disappointing campaign that could finally grind to a halt Sunday.
U.S. coach Steve Sampson, meanwhile, can book his ticket to France if his team wins, Mexico ties or defeats visiting Costa Rica and Jamaica draws or wins in El Salvador -- results that look eminently reasonable.
"The World Cup is Sunday. It's not next June, it's this weekend," Sampson said Wednesday during a conference call.
Canadian coach Bob Lenarduzzi, acknowledging Canada's chances of advancing were "very, very unlikely," had a simple message to his players.
"What we've got to do is just play for our pride and play for yourselves," Lenarduzzi said in a separate interview, "because you never know who's watching. . . . A good performance could result in a player enhancing his current position."
The Americans want to wrap things up this weekend, rather than face the pressure of having to perform in their final game Nov. 16 at home to El Salvador.
Sampson, whose squad is currently training in Portland, is taking the match seriously enough that he is meeting with each player in advance.
The top three teams in the six-country CONCACAF division qualify for the finals. Mexico (4-0-4) is already through, with Jamaica (3-2-3) also favored to move on.
The Americans defeated Canada 3-0 early on in this round of qualifying, running up a 2-0 lead after just 14 minutes thanks to a penalty and a Canadian defensive blunder.
Sampson says the Canadians have plenty of reasons to want to win, World Cup or not. "I think they would love to play the spoiler and defeat the United States."
There is no shortage of motivation.
--Canadians such as Iain Fraser, Mark Watson and Geoff Aunger have a score to settle with the Americans after being released by the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer in the preseason.
--Canadian officials, while they might not say so on the record, believe that the Americans have got every break this round of qualifying because FIFA, the sport's world governing body, wants them to qualify so the sport can continue to grow in the U.S. Sampson dismissed such speculation as ill-advised, but admitted there had been tension between Canadian and U.S. officials when Canada questioned the eligibility of American forward David Wagner.
For Sampson, much hinges on Sunday's game. If the Americans qualify, he has already told club teams in Germany and England that he won't call up their players for the match against El Salvador.
And there will be plenty of others missing in action against El Salvador if the Americans secure a place in the finals. Sampson has 14 players who have already received yellow cards and if any of those pick up a second yellow against El Savador, they would miss the first game in the finals.
"I will not take a risk of that if we have qualified," he said.
Canada is also missing suspended captain Randy Samuel and injured midfielders Nick DeSantis and Fernando Aguiar. Starting goalkeeper Craig Forest is back in England because of club commitments with West Ham United.
The Americans are also without captain John Harkes (suspended) and starting goalkeeper Kasey Keller (injured), in addition to Jeff Agoos (suspended) and Tab Ramos (injured).
NEXT ROUNDS: Round of 16 || Quarter-finals || Semi-finals
GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan