|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
On site Jones, Stewart make a dynamic duo for U.S.
Posted: Sunday June 11, 2000 06:17 PM
Following the United States' 3-0 defeat of Mexico in the U.S. Cup on Sunday, Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl spoke with CNNSI.com soccer producer Jeff Green and offered the following thoughts: It's hard to take too much from this game against Mexico, because the opposition was really a club team, and not even a very good club team at that. However, Earnie Stewart and Cobi Jones look a lot more threatening now on the same side -- interchanging between forward and the wing position -- than they used to be. Those two guys had the best tournaments of any American players. I can't recall both of them playing this well at the same time before for the U.S. I think it had a lot to do with where they were positioned on the field. They worked real well together. When they're on opposite sides of the field, there's obviously very little contact. They were very threatening, very active in both of the games that they played together. The biggest question coming out of here for World Cup qualifying is, "Which guys are in the starting 11 and what's going to happen when some of the injured guys come back." Look at who's not here: Joe-Max Moore, Robin Fraser, Eddie Pope. Eddie Lewis did not play in this game today. Those are four guys, right now, who I think would be in coach Bruce Arena's starting lineup once qualifying starts. The question I've been debating is, "What happens when Moore comes back?" Here's a guy who had the best club season of any American striker anywhere, and he's been injured. Now what do you do with him. Does he get aced out? Does he play? My suggestion, if I were coach, would be to play three in the back, and then have Brian McBride and Moore up front, with Cobi Jones in as an attacking midfielder, interchanging with Stewart on the wing. That way you can keep all those guys in the game by taking out of the four defenders -- leaving Pope, Fraser and David Regis in the back. With four defenders, there's not a clear answer at right back anyway. Whose chances were hurt in the tournament? Most of the guys today played alright, but I wouldn't put Tony Sanneh at right back. I don't feel totally comfortable with him there in World Cup qualifying. That's not his position. He'd be better off in the midfield. You're also talking about guys like Jason Kreis -- who didn't really get a fair chance in the rain on Tuesday night, but didn't impress either. He could be an odd man out. It's really hard to get everybody a complete chance. Some of these guys, like Steve Ralston, could be in trouble now.
| ||||||||||||||||
