US Men's National Team gains momentum

Soccer has been put on the backburner for many years in the United States. But throughout the summer, kicks by Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey have caused a stir.

The two scored the only goals when the U.S. men’s national soccer team stunned No. 1-ranked Spain 2-0 back in June to advance to the finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa.

The United States lost in the final to Brazil, but the spirit of the team has continued to fly high and the team is hoping to continue to ride that momentum into the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

 “I don’t think there are many countries around the world, frankly, that over the last 20 years have had the same progress,” Gulati said. “And if we can have that over the next 20, then I think we’ll be where we want to be, which is among the world’s elite in terms of interest, spectator sport, professional leagues.”

In the near future, the goal is to make it into the World Cup. The next qualifier for the United States is Saturday against El Salvador at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.

The U.S. owns a 3-2-1 record in these qualifiers and finds itself in third place, tied on points with Honduras but just one goal back in goal differential. Mexico remains in fourth place. The top three teams in the qualifying group automatically advance to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, while the fourth-place team will participate in a two-leg playoff against the fifth-place team from South America.

The United States is 13-1-5 against El Salvador, including a 4-0-3 record in FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Four days later, the United States travels to play Trinidad and Tobago for another qualifier. The final qualifiers are Oct. 10 against Honduras and Oct. 14 when the U.S. faces Costa Rica in RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

The United States has had some bumps in that road but still hopes to secure a spot in the prestigious tournament. It also has a good statistic on its side: Bradley is 7-0-0 in World Cup qualifiers on U.S. soil.

“Clearly these are very important games in our effort to qualify for 2010 FIFA World Cup,” U.S. head coach Bob Bradley said.  “As we expected, qualifying in this region is very competitive. Both El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago will be hungry to get points from these matches, and we have an opportunity to position ourselves well to secure a berth for South Africa.”

The good news for the United States is that 17 of the 24 players who were on the squad that played so exceptionally well in the Confederations Cup --- including Altidore and Dempsey --- are on the U.S. roster for the game against El Salvador.

The United States, however, will be extra motivated to play El Salvador since it is coming off of 2-1 loss to Mexico on August 12. Despite the loss, the United States had some reasons to remain positive. For one, the game marked the first time an American team posted a lead at Estadio Azteca.

The United States played a close match despite not having its star midfielder Landon Donovan at full strength. He was on the field, and even assisted on the lone goal for the United States, but he was ill and returned home to Los Angeles after the match. He later was diagnosed with the influenza A virus.

Donovan, for one, remains confident of his team’s chances of making the FIFA World Cup.

“I said … that I didn’t want people to get carried away,’’ Donovan said in a news conference after the game in Mexico. “This wasn’t a live-or-die game for us; it was for them. Now, it puts us in a little bit more of a difficult position, but our next game is home with El Salvador, which we expect to win, and away to Trinidad, which we expect to win. We still feel if we win those two games, we’re going to qualify.”

Bradley said he has noticed a huge growth in the team’s confidence throughout this summer, and that has played a huge role in the team’s success.

“You rely heavily on your group to be able to trust each other, their ability to understand the flow of the game, be able to solve situations that now help you get through different stretches, and I think that all then gives a team confidence, it gives a team a sense of knowing how to win,” Bradley said.

Hopefully, for the program, this will translate into a World Cup berth.

“I don’t think there is any other experience that could have prepared us for being in South Africa next summer as much as the experience of the Confederations Cup did this year,” Gulati said. “We still have to qualify, absolutely. But when you think of the positives that came out of that experience, first, obviously just being in the country, the players having some idea of the environment, (it’s a) huge plus.”

Not only has the team been performing beyond expectations, but the response on American soil has been huge. Numerous games have been played this summer between international friendly matches in the U.S., and a tremendous rise in attendance at both Major League Soccer and international games. One of those games, featuring AC Milan and Chelsea, drew a sold-out crowd of 70,000 fans at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

“The sport has made it in the United States in some way,” Gulati said. “We’re trying to further that, we’re trying to get additional interest in our domestic league, which I think is getting there.”

Gulati went to the White House to meet with President Barack Obama to discuss the state of the game and how it can be connected with global initiatives that involve economic development and education.

The sport of men’s soccer has taken giant steps this summer in the United States, but Gulati doesn’t want the program to get too far ahead of itself just yet.

“I want to be careful about labeling anything this summer as a tipping point because we’ve had so many that we might be able to label as tipping points,’’ Gulati said, “and I guess if you have two tipping points, you end up in the same place.’’