U.S. Still Up for the Cup
Perfect.
That’s what the United States is three games into the final round of qualifying for soccer’s 2002 World Cup.
Three games played, three games won.
It might be a bit early to book flights to Japan or South Korea next year, but it’s a good idea to start checking fares.
A 70th-minute goal by Josh Wolff off a deflection from Clint Mathis was the difference Wednesday night as the U.S. defeated Costa Rica, 1-0, in front of 37,391 at Arrowhead Stadium.
It was the second time in World Cup qualifying play that the Georgia duo--Wolff is from Stone Mountain and Mathis is from Conyers--had combined for a game-winning goal. Earlier, they did so in a 2-0 victory over Mexico.
Six teams from the North and Central American and Caribbean region are trying to get to the World Cup, but only three will make it.
After Wednesday’s victory, the U.S. has a five-point edge over the field and is in a strong position to qualify.
“We’ve got a few more points to get, but we would have to have a [disaster] not to qualify now,” said goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who was in top form while earning his third consecutive shutout in qualifying play.
The U.S. cause was helped further by the outcome of the other two games in the group. Mexico managed only a 1-1 tie against Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on Wednesday afternoon and Jamaica could do no better than tie Honduras, 1-1, in Kingston, Jamaica, on Wednesday night.
The U.S. has nine points, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Mexico have four, Honduras has two and Trinidad and Tobago has one.
“It’s nice to have a little cushion right now because we may need it,” U.S. Coach Bruce Arena said.
The Americans dominated the game, especially in the second half when Mathis, in particular, peppered the Costa Rican net with shots.
The decisive goal had a touch of controversy about it, however.
A corner kick by U.S. defender Jeff Agoos was floated into the goal area. Mathis and Costa Rican defender Reynaldo Parks both leaped to head the ball, which appeared to come off Mathis’ arm, albeit inadvertently.
No call was made, the ball fell free to Wolff in front of the net and the Chicago Fire forward had the simple task of tapping it in for his third goal in international competition.
Should a hand ball have been called?
“I didn’t see it,” Wolff said.
No, Mathis said.
“Any time there’s a ball in the box, I’m going to try to fight for it and get a touch on it and anything can happen,” he added. “The ball happened to bounce in our favor. It went to Josh and he put it away.”
Alexandre Guimaraes, Costa Rica’s coach, did not protest the goal, saying he had not seen any infraction.
Either way, the goal was poetic justice for Wolff.
He had come within inches of giving the U.S. the lead in the 16th minute when he beat Costa Rican goalkeeper Erick Lonnis and defender Jervis Drummond to a loose ball at the edge of the six-yard box.
Wolff chipped the ball toward the empty net, only to see Parks sprint back just in time to hook the ball out of the net a split second before it could cross the line.
The play brought Arena to his feet.
“It was close, but I was told that it was the right decision,” he said.
In the end, the near-miss didn’t matter.
“It was a great win in a really difficult game,” Arena said. “I was really pleased with the way our guys kept their composure. We realized that the Costa Ricans were probably going to be happy with a point [from a tie] and they did a good job defensively. They were tough to break down.”
“It was an outstanding performance by everyone.”
Perfect, in fact.
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Standings
*--*
Team W L T GF GA Pts United States 3 0 0 5 1 9 Costa Rica 1 1 1 5 3 4 Mexico 1 1 1 5 3 4 Jamaica 1 1 1 2 5 4 Honduras 0 1 2 4 5 2 Trinidad/Tobago 0 2 1 1 5 1
*--*
WEDNESDAY’S SCORES
* United States 1, Costa Rica 0
* Mexico 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1
* Honduras 1, Jamaica 1
