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Flip a coin U.S. loss to Poland could create a tiebreaker messPosted: Wednesday June 12, 2002 5:31 AM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Here's a recipe for a mess: The United States loses to Poland 1-0 and Portugal beats South Korea 3-1. A drawing would decide whether the Americans or South Koreans go to the second round. "That would be a disaster after getting three points in the first game," U.S. forward Joe-Max Moore said Wednesday. "If it came down to a coin flip, it would be a disaster for the team." Heading into the final group games, South Korea and the United States are both 1-0-1 with four points, followed by Portugal (1-1) with three and Poland (0-2), which has been eliminated, with none. The Red Devils lead on goal difference, scoring three and allowing one. The Americans have four and have given up three. If the Americans and South Koreans finish with identical goals for and against, a South Korean volunteer would draw a ball from a pot to decide which team advances. "All drawings will be in Seoul 60 minutes after the games in question," FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper said. There hasn't been a World Cup tie broken like that since 1990, when a drawing of lots separated Ireland and the Netherlands, who both went 0-0-3. But both nations were assured of advancing; the lottery determined only their opponents. Of course the Americans could make all thoughts of goal differential unnecessary by beating or tying the Poles. U.S. coach Bruce Arena is telling the players to concentrate on winning, not to think about tying, "We don't have enough experience to do that," he said. He mentioned how Italian teams play for a point every weekend, but how U.S. players, especially those in Major League Soccer, aren't conditioned to do that. "Hopefully, we can win and get first place in the group, which is unheard of," midfielder DaMarcus Beasley said. The last time the United States won twice in one World Cup was 1930, when the Americans opened with 3-0 wins over Belgium and Paraguay, then lost 6-1 to Argentina in the semifinals. If the Americans do get to the second round, they would face Italy, Mexico or Croatia on Monday if they finish second, or on Tuesday if they finish first. At this point, they're not thinking that far ahead, not fretting over whether it would be better to finish first or second or rest players for the next round. The crossover group doesn't even finish play until Thursday. "I think we have to put our best team on the field," Arena said. "I think if we play too cute and try to look ahead, we can only get ourselves in trouble." Some of the Americans think they're still trying to prove to the soccer world that they can play. "A lot of teams still don't respect us," Beasley said. "We've done pretty well in the World Cup and are [ranked] 13th in the world, but they don't know that." Notes: Arena said his one regret in the South Korea game was not putting midfielder Pablo Mastroeni in as a substitute. ... Arena made a potentially telling statement about F Josh Wolff, who replaced Clint Mathis in the 82nd minute. "I thought it was important to get Wolff in, even if for five or 10 minutes, because we may need him to help us." ... MF Earnie Stewart, who didn't play Monday after straining his left groin in the opener, feels ready to play Friday. ... Arena praised D Jeff Agoos, who accidentally kicked the ball into his own net in the opener while trying to clear it, and was outjumped for South Korea's goal. "I've knocked him down and I've picked him up over the last 24 hours. He knows me. We've talked about it. He is a big boy," the coach said Tuesday. "At the end of this game, he gets singled out a little bit. But I think he had a pretty solid game. And that was the case against Portugal, as well."
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