Group C offers one of the most hyped games of the entire group stage in England vs. the United States. It features two teams whose nations are continually linked together, not just on the pitch (1950 shock USA victory over England) but politically as well. While in modern times these two nations are each other’s biggest allies, people will still refer to it as another Revolutionary War, a callback to the war which resulted in the United States ridding them of English rule and becoming their own state. With all the back story heading into the first game, it is easy to forget two tricky teams also reside in this group in Algeria and Slovenia who will be anything but a pushover for the two bigger nations.
The team with the most expectations in this group heading into the World Cup is easily England. One could argue England is the craziest soccer-loving nation in the world and want the cup to be theirs for the first time since 1966, when they hosted the tournament. The fans and press, who both apply far too much pressure on the players, are craving the title more than usual before a World Cup because of how dominant England were in the qualifying campaign. They simply steamrolled their competition, being the second European team to qualify for the tournament after the Dutch. A dominating display in Zagreb against rivals Croatia that resulted in a 5-1 victory for the Three Lions was the marquee game for them, and one that announced to the world that the English could actually live up to the lofty expectations set for them by the rest of their nation in South Africa. Coach Fabio Capello has been hailed a genius by the press, and appears prepared to take the English on a deep run. The English will rely heavily on striker Wayne Rooney, who had a fantastic campaign for Manchester United despite suffering a few injuries towards the end of it. They are praying he will be healthy because it is very hard to see the English making any noise without him up front. The major concern for England is between the posts. Robert Green of West Ham United appears to be the number one choice, but he is anything but an elite goalie. It’s no knock against him, but Green will not carry them to the final; the defense will have to do well in front of him. Unfortunately there are question marks about the defense as well. Ashley Cole is an elite fullback and will be lock down on the left side, while Glen Johnson is solid defensively, and extremely dangerous going forward on the right side. The problem could be in the center. Usual starter John Terry had a bad year both on and off the field for Chelsea, which resulted in him losing the captaincy of England, making him appear much more unreliable heading into the tournament than during qualification. The captaincy was given to Rio Ferdinand, who has been injured pretty much all year, and hasn’t appeared himself of late when on the pitch. Capello made a mistake giving Ferdinand the armband because now he has to play Ferdinand, who could end up being a liability. Ledley King, another option, has possibly the worst knees on the planet and can’t practice with the team in between games because of how hurt they are, despite how well he has played when on the field. King is a good option, but the definition of unreliable in that he could get injured by something as simple as walking from his bed to the bathroom. Matthew Upson is the final option, but he is untested and does not have much big match experience for his club either. Defense is the big question for England, because the midfield and forwards they possess are world class. Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Aaron Lennon, Joe Cole, Gareth Barry and James Milner are all good options in the midfield, while Peter Crouch, Emile Heskey and Jermain Defoe are all good strike options upfront with Rooney. In the end, if England can settle their issues at center back and protect Robert Green, then they will be a formidable side.
The United States are a very interesting side heading into the World Cup. They are a diverse team, in that many of their players are seasoned veterans, while a few have less than five caps. This makes the United States a mix of precocious individuals who are somewhat shocked to be going to South Africa (Edson Buddle, Robbie Findley and Herculez Gomez… oh hey all forwards) and those who expected to be there when the team got knocked out in Germany four years ago. One thing that takes the United States from an average team to an elite team is their starting goalie Tim Howard. Howard is considered one of the best in the world and is coming off a good year with his club team in England, Everton. On numerous occasions he has bailed the team out of tight spots, and he will be called upon in South Africa to make big saves. If Howard is in the zone, the sky is the limit for the United States. The defense is a little shaky though, as there are numerous injury problems. One crucial detail though is the necessity of Carlos Bocanegra to play at left back. The position has been a cancer for the USA in many tournaments, and although Bocanegra would probably rather play center back, he is someone who can actually be competent on the left wing. Jay DeMerit will start in the center, and if he is healthy in time, Oguchi Onyewu will as well. Jonathon Spector appeared to be the starting right back until he looked beyond horrendous against Turkey in a recent friendly, making room for the consistent Steve Cherundolo to get the nod on the right wing. The midfield is deceptively strong and versatile; there are many different looks coach Bob Bradley can go with. Clint Dempsey should be on the left side of the midfield, not up top, as should Michael Bradley. After that players like Ricardo Clark, Maurice Edu, Jose Torres and Stuart Holden can all fight for starting spots. Honestly, all could start at different points in South Africa given how diverse that group is; Clark is physical, Edu is very good defensively, Torres is a great creator going forward and Holden is a master crosser of the ball. Right now I would give the starts to Torres and Edu, but Clark and Holden could both prove crucial to the USA at different points in South Africa. America’s best player is Landon Donovan, and while he is a midfielder by trade, I would put him up top, slightly behind striker Jozy Altidore. His job would be to set up Altidore with good chances, as well as run at defenses. He is the best player on the field for the USA besides Tim Howard, and Donovan up top with Altidore could provide a lot of crucial goals. If not Donovan, the game against Turkey proved the USA needs speed to couple with Altidore’s power to be effective on the attack, meaning Robbie Findley would be the ideal person for the job. Findley is extremely quick and deceptively skillful, his biggest problem though being how inexperienced he is on the international level. Coming off the bench expected to score is Herculez Gomez, who is inexperienced but appears to be good at getting in good positions to poach goals.
Algeria is the third team in Group C and is the one with the lowest expectations amongst pundits entering the tournament. Despite being the consensus weakest team, nobody can deny that Algeria earned their spot in the tournament, winning a dramatic game against heated rival Egypt in Sudan, a stunning volley from center back Anthar Yahia the difference in the match. The strength for Algeria is their midfield, where they have the creative Karim Ziani running the show, as well as tricky players Nadir Belhadj and Hassan Yebda running on the wings. This midfield is expected to control every game the Algerians play in if they want to have a decent showing in South Africa. The Algerians also have a solid goalkeeper in Lounes Gaouaui (did not know an individual was allowed to have that many vowels in a row). The biggest problem for the Algerians may not be their opponents, but themselves. They are an extremely fiery group that has been known to stop caring about games halfway through and concern themselves more with injuring their opponents (ex: 4-0 loss to Egypt in semi finals of African Cup of Nations this past January). This loss of focus could come back to bite them in South Africa and could mean a dramatic exit for the Algerians.
The Slovenians are an extremely dangerous team going to South Africa. Much is being made of how small the nation is that the Slovenians come from, but people should simply throw that logic out the window. The Slovenians beat Russia in a playoff to get here, you can be guaranteed they will not be intimidated by the size of England and the USA. The pundits should pay more attention to the massive size of the Slovenian players, with 16 of their 23 players being listed at 6 feet tall or taller. The frontline will be led by Milivoje Novakovic, listed at 6 ft 4in, who is one of the most feared strikers in the German Bundesliga. He will be coupled with Zlatko Dedic, a modest 6 feet tall, and Nejc Pecnik, 6 ft 2 in, will be the super substitute coming off the bench. In between the pipes, the Slovenians will send out their up and coming Samir Handanovic, 6 ft 5 in. Handanovic is coming off a good year for Udinese in Italy and will be expected to lead Slovenia to the knockout rounds. The midfield is well organized, led by miniscule captain Robert Koren, who will be expected to protect the much larger backline from opponents’ attack. The only other big name in the midfield is Rene Krhin, the 20 year old Inter Milan player who is the future of Slovenian football. The defense is an enigma, with no big names listed on the squad, but is pretty good, allowing sixteen goals in twelve games during qualifying. Handanovic will be expected to make some pretty big saves for the Slovenians to do well, but the backline should do a good job of protecting him.
Conclusion:
I am joining many pundits here by taking both England and the USA to advance into the knockout rounds. I think there is too much fire power for England not to get out of the group, and the USA is extremely tenacious, making them a tough out too. I see the big match being a somewhat boring draw at 1-1, with Landon Donovan and John Terry getting on the score sheet. The English will beat the other two teams in the group to take first place, while the Americans will tie the Slovenians and beat the Algerians to take second. Slovenia, who I’m predicting will be very difficult to beat, will edge the Algerians 1-0 in their first game before a disappointing draw against the USA. The Algerians will self-destruct on the final matchday, realizing they cannot advance, and the USA will be the benefactors from it, tanking them 4-0 on the final day to advance. Here is the table, schedule and how I see the group playing out:
Game 1: England 1 vs. 1 USA
Game 2: Algeria 0 vs. 1 Slovenia
Game 3: Slovenia 1 vs. 1 USA
Game 4: England 2 vs. 1 Algeria
Game 5: Slovenia 0 vs. 2 England
Game 6: USA 4 vs. 0 Algeria
Final Standings:
England 7 pts
USA 5 pts
Slovenia 4 pts
Algeria 0 pts
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment