USA Vs. Czech Republic

[burythehatchet]

U.S. Team to Play Czech Republic in First Match
By JERE LONGMAN
Published: June 12, 2006

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany, June 11 — The United States opens World Cup play here Monday against the Czech Republic. One expected matchup will more closely resemble the jostling of a power forward and a small forward, or of a tight end and a linebacker, than of a soccer forward and a defender.

At nearly 6 feet 4 inches, defender Oguchi Onyewu has the height and talent to stand out on the United States team.

Jeff Z. Klein, Robert Mackey and other staff members of The Times and International Herald Tribune are tracking the world's most popular sporting event, including live match coverage.



The looming Czech forward Jan Koller stands 6 feet 7½ inches, shaves his thinning hair and carries the nickname Dino, short for dinosaur.

The sturdy United States defender Oguchi Onyewu stands nearly 6-4, wears his hair in cornrows and is nicknamed Gooch, short for his full name, Oguchialu, which in Igbo, a Nigerian language, means "God fights for me."

Their expected cunning and brawny duel may play a decisive role in Monday's outcome, which is vital for both teams. In the past two World Cups, only Turkey (in 2002) lost its first match and still advanced beyond group play.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/12/sports/soccer/12soccer.html?ex=1150257600&en=c79df0f200316565&ei=5087%0A

[Kipling]

1. I predict 1-0 to the Czechs.

Sorry to all you Americans, but you have a pretty nasty group - Italy will almost certainly beat you too.

[burythehatchet]

2. Hope not n/t

[Kipling]

7. It would seem that your hope has not been in vain... 2-0 Czech Republic.

[rooboy]

4. Czech Republic 1-0 after 5 minutes. It won't end at 1-0. n/t

[northzax]

11. I think we actually can beat Italy

if we play like we did today, then we will go home as the last place team, again. But I think we can, if the team actually shows up.

[Kipling]

17. Did you see Italy vs Ghana? They looked pretty good.

Ghana were not bad - you may even have a rough ride against them - but Italy were really on top all the way through. In particular the US will need to seriously pick up its defending if it is to have any chance at all against them.

[northzax]

18. didn't see it, damn job. :)

but I think Italy may be somewhat complacent, western European clubs especially tend to overlook the US, which means an upset is possible. not likely, but possible.

[northzax]

19. the beauty of playing Italy

is that they only score once. If the US can score first, and I doubt it, they (we) can win, or at least get a tie. hedy, it's not realistic, but it's all we got these days...

[Kipling]

21. "the beauty of playing Italy is that they only score once" - they won 2-0.

[MaineDem]

3. BBC thoughts:

"The Czechs will have to shuffle their pack a little bit because of Milan Baros' absence, pushing new Arsenal signing Tomas Rosicky further forward and bringing Jaroslav Plasil into midfield.

"The Czech squad are getting on a bit now and many people feel this could be their last chance of glory with their current crop of players, as many are over 30. You just wonder whether they will cope with the heat and humidity in this stadium or whether the superior fitness of this very well organised and disciplined USA side will shine through on the day."
Jimmy Armfield, BBC Five Live Sport.

[burythehatchet]

5. 6' 7" has its benefits!

1-0 Republica Checa

[Cush]

6. 2 - 0 Czech's

[no_to_war_economy]

8. god damn that post

that potential goal would have given them the confidence they need

[Captain Hilts]

9. This is not pretty. Too much to hope for a 0-3, Liverpool-style comeback?

[burythehatchet]

12. They looked completely deflated after

the post stopped them.

[Ganja Ninja]

10. 3 nothing Czech's 89 minutes. n/t

[Bushknew]

13. Why didn’t we try to create corner kick situations?

Instead we tried to score up the middle on a team with superior ball handling. How stupid is that.

[jakefrep]

14. Blame it on Bush...

As if we needed any more reason to hate him...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/soccer/world_cup_blog/2006/06/good-luck-call-from-george-w.html#comments

[burythehatchet]

15. I wonder if the players' re-entry visas will be cancelled

Better than being shot, I suppose.

[jakefrep]

16. This is Bush we're talking about here....

...I don't think he gives enough of a rat's ass to bother with that. That's assuming he even remembers or even knows about the game's outcome.

[erpowers]

20. Team USA Seems to be Screwed

Team USA has to play Italy next so it seems to me that they will lose that match also. Even though I did not watch the game I thought team USA could win. I had heard it would be a hard match, but I still thought they could win. I was hoping the team would advance past the first round, but it seem as if that may not happen.

[burythehatchet]

22. When I saw the schedule it was apparent that the first match

was essentially a single elimination. I don't completely count them out against Italy but its certainly uphill from here.

[SKKY]

23. Oh ye of little faith...

Do any of you remember 2002? We got thumped almost as bad by Poland, but then came back against
Mexico and beat them 2-0, then, played probably our best game of the tournament in the loss to
Germany. Bruce Arena has been a winner on every level, and I believe in his ability to relate to
the American player and get the most out of them. A lot of comparisons have been made to the
France debacle in 98. The difference between then and now is we have players who believe
in the system and the coach. I look for a startlingly different performance on Saturday.

[burythehatchet]

24. I want to share your optimism but they are playing Italy next

I think. (I miss Baggio!)

[nickgutierrez]

25. "Jesus, that was embarassing"

One review I heard of the US's performance in that game. I hope Saturday tells a different story.