U.S. Players Starting to Make Their Claims
Write down Eddie Pope’s name in ink.
Get ready to do the same for Taylor Twellman and Todd Dunivant.
The three players have made the strongest possible claims to being included on Coach Bruce Arena’s roster when he names the United States squad that will go to the World Cup in Germany in June.
In a 3-2 victory over Japan in San Francisco on Friday night, Pope showed with a battling performance and his second goal in as many games that he has shaken off the doldrums of a lackluster 2005 Major League Soccer season for Real Salt Lake.
Twellman, meanwhile, added a goal and two assists against Japan to the three goals he scored against Norway 10 days earlier.
Four goals and two assists in two games will make it difficult for Arena not to take Twellman to Germany -- if not in June for the big show, then certainly in March, for warmup games against Poland in Kaiserslautern and Germany in Dortmund.
And if Twellman can turn in similar performances against the Poles and Germans, he will make it all but impossible for Arena to ignore the New England Revolution striker.
As for Dunivant, he was once again a revelation. His national team debut against Norway clearly was not simply a one-off, not a one-time performance buoyed by wearing the U.S. uniform.
Against Japan, the Galaxy left back again showed the sort of poise necessary in that position and again demonstrated an enthusiasm for joining the attack when the opportunity presented itself.
It was Dunivant’s long pass to Twellman, and then Twellman’s glancing header that set up Pope’s goal.
Twellman’s quick thinking and flawless execution on the play was as impressive as the headed goal he later scored off a Landon Donovan corner kick, when he barreled through the Japanese defense to reach the ball first.
“He should go to Vegas,” Donovan said. “He’s been unbelievable. He’s working hard. He’s doing the right things and he’s getting better every game.
“It’s a lot different playing here [with the national team], and I think he’s starting to realize that and he’s doing the right things and being rewarded.”
The ultimate reward for the forward from St. Louis would be a World Cup spot, and he is much closer to earning it now than he was two weeks ago.
“He’s had two very good games,” Arena said. “He’s certainly putting himself in a good position. It’s going to be competitive right down the stretch for everybody. But Taylor certainly hasn’t hurt his cause.”
The problem for Twellman is that he is much the same sort of combative, go-for-broke striker as Brian McBride, who is certain to be going to Germany, and it is unlikely that both would be on the field at the same time.
But his most recent two games have put Twellman well ahead of at least two other forwards trying to make the squad -- Eddie Johnson and Brian Ching -- and might even have pulled him level with 2002 World Cup veteran Josh Wolff, who worked hard against Japan but still is looking for his first goal in 2006.
Johnson came on as a substitute late in Friday’s game and, with limited time to shine, did not do so. Ching, likewise, failed to sparkle.
Not that they were alone. Chris Klein looked uncomfortable as a fill-in at right back -- not his usual position -- and hurt his World Cup chances.
Helping their cause, however, were defender Jimmy Conrad and midfielder Clint Dempsey, but both their names are still in pencil.
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Next up for the U.S. is a match against Guatemala at Frisco, Texas, on Sunday, but the game will be of very limited use.
That’s because Arena has released the eight Revolution and Galaxy players on his roster so that they can be with their clubs for upcoming CONCACAF Champions Cup games.
That means neither Kevin Hartman of the Galaxy nor Matt Reis of the Revolution will be in the nets against Guatemala.
Whether either goalkeeper will be taken to Germany for the two March matches remains uncertain.
Kasey Keller will be the starter at the World Cup, and Marcus Hahnemann, who is helping power Reading ever closer to promotion to the English Premier League, probably will be Keller’s backup.
Who the No. 3 goalkeeper will be is unclear. It could be Tim Howard, but he lost his starting spot at Manchester United to Dutch international Edwin Van der Saar and has not been playing at a consistently high level for several months.
That leaves the door open for Hartman or Reis, unless Arena wants Howard to experience a World Cup, even from the bench, keeping in mind that neither Keller nor Hahnemann are likely to be in the picture by the time South Africa 2010 rolls around.
It’s a difficult call, and one that Arena will not be making until late April.
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Ghana, the U.S. team’s third World Cup opponent after games against the Czech Republic and Italy, fell flat at the African Nations Cup in Egypt, losing two of its three games and being ousted in the first round.
Ghana was beaten by Nigeria, defeated Senegal and then lost to unheralded Zimbabwe. Serbian Coach Ratomir Dujkovic came in for some criticism, but his job is safe for now.
At least so said Kwasi Nyantakyi, the president of Ghana’s soccer federation.
“We take responsibility for the poor performance of the team and hereby apologize for that,” Nyantakyi said on the Ghana Football Assn. website. “The exit of the Black Stars ... is painful and regrettable.
“Our performance ... exposed several inadequacies in the team, we cannot pretend as though the team was perfect.”
In its defense, Ghana played without star midfielder Michael Essien of Chelsea and two or three other injured starters.
It proved too much to overcome, and U.S. fans should not be fooled into thinking Ghana will be an easy foe in Nuremburg on June 22.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles area fans have the chance to see two World Cup-bound teams Wednesday night when Mexico plays South Korea at 8 p.m. at the Coliseum.
