U.S. in for Long Day at ‘Office’
Jamaica’s players call their stadium “the office,” and any way you look at it, the U.S. national team has its work cut out for it in Saturday’s World Cup qualifying match in Kingston.
The “Reggae Boyz” have not lost at home in almost seven years, a streak that reached 50 games with a 4-1 victory over Cuba on Sunday, when Onandi Lowe of the Kansas City Wizards scored two goals.
Lowe is not the only Major League Soccer player on Jamaica’s national team. Coach Clovis de Oliveira conceivably could have more MLS players in his starting lineup than the U.S. does.
It’s not likely, but it is possible.
Besides Lowe, Jamaica’s squad includes Tyrone Marshall of the Miami Fusion, Wolde Harris of the New England Revolution, Andy Williams of the Columbus Crew and Chris Dawes of the Colorado Rapids.
Meanwhile, 13 of the 23 players U.S. Coach Bruce Arena called in to camp are European-based; he has not started more than five MLS players in any of the previous three matches, and two of those players--Clint Mathis and Josh Wolff--are sidelined by injury.
Marshall, who scored the lone goal in Jamaica’s 1-0 defeat of Trinidad and Tobago in February, believes that Jamaica, in fourth place in the six-nation qualifying group, has a good chance of being among the three teams that reach Korea/Japan 2002.
“We’re looking at our situation positively,” he said. “We know that the match against the U.S. is a must win. Then we feel we can get points at Costa Rica and Trinidad.”
The undefeated U.S. leads the group with nine points from three matches. Costa Rica, Jamaica and Mexico each have four points, Honduras has two and Trinidad and Tobago has one.
History Lesson
The last team to defeat Jamaica in Kingston was the U.S., which recorded a 3-0 victory on Nov. 22, 1994. Two members of the current U.S. squad played in that game--defender Jeff Agoos and forward Jovan Kirovski, who scored a goal.
Heating Up
The American players have been training in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., getting acclimated to the 90-degree temperature that they will face when the game kicks off at noon in Kingston.
The stadium will be sold out and Jamaica is counting on the heat and the home crowd to keep its streak going.
“The U.S. has to worry about playing in front of our crowd in the heat of a Jamaican afternoon,” Marshall said. “We feel we can pressure them for the entire 90 minutes.”
Said Williams: “I’m not surprised by the success of the U.S. team. They are tough, they have good players and a good coach and they always show up to play. This is going to be a very tough game for us. . . . I just hope their [the Americans’] luck will run out this time.”
A Jamaican victory could propel the team into second place and Lowe, who has helped the Fusion to an MLS-best 10-1-1 record this season, said the “Reggae Boyz” are well aware of the game’s importance to their chances of reaching a second consecutive World Cup.
“We’re taking it very seriously,” he said Tuesday while taking a break from midday training in Kingston. “It’s very important for us to win.
“We’re playing at home and we’re going to go all out to win. We’re not going to hold back. We’re going to attack and defend for 90 minutes and try to wear them [the U.S. players] down.”
More MLS Influence
The North and Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF) region’s two other qualifying games Saturday also feature MLS players.
Luis Hernandez of the Galaxy was called into camp for Mexico, which plays Costa Rica on Saturday at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. The Costa Rican team includes William Sunsing of the Revolution.
“All of Costa Rica worries me . . . because it is a dangerous team, a very fast team,” said Mexico Coach Enrique Meza, who has lost four consecutive games and might be fired if that number reaches five.
Mexico never has lost a World Cup match at Azteca, either in qualifying play or in the World Cup itself.
Also Saturday, Trinidad and Tobago is at home against Honduras in Port of Spain and the T&T; team includes Ansil Elcock of the Crew on its roster.
“There are actually 20 MLS players engaged in qualifying all around the globe,” said Ivan Gazidis, the league’s deputy commissioner, pointing out that the Galaxy’s Simon Elliott and D.C. United’s Ryan Nelsen helped New Zealand win its Oceania qualifying group this week.
The Kiwis next play Australia is a two-game series in Wellington on Wednesday and Sydney on June 24 to determine which will play the fifth-place finisher in South America for a 2002 World Cup berth.
Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday dropped its most famous player, Manchester United forward Dwight Yorke, after he skipped an away game against Panama on Sunday to go night-clubbing.
Cobi Cleared
Galaxy winger Cobi Jones had his FIFA-imposed two-game suspension from the U.S. team reduced to one and is eligible for Wednesday’s match against Trinidad and Tobago at Foxboro, Mass., should Arena decide to call on him.
