Toughest foes loom

Arena set to name roster for Confederation Cup in France

U.S. midfielder Eddie Lewis got the best of his Welsh counterpart, Simon Davies (left). AP

ATLANTA (SI.com) -- Sure, the United States men's national team had little trouble sinking Wales 2-0 on Monday.

But U.S. manager Bruce Arena now has just one friendly left to prepare for facing two of the world's three top teams in tournament competition.

Arena will announce his roster on Friday for a June 8 friendly against New Zealand (1 p.m. ET, ESPN2) in Richmond, Va., and the subsequent FIFA Confederations Cup.

From June 18-29, the U.S. joins the champions of the six regional confederations (Cameroon, Colombia, France, Japan, New Zealand and the U.S.), the World Cup champion (Brazil) and a guest team (Turkey).

The U.S. takes on Brazil, World Cup third-place finisher Turkey and African champion Cameroon in the opening round of the tournament. The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals on June 26.

Stats Summary   USA  WAL  Shots  12  7  Saves  1  3  Corners  6  7  Fouls  19  17  Offside  2  0

It will be the first meaningful competition for the Americans since their surprise run to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals.

The U.S. qualified for the event by capturing the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup, a title that it will defend from July 12-23 in Boston, Miami and Mexico City. Playing at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, the Americans will face El Salvador and Martinique in Group B action.

On Tuesday, New Zealand earned a draw against Scotland in Edinburgh thanks to a second-half strike from D.C. United's Ryan Nelsen. Also playing for New Zealand were starter Simon Elliott of the Los Angeles Galaxy and second-half substitute Duncan Oughton of the Columbus Crew.

Meanwhile, Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said Tuesday that the world champions would rest their top players for the Confederations Cup.

Paris-Saint Germain star Ronaldinho was the only starting striker of Brazil's World Cup champions to be named in the squad.

Ronaldo and Rivaldo were left off the list of 11 players from European clubs. So were Roberto Carlos and Gilberto Silva, who also started on the Cup team.

Parreira said Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos had obligations with their Real Madrid club until June 22, while Gilberto Silva and Rivaldo deserved a rest.

Other returning veterans from the 2002 Cup in Japan were Lucio, Roque Junior, Dida and Belletti. Also named were Emerson and Ze Roberto, who played in the 1998 Cup in France.

Welsh streak snapped

Against Wales, the Americans improved to 4-1-1 this year, recording their fourth shutout.

The U.S. used goals from former and current San Jose Earthquakes stars to earn its first ever win at Spartan Stadium.

Quakes forward Landon Donovan converted a penalty kick in the 41st minute to give the U.S. a 1-0 halftime lead, while Eddie Lewis skipped a low shot under Wales goalkeeper Darren Ward in the 59th minute for the final margin.

"I thought our team played well," said Arena. "It was a good experience for our young players. It was good for me to look at these players in this type of situation. I benefited from the game, and the players did as well. Overall, I was pleased with the performance."

The first-ever meeting between the sides was a physical affair that witnessed the end of Wales' 10-match unbeaten run, the longest in its 127-year history.

"It was a good warmup for what's coming, but I don't know how much Wales wanted to be here," said U.S. striker Landon Donovan.

After a sloppy start by both teams, the hosts began to find their rhythm against a defensive Welsh squad that played with just one player up front.

Wales played with 10 men after defender Matthew Jones received his second yellow card in the 49th minute.

"Between the warm weather and the fact that they went down to 10 men, we controlled the game from the second half on," Lewis said.

Both Wales and the United States used lineups comprised largely of reserves and youngsters.

Winger Ryan Giggs -- the Manchester United stalwart and Wales' biggest star -- was among the Welsh players who skipped the match. Giggs and Robbie Savage cited personal reasons for their absence; Craig Bellamy is injured; and John Hartson was with Celtic for the Scottish Premier League's final game on Sunday.

It was a poor showing by Wales, which currently leads its European Championship qualifying group with a perfect 4-0-0 record in a quest to reach next year's finals in Portugal. The match was Wales' final friendly before four straight Euro 2004 qualifying matches, starting Aug. 20 against Serbia-Montenegro.

2003 FIFA Confederations Cup U.S. first-round foes and elimination rounds Date  Opponent  Location  Kickoff  June 19  Turkey  St. Etienne  1 p.m.  June 21  Brazil  Lyon  3 p.m.  June 23  Cameroon  Lyon  3 p.m.  June 26  Semifinals  Lyon, Paris  3 p.m.  June 28  Third Place  St. Etienne  12 p.m.  June 29  Final  Paris  3 p.m.  * All times Eastern.

With some top U.S. players -- including goalkeeper Tim Howard, midfielder DaMarcus Beasley and forward Brian McBride -- competing for their MLS clubs this weekend, Arena largely was restricted in his U.S.-based choices to players from the two inactive teams, D.C. United and the Earthquakes.

Three European-based players started for the U.S. -- defender Greg Vanney, midfielder Lewis and striker Jovan Kirovski.

Goalkeeper Nick Rimando registered his first clean sheet for his country in his first start.

"It felt good to finally get a full game. To go the full 90 minutes is just what I've always wanted," said Rimando, who was making his third appearance for the U.S. "The U.S. is known for its goalkeepers. We have the best in the world. And when you have guys like Brad Friedel, Tim Howard and Kasey Keller in front of you, you just have to wait your turn."

Among those who were earning their first caps were defender Ryan Suarez of the Dallas Burn; San Jose forward Brian Ching, who came on in the 75th minute and nearly scored on his first touch; and the No. 1 pick of the 2003 MLS draft, striker Alecko Eskandarian of D.C. United, who replaced Kirovski in the 89th minute.

"I think my partnership with Landon can only help me to get back to the national team," Ching said. "Bruce told me if I keep playing well, there's a good chance for me to get called back in the near future."

Donovan nearly added two more goals in the closing 10 minutes. The 21-year-old worked a give-and-go with Lewis in the 80th minute, but saw his effort go just past the right post. The local favorite also embarked on a 60-yard solo run with just a minute remaining, but his left-footed shot was parried by Ward.

U.S.-Wales Summary

United States 2, Wales 0 - result. International friendly.

Scorers:

United States - Landon Donovan, 41 (pen), Eddie Lewis, 59

Halftime: 1-0; Attendance: 26,000

Red card: Matthew Jones (Wales), 49

United States - 18-Nick Rimando, 16-Ryan Suarez (2-Mike Petke, 78), 3-C.J. Brown, 12-Jeff Agoos, 4-Greg Vanney, 22-Richard Mulrooney, 8-Earnie Stewart (5- Manny Lagos, 83), 15-Bobby Convey (21-Brian Ching, 75), 7-Eddie Lewis, 10-Landon Donovan, 9-Jovan Kirovski (11-Alecko Eskandarian, 89).

Wales - 1-Paul Jones (21-Darren Ward, 46), 2-Matthew Jones, 3-David Vaughtan, 4-Andrew Melville, 5-Adrian Williams, 6-Mark Pembridge (12-Carl Robinson, 79), 7-John Oster (18-David Pipe, 70), 8-Andy Johnson, 10-Simon Davies, 11-Jason Koumas, 9-Gareth Taylor.

Referee - Benito Archundia Tellez (Mexico)

SI.com wire services contributed to this report.

 

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