U.S. is counting on experience, crowd to be the difference in Copa America quarterfinal
Michael Bradley has played in two World Cups and both times he saw the U.S. survive mistakes to advance out of the forgiving group stage, only to be bounced in the first game of the do-or-die knockout round.
Those games were valuable learning experiences, Bradley says now. And it’s an education the U.S. will call on Thursday when it meets Ecuador in the quarterfinals of the Copa America Centenario at CenturyLink Field (6:30 p.m., FS1, UniMas, UDN).
“It really helps to have a group of guys who have been through it before, that understand what it means to play in big games, to understand what it means to win big games,” said Bradley, one of 14 holdovers from the 2014 World Cup team.
“[Thursday] there’ll be a winner and a loser. The winner gets to go to Houston and play a semifinal and for the loser it’s done. That’s reality.”
It’s also reality that the U.S., after a slow start in the tournament, will take a wave of momentum into its quarterfinal, riding a two-game winning streak and 228 consecutive shutout minutes.
Chile and Argentina are the only other teams to have won their last two games and only Argentina has matched the U.S. by not allowing a goal in that span.
Ecuador, with the best team in its long soccer history, figures to be a far more challenging opponent than the last two the U.S. faced. Led by English Premier League veterans Antonio Valencia (Manchester United) and Enner Valencia (West Ham United), Ecuador entered the month ranked among the top 12 in the world for the first time and currently rests atop the table in South American World Cup qualifying. And with a win and two draws in the Centenario, Ecuador is unbeaten in the tournament and has lost just twice in the last 12 months.
One of those losses came against the U.S. in a friendly three weeks ago, though, a result that has given the Americans a jolt of confidence heading into Thursday’s rematch.
The U.S. could get some help from the grandstands. Although the U.S. is the host country, Mexico and Argentina both averaged larger crowds in group play. And Colombian supporters outnumbered American fans in the tournament opener in Santa Clara.
But in soccer-mad Seattle, the U.S. will definitely be the home team.
“To play this game is front of the Seattle crowd is huge for us,” Coach Juergen Klinsmann said. “It’s a 50-50 game. Anything can happen. Every little, small piece can make the difference.”
How big that crowd will be remains to be seen. As of late Wednesday afternoon, organizers said more than 20,000 tickets remained unsold, making it likely the U.S. game will be the only quarterfinal that won’t sell out. Demand on the secondary market has also been weak, with the average price of $181 less than half what tickets to the Colombia-Peru ($426) and Mexico-Chile ($489) games were going for, according to Jake Sharpless, a data analysis for Rukkus, an online ticket marketplace.
One U.S. fan who will be watching is DeAndre Yedlin. Normally a starting defender, Yedlin is suspended for Thursday’s game after picking up two yellow cards in less than a minute in the last game of group play, leaving Klinsmann without his best right back to contain explosive Ecuadoran midfielder Jefferson Montero.
Michael Orozco took Yedlin’s place last week and that would seem to be the most seamless alternative. But Klinsmann could also move left back Fabian Johnson across the field and start Edgar Castillo on the left side.
One other thing that will change Thursday are the tournament rules. Games cannot end in a draw in the knockout round but Centenario rules do not allow for the normal 30-minute overtime in either the quarterfinals or semifinals, meaning ties will go directly to penalty kicks after 90 minutes.
“It’s the quarterfinals. A chance to play in a big game in an unbelievable stadium in front of what could potentially be the best crowd we’ve seen in a long time,” Bradley said. “As a player you want to play in the biggest games … when the spotlight comes on brightest.
“And tomorrow night is certainly one of those opportunities.”
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