WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FIRST ROUND : U.S. Puts Up Storm Warning : Group A: Americans preparing for a wrathful Colombia in wake of its 3-1 upset by Romania.
There are two schools of thought on Colombia’s mood going into today’s World Cup game against the United States at the Rose Bowl.
One says the intense pressure on Colombia, which was upset by Romania in its opener, will cause the team to wilt in its rush to gain a point with only two games left in the first round. This reasoning has it that the Colombians will press to score and lapse into undisciplined individual play.
The other says Colombia had an off day against Romania and won’t have another. According to that line of thinking, the Colombians will take out their frustrations on the U.S. team.
The latter theory is more popular and the U.S. team is preparing for the worst. Assistant coach Steve Sampson said Tuesday of the resilient Colombians: “They are the type of team that won’t panic. They won’t change their system. All they have to do is finish their chances.”
Those are likely to occur at an alarming rate, with Faustino Asprilla, Carlos Valderrama and Freddy Rincon playing. The surprising news from the Colombian camp Tuesday was that Anthony de Avila would start in place of Adolfo Valencia at forward.
De Avila adds quickness to an already fast team, which might well cause serious problems for the U.S. defense. “We are confronted with a team that is considered to be one of the best in the world, with the best talent in the world,” Sampson said. “But you have to look at what’s happening in this World Cup. Anything can happen.”
Aside from the one change on Colombia’s side, look for the U.S. team to make some adjustments.
Possible new looks:
-- The World Cup debut of Hugo Perez.
One of the obvious problems for the U.S. team in its 1-1 tie against Switzerland was controlling the ball in the midfield. Barring a miraculous overnight recovery from his hamstring injury, Claudio Reyna will not play today. His creativity and ability to hold the ball was sorely missed last week and continues to be.
Perez is older and not as active as Reyna, but he’s experienced and highly skilled and--rare on the U.S. team--is left-footed. Perez would seem to be a good choice to insert in the lineup.
“That’s one of the changes Bora’s looking at,” Sampson said of his boss, U.S. Coach Bora Milutinovic. “He recognizes that we need someone in the middle of the field who can hold the ball for us and allow us to stay more compact between our back line and our front line.”
--Eric Wynalda moved back to the midfield, Roy Wegerle as the withdrawn forward and Ernie Stewart as striker.
Wynalda played in the midfield in the second half of the final tuneup game, against Mexico, with great success. This alignment has the benefit of adding Wynalda’s speed and ball-control skills to the midfield, which should help link the midfield to the forwards.
“Even though that is a very good option for us, I think most likely you’ll see that combination in the second half,” Sampson said.
That’s because of Wegerle’s questionable fitness. Wegerle has had three recent knee operations and although he says he’s ready to play 90 minutes, Milutinovic will want to have the freshest legs and fastest players available to him.
--Mike Sorber playing more of a playmaker role and Thomas Dooley dropping back to help on defense.
Dooley is the one American no one would have expected to have a sub-par game, but his contribution against Switzerland was diffused because he spent too much time helping other players on defense.
Sorber has been a quiet player and something of an unknown. His starting in midfield surprised some, but Sorber is the kind of steady player Milutinovic likes.
“There is a part of Mike Sorber that is happy to be on the field,” Sampson said. “But I think there is a part of him that would like to be a playmaker, but he has too much respect for Thomas Dooley.”
Sampson says the U.S. staff wants to see Dooley play with his back to his own goal so that his first touch of the ball is more confident. The staff wants Sorber, not Dooley, to push the ball up and would prefer that Dooley drop back and play defensively.
The defense figures to have trouble maintaining position against Colombia’s constant attacks.
“Switzerland played a lot of long ball,” U.S. defender Cle Kooiman said. “Colombia will come through more on the middle of the field. They will play the ball on the ground.
“It would be nice if they fell apart. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
