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DAEJEON, South Korea (Ticker) -- Needing a draw or a win to advance to the second round, the United States will look for another strong performance from goalkeeper Brad Friedel on Friday, when it takes on Group D foe Poland. Friedel recorded the first save of a penalty kick at the 2002 World Cup on Monday, helping the U.S. hold on for a 1-1 draw against South Korea. Though they only require a draw against a team that has yet to pick up a point -- or even a goal in the competition, the Americans are intimately aware of Poland's mindset entering its final match. After all, it was just four year ago that the U.S. was out of contention entering its final match against Yugoslavia in France. "I think, first and foremost, you want to go out and save some face," said Friedel, who was a member of the ill-fated 1998 American squad. "I think our performance against Yugoslavia was probably our best performance of the tournament. "When you are a professional and when you're competitive, you want to prove yourself each and every day and that's what the Poles will be doing." Friedel's Man-of-the-Match performance against the co-host on Monday, when he made nine saves, likely has ended the American goalkeeping controversy, which has been the subject of speculation for months. The Blackburn Rovers keeper seems to have outdueled Tottenham Hotspur's Kasey Keller for the No. 1 job. "I think one of the things that separates Brad from most goalkeepers is his feet are outstanding and his ability to play balls out of the back under pressure," said United States coach Bruce Arena, a goalkeeper in his playing days. "He is an offensive weapon for us. ... That is really your overriding factor in making that decision." Arena's 23-man squad is down to 22. Reserve defender Steve Cherundulo is expected to be unavailable for the rest of the World Cup due to a knee injury. However, Earnie Stewart, the Americans' leading scorer in qualification, is available for selection after missing the South Korea match with a groin injury. That probably leaves Arena to choose between three players -- Stewart, Landon Donovan and Clint Mathis -- for two spots, forward and right-sided midfielder. Poland coach Jerzy Engel, on the other hand, likely knows his fate after Monday's 4-0 humiliation against Portugal ended its second-round aspirations. "Trainers are always prepared for the critics. We are sitting on a volcano," Engel said. "My players are doing everything I told them to do. If we had scored first in the games, the mental strength would be at a higher level." This match will feature a duel between two of the top goalkeepers in the English Premier League, Friedel and Liverpool's Jerzy Dudek. Friedel will look to exhibit his vastly improved play and confidence since his unsuccessful stint at Liverpool. Meanwhile, Dudek, who has conceded six goals in two matches, likely hopes his defense does not leave him on an island against the U.S., as well. "Everything we have done during the tournament has been very hard for us," he said. "We could not take any of the (scoring) chances we had." The U.S. and Poland last met 12 years ago, when the nations played two matches. On May 9, 1990, the Americans recorded a 3-1 victory in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and, on October 10, 1990, they posted a 3-2 road triumph over the Poles in Warsaw. Keller started in goal for the U.S. at the Hershey contest and current No. 3 goalkeeper Tony Meola was between the posts for the Americans in the Warsaw match. However, Poland owns a 6-4-1 edge in its all-time series with the United States. |
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