Drill Soccer

Joe Gaetjens place in US Soccer history was secured on 29th June 1950. The goal secured a shock win over England, then the self-proclaimed kings of soccer. On Sunday 11th July 2010, just over sixty years to the day since Gaetjens famous striker, is it possible that another US soccer player could write his name into the history books by scoring the goal that puts the USA on top of the soccer world?

Qualification is never guaranteed but the squad currently head the group table going into the last round of matches. A 3-1 reverse in San Jose put a dent in the US’ hopes but the 4-0 thrashing handed out to their last opponents by their next opponents in August gave Bob Bradley’s boys renewed belief that securing their place for South Africa 2010 is in their own hands.

A number of teams have already been confirmed for the live World Cup finals to be hosted in South Africa and include some familiar faces and some more surprising. Brazil carry on their record of never missing a tournament and are also joined by Paraguay from the CONCACAF rounds. Another previous winner, Argentina, is yet to find consistent form and participation is far from a given. The World crown has never left the continents of South America and Europe and the latter will also produce strong challengers. So far, they include1966 winners England, reigning European Champions Spain, and the Netherlands who are former European Champions and widely considered to be the best side never to have won the World Cup.

2002 joint hosts Japan and South Korea have both qualified as have Australia. North Korea make a surprise appearance after a 44 year absence from the tournament. Ghana became the first CAF side to qualify for the World Cup finals with South Africa gaining automatic qualification as the tournament hosts.  

The USA men’s national team currently sit 11th in FIFA’s coefficient ranking list which is lower 3 of the above teams. Yet form going into a World Cup is in no way a guide to the identity of the hands who will ultimately lift the trophy.

The US competed in the first two tournaments in the 1930’s and then again in Brazil in 1950. However, without a successful professional domestic league, coupled with soccer being somewhat of a minority sport overshadowed by the giants of the NFL, NBA and NHL, participation in what the majority of the world considers the biggest sporting event next to the Olympic Games has been far from the central consciousness of the general population. It was all change in 1990 when the national side qualified for the tournament after being granted host status for the 1994 tournament on the condition the MLS was established. Three subsequent qualifications for the tournaments in France, Korea/Japan and Germany in 2006 have raised international expectations of US performance. In the 1998 World Cup hosted in France the US made it all the way to the quarter finals before losing out to finalists Germany by a single goal.

The current players chosen to enter the national side come from leagues and competitions home and overseas. While record breaker Landon Donavan now plies his trade alongside England international and former Manchester United and Real Madrid megastar David Beckham at LA Galaxy, many of his international team-mates are sampling what the wider world can offer.

The US national side boasts players from plying their trade at club level in several different leagues including the Premier League, Bundesliga and Serie A. However, the list of US internationals on the rosters of foreign clubs continues to grow with representatives of the national squad also in Portugal, Denmark, Norway and Mexico to name but a further four.

The 2010 tournament will take place in South Africa’s winter which will suit many US players who ply their trade in Europe. 1994 (USA) and 2002 (Japan/South Korea) apart, the tendency in more recent tournaments has been for teams from the host continent to win. The Brazil side have always been the anomaly to this trend after wins in 1994 and 2002 but the 2010 World Cup in South Africa raises the interesting question of who will be able to acclimatise best to the climate and enjoy success?

The women’s equivalent of the US national team have experienced success in the Olympics and World Cup tournaments in recent history. As the MLS increases the popularity of the game known to the rest of the globe as ‘football’, the ability of the men to step up to the plate and produce their own piece of history will only grow as more and more players register opening up soccer as a game to those athletes who would previously have been lost to track and field, basketball, baseball, hockey, football….amongst others.

England’s proud national game has only produced one instance of World Champions in over a century of competition. Meanwhile an impoverished Brazil have picked up 5 separate triumphs and achieved a great reputation amongst neutral supporters worldwide. The enthusiasm for sport in the US coupled with the available population and economic prowess make them almost unique on the world stage. And if it all comes to fruition one day, a new world order may just have started in soccer terms.