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Three Days Away
Tuesday, June 06, 2006 Here's what's happened recently. 1) Claudio Reyna has been deemed healthy and ready to go. 2) We beat Angola yesterday in a closed-door scrimmage 1-0, behind a goal by Brian McBride. Four years ago, in our last match before the World Cup, we beat Costa Rica 1-0 in a closed-door scrimmage, behind a goal by Brian McBride. Things aren't all rosy though, as Angola played the last 60 minutes down a man and we still only managed a 1-0 victory, but since I wasn't actually allowed to see what happened, I'm not going to get too stressed about it. 3) There are all kinds of rumors, guesses, and hopes about who will start for us on Monday. Here is the one I believe will come to pass. Keller Cherundolo Onyewu Pope Lewis Mastroeni Beasley Convey Reyna Donovan McBride Potential subs: O'Brien for Mastroeni, Dempsey for Beasley, Johnson for Convey or McBride One thing is for certain--the 14 players mentioned above will be getting the bulk of the playing time. Or is it? I've heard rumors that Bocanegra will start at left back, rumors that Keller is secretly injured (though Bruce insists everyone is healthy), and rumors that Dempsey will make a surprise start as our attacking midfielder. I have no idea what to believe anymore. I'm ready for this thing to start! I haven't written much about the Czech team, because I don't know much about them. But here's what we should be facing on Monday, if what I've read is to be believed. World-class strikers Milan Baros and Jan Koller. Three great attacking midfielders: Karel Poborsky, a veteran formerly with Manchester United, Tomas Rosicky who just transferred to Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund, and the recently un-retired Juventus star Pavel Nedved. They have a lethal attack, although Baros, Koller, and Rosicky have all been battling injuries. If the Czech Republic has a weakness, it is its defense. Based on what I've read, I'd take Pope and Gooch in the middle over the Czech centerbacks, although perhaps someone more informed than I could chime in on this. Finishing against this team will be crucial, however, as Petr Cech minds the nets for the Czech Republic. He's the Chelsea keeper, and one of the best in the world. Anything less than great striking of the ball will not get it done. This match has real potential to be a 3-2 shootout much like the Portugal match four years ago (which airs Thursday at 2 p.m. eastern on ESPN Classic). Let's hope for the same result. Some final things before I preview Germany-Costa Rica on Thursday... 1) Anyone know a good place to watch the games in downtown Brooklyn and/or lower Manhattan? Musts include a high-definition television, enthusiastic crowd, and ability to serve beer before noon. 2) If you want to join my $20/person World Cup pool, shoot an email to jacksup@mattmatros.com 3) There's only one Claudio Reyna. 60 hours until Germany/Costa Rica.
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© 2004-2005 by Matt Matros | All Rights Reserved |
