Bob Bradley is being dealt a dilemma for the final two World Cup qualifiers for the CONCACAF region - win 1 and your in, but with a number of players sitting on yellow cards, if any of them accumulate another card in a US loss in Honduras on Saturday, they would not be able to play in the all-important final qualifying match against Costa Rica the following week.
Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney outlines the challenge faced by the US coaching staff.
Along with Jozy Altidore, Carlos Bocanegra, Conor Casey, Steve Cherundolo, Ricardo Clark, Landon Donovan and Benny Feilhaber, Dempsey is a player named to the U.S. roster for the final two Hexagonal matches who is carrying a caution.
(Three other players not named on the roster -- Jay DeMerit, Frankie Hejduk and Sacha Kljestan -- are also carrying cards.)
"Any of those players carded against Honduras would sit out the Costa Rica match, which of the two is by far the most important. Unless the USA does as well or better in San Pedro than Costa Rica does at home on Saturday against Trinidad & Tobago, the Americans will need at least a tie against the Ticos at RFK Stadium to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. (The other scenario is a U.S. loss in San Pedro Sula and Costa Rica-T&T tie, in which case the USA might still qualify on goal difference if it lost to the Ticos.)
Bradley could bench some or all of the cautioned players for the Honduras game to assure their eligibility for the Costa Rica match, or use them in hopes of getting a victory that would clinch qualification. Fourth-place Costa Rica (12 points) trails Hexagonal leader U.S. (16) by four points in the standings. Second is Mexico (15) and Honduras (13) is third. Tied at the bottom with eight points are El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago.
For me, it is a simple decision - you play out the Honduras match honestly, knowing that if you win that match, you are through to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup. Having an environment where there is the fear of failure - be it in losing a match or of picking up another card - creates a negative culture where players are afraid of making mistakes.
Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney outlines the challenge faced by the US coaching staff.
Along with Jozy Altidore, Carlos Bocanegra, Conor Casey, Steve Cherundolo, Ricardo Clark, Landon Donovan and Benny Feilhaber, Dempsey is a player named to the U.S. roster for the final two Hexagonal matches who is carrying a caution.
(Three other players not named on the roster -- Jay DeMerit, Frankie Hejduk and Sacha Kljestan -- are also carrying cards.)
"Any of those players carded against Honduras would sit out the Costa Rica match, which of the two is by far the most important. Unless the USA does as well or better in San Pedro than Costa Rica does at home on Saturday against Trinidad & Tobago, the Americans will need at least a tie against the Ticos at RFK Stadium to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. (The other scenario is a U.S. loss in San Pedro Sula and Costa Rica-T&T tie, in which case the USA might still qualify on goal difference if it lost to the Ticos.)
Bradley could bench some or all of the cautioned players for the Honduras game to assure their eligibility for the Costa Rica match, or use them in hopes of getting a victory that would clinch qualification. Fourth-place Costa Rica (12 points) trails Hexagonal leader U.S. (16) by four points in the standings. Second is Mexico (15) and Honduras (13) is third. Tied at the bottom with eight points are El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago.
For me, it is a simple decision - you play out the Honduras match honestly, knowing that if you win that match, you are through to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup. Having an environment where there is the fear of failure - be it in losing a match or of picking up another card - creates a negative culture where players are afraid of making mistakes.
Bradley's team is at their best when they play relaxed and comfortable, and I think they will come out with an inspired effort this weekend.
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