The U.S. national team qualified for the 2003 Women's World Cup with a 7-0 rout of Costa Rica on Wednesday night under a closed roof at Safeco Field in Seattle.
Time to pop open the bubbly before heading home to prepare for China next September, right? Not just yet. There's still the small matter of the regional championship final to settle, and fellow World Cup qualifier Canada will stand in the way at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
"We still have a very important game left," U.S. forward Mia Hamm said. "Our first goal was to qualify for the World Cup, and we did that, so now our
goal is to win the Gold Cup."
The top two teams in the Gold Cup advance to the World Cup, meaning the true prize went to the semifinal winners. In Wednesday's late match, Mexico literally gave the Canadians their berth, scoring two own goals in a 2-0 loss.
Mexico will face Costa Rica on Saturday in the third-place match. The winner will play the third-place finisher from Asia in a two-game home-and-home series for another trip to China.
In Wednesday's early game, the U.S. outshot Costa Rica 37-1, including 18-0 in a frustrating first half that brought just one goal for the Americans. In its first four matches of the Gold Cup, the United States outscored opponents 22-0.
"We talked at halftime about being patient and confident, and if someone could please knock that glass shield off the goal so that we can put in a few in the second half," U.S. coach April Heinrichs said. "And that person was Cindy Parlow."
The Atlanta Beat forward had the first three goals for the United States, putting the game out of reach.
Canada, however, has been the top-scoring team in the Gold Cup, with 25 goals in four matches. The Canadians' Christine Sinclair is the tournament's leading scorer with seven goals, and her teammate Charmaine Hooper -- who plays in Atlanta with Parlow -- is tied with the United States' Tiffeny Milbrett for second with six.
The high-scoring Canadians will face an American team that hasn't lost on home soil in 15 games, and one that is 13-0-0 all-time in World Cup qualifying matches. The United States hasn't lost a home game since Nov. 11, 2000 -- a 3-1 loss to Canada.
But regardless of the outcome on Saturday, the U.S. will get the chance to defending the World Cup title that it picked up at the Rose Bowl in 1999, capturing the nation's attention.
"It's a tremendous honor to play in a World Cup for your country," said Hamm, who entered Wednesday's game as a second-half substitute due to a knee injury picked up earlier in the Gold Cup. "It will be for the new players that will get the their first chance and it will be for the players who are playing in
their fourth tournament."
Players in the first category include Angela Hucles and Heather O'Reilly. Hucles made her ninth international appearance on Wednesday, scoring her first goal and assisting on another. Seventeen-year-old O'Reilly, who attends East Brunswick High School in New Jersey, is by far the youngest player on the Gold Cup roster. She was one of the stars of the first-place U.S. team at the recent 2002 FIFA Under-19 Women's World Championship, scoring four goals and recording seven assists.
In the latter category are five players expecting to play in their fourth World Cup: Brandi Chastain, Joy Fawcett, Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, and Kristine Lilly. Heinrichs was captain of the U.S. team that won the inaugural World Cup in China in 1991, and now she will coach a group that hopes to come full circle with another championship before stepping aside.
Five other countries already have earned spots in next year's Women's World Cup. China is in automatically as the host country, and Germany, Norway, Russia and Sweden have qualified.
23 players passed over in Waiver Draft
A total of 26 players were waived by their clubs and were eligible for selection in Wednesday's Major League Soccer Waiver Draft, but only three were selected. The San Jose Earthquakes were the first team to make a move when they picked up defender Craig Waibel with the sixth pick. The Columbus Crew followed at No. 7 and added 2001 Hermann Trophy winner Luchi Gonzalez. The last team to make a selection in the Waiver Draft was the Colorado Rapids, who bolstered their defensive depth with the addition of Billy Sleeth. Two teams that hired new head coaches during the last two weeks led all teams by waiving five players each: the Chicago Fire and MetroStars. The Colorado Rapids (4), D.C. United (4), San Jose Earthquakes (3), New England Revolution (3), Los Angeles Galaxy (1) and Dallas Burn (1) all waived players. The Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards were the two teams not to release personnel.
Shakeup in D.C.
After another losing season at D.C. United, coach Ray Hudson appears intent on putting more of a stamp on the roster in his second season. This week, United waived forwards Roy Lassiter (the MLS' all-time leading goalscorer) and Henry Zambrano, midfielder Petter Villegas and goalkeeper Mike McGinty. The club also opted not to renew Lazo Alavanja's contract. Hudson already has been on a scouting trip to Europe, where he was quoted as having an interest in Rangers' Dutchmen Ronald de Boer and Arthur Numan, plus forwards Claudio Caniggia and Billy Dodds. Hudson also had his eye on French midfielder David Ginola, though all of the above players could prove too expensive for MLS. On Thursday, Hudson departed for an Argentine scouting trip, assisted by former teammate Elias Figueroa, according to Soccer America. "It's been a seller's market for so long, and now it's a buyer's market for sure," Hudson told the magazine. The Washington Post reports that one player in his sights is former Argentine youth international Cesar La Paglia, who plays for Talleres. To clear salary-cap room, United is reportedly set to trade one of its Bolivian stars, Marco Etcheverry or Jaime Moreno.
Korean star joins Galaxy
Hong Myung-bo will join the L.A. Galaxy in 2003, becoming the first
player from the east Asian country to play Major League Soccer. Hong, 33, won a Bronze Ball at the World Cup finals in June as the outstanding defender in the competition following his
country's surprising fourth-place finish, the highest by an
Asian squad in World Cup history. The Galaxy have agreed to pay $819,000 for
Hong, said a statement from Hong's K-League club Pohang
Steelers. Under the two-year contract, Hong will get an annual
income of $275,000 and receive up to $225,000 worth of
incentives. He has a green card and will not count as a foreign player. "It will be a big challenge in my life," Hong said at a news
conference. "I will do my best to bring good results, as a
representative of Korea." The Galaxy had targeted Hong to help boost interest among
Korean Americans living in the L.A. area, but Pohang Steelers had
previously rejected the player's transfer request. "I plan to retire in two years and seek ways of becoming a
coach," Hong told reporters.
Revolution drop 'interim' for Coach of the Year
After guiding the New England Revolution to the MLS Cup final and winning Coach of the Year honors, Steve Nicol was rewarded with a two-year contract Wednesday. Nicol was named interim coach on May 23 to replace Fernando Clavijo and led the Revolution to a 10-10-1 record, including a pivotal 5-0-1 stretch to close the regular season. The Revolution also named former assistant coach Renato Capobianco director of soccer.
L.A. beats Mexican team in Houston
Brian Mullan of the Los Angeles Galaxy scored in the 84th minute to force a 1-1 tie with Santos Laguna of Mexico's First Division in an exhibition Wednesday at the University of Houston's Robertson Stadium. Rodrigio "Pony" Ruiz scored an unassisted goal for Santos Laguna in the 61st minute. L.A. played without two starters from its victory in last month's MLS Cup. Forward Carlos Ruiz, the league's MVP and leading goalscorer was excused to play with Guatemala's national team. Midfielder Mauricio Cienfuegos was given time off to attend an intensive English-language class he is taking to help bolster a future coaching career.
Eddie Lewis scored a goal and set another up for Preston North End in a 2-0 upset win over Premier League Birmingham City on Tuesday in England's League Cup. Jovan Kirovski entered for Birmingham in the 64th minute. Birmingham had Geoff Horsfield send off on a red card in the 28th and never recovered against first-division Preston. Lewis got the clincher in the 80th minute to the delight of former Scotland coach Craig Brown, who now coaches Preston.
You don't usually have fans clamoring for more advertising, but Tom Kowalski of Mt. Laurel, N.J. has this idea: "Please, change uniforms to the style of European teams with sponsor names. And use smaller stadiums so the crowd becomes a part of the match."
Any other ideas to help MLS get out of the red?
Keep your responses coming on any topic related to U.S. soccer, and we'll print the most interesting, succinct and grammatically correct submissions on any soccer-related subject in coming editions.
I agree with Amnon [from last week]. The MLS should focus on solidification. Give it about 3 years before expanding. We don't want a re-enactment of the NASL.
--Chris Vornheder, San Diego, CA
It was a great MLS season but there is one dark cloud on the horizon: the various legal problems faced by Phil Anschutz. Anschutz has been sued for fraud and faces more than one investigation by the government for selling Qwest stock on inside information. Unfortunately, the outcome of these legal developments will largely determine the future of MLS.
--Dennis P. Crawford, Lincoln, NE
The movie is a great idea, I would pay to see it several times, but Mr. Anschutz is a business man. For the movie to be successful, we need to find a superstar that loves soccer, Brad Pitt, or have a US National Star begin an acting career. I am thinking Brian McBride. The first method will produce a ground swelling of demand to see the movie on the basis of the name brand the star brings. The second method is great advertising for the national team, the MLS, the game in general, and also the US Star. I hope it goes well, I am excited to see the movie.
--Ryan Morfin, Crown Point, IN
Note: Morfin is referring to Game of Their Lives, a movie based on the book by the same name about the 1950 U.S. upset win against England in the World Cup. It is being produced by Anschutz's Crusader Entertainment.
CNNSI.com wire services contributed to this report.
