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U.S. - WORLD CUP and

The 2008 AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS

By Robert Woodard

WORLD CUP

After the U.S. beat Brazil this summer in the Under 20 World Cup, Brazilian fans were upset but they shrugged it off as a freak occurrence. Brazil, winner of five World Cups dominates the world of soccer and never expects to lose to anyone - ever. It’s painful for Brazilians when they lose but losing to the United States, hurts even more. The U.S. Under 17 Men gave Brazil another lesson in how far American soccer has come with a comfortable 2-0 win over Brazil. The victory followed another 2-0 win over Russia in December’s Nike Friendlies Tournament at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL.

Both teams played well with Brazil controlling much of the early action. The Brazilians attacked effectively putting pressure on the U.S. defense and goalkeeper Earl Edwards. Edwards proved to be up to the task with several key saves in the first 25 minutes.

Eventually, the U.S. found its offensive rhythm, causing problems for Brazil’s defense. Charles Renken and Philip Gyau opened up the game, combining on a number of one-two passes, creating some good chances. In the 27th minute, Gyau raced down the right side beating his defender and sent a low cross into the path of Carlos Martinez. Martinez stretched his right leg out as far as possible barely flicking the ball with the outside of his foot. The ball shot up into the upper corner of the net for a 1-0 U.S. lead.

Brazil worked hard to close the gap, but the U.S. defense held firm and Edwards smothered any half chances. Renken and Gyau continued to work the ball around controlling the game and keeping the Brazilians off balance. The Brazilians responded with a series of cheap fouls and in the 58th minute, Renken was chopped down by a Brazilian defender. He left the field injured, fortunate that the damage was not worse.

Without Renken, the US offense had difficulty stringing passes together for a few minutes, handing the territorial advantage to Brazil. But, the U.S. defense limited the Brazilian attackers to long range shots and uncharacteristically hopeful long passes trying to beat the taller Americans through the air.

Stephan Jerome seized control of the game down the stretch controlling long clearances from the defenders and dribbling through the Brazilian defense. With ten minutes remaining, Jerome wrong footed defender Venecius so badly, the Brazilian fell to the ground inside the penalty box trying to arm tackle him. Unable to catch Jerome, Venecius grabbed the ball to stop Jerome resulting in a penalty kick. Jerome wasted no time stepping up and burying the penalty giving the U.S. an insurmountable 2-0 lead.

Brazil stepped up the pressure, but frustrated by the U.S. defense, their players and coaches lost their cool in the final minutes. Referee Jason Anno sent Mattheus Carvalho and Guilherme off with red cards for hard fouls. Several members of the Brazilian coaching staff were escorted from the bench area after protesting the referee’s decisions. Brazil, now down to nine players posed no threat during the final couple of minutes. After Anno blew the final whistle, the overflow crowd rushed the field to celebrate the well-deserved win with the U.S. players.

The 2008 AFRICAN

CUP OF NATIONS

The 2008 African Cup of Nations (CAN) kicks off on January 20th with the heavily favored host nation Ghana facing off against Guinea in Group A. History is on Ghana’s side as the last two teams to host the tournament, Tunisia (2002) and Egypt (2006) ended up as champions. Ghana has a favorable draw that avoids any heavyweights until the quarterfinals. If Ghana wins Group A, they would play the runner-up from Group B, which should be either Nigeria or the Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire).

The Black Stars of Ghana feature a solid lineup with Michael Essien of Chelsea FC (England) and Stephen Appiah of Fenerbahce (Turkey) as the midfield anchors. The obstacles in Ghana’s way could be Appiah’s recent struggles with rehabilitating a knee injury and Ghana’s lack of a consistent scoring punch. The burden of scoring goals could fall on the shoulders of 22 year old striker Asamoah Gyan who plays for Udinese (Italy). If Gyan is on form and receives help in the scoring department, Ghana’s seems likely to go all the way.

Each major soccer competition has a “Group of Death” where the teams are so evenly matched, it’s hard to pick the two teams to advance beyond the first round. Group B looks like the toughest group with Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Mali fighting to get into the quarterfinals. The first game of the group is crucial to the final outcome as traditional powers Nigeria and Ivory Coast fight for control of the group.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have a wealth of talent including scoring threats such as Obafemi Martins of Newcastle United and Portsmouth’s Nwankwo Kanu. Their downside is an extensive history of instability and self destructive infighting. German World Cup star Bertie Vogts has the coaching knowledge and experience to lead the team to success but pressure from a hard to please fan base will pile on quickly if results don’t go their way.

Didier Drogba, Chelsea FC, is one of the best forwards in the world and reigning African Footballer of the Year. The Ivory Coast is among Africa’s finest teams with him in the lineup, scoring goals. However, Drogba had ‘minor’ knee surgery on December 13th and while he has publicly stated his intention to be fit enough to play in the CAN. It’s doubtful that Chelsea who pays his salary shares his enthusiasm considering the risk of losing him for the rest of the season. Ivory Coast is strong in defense and midfield with Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Didier Zokora, but need Drogba’s Chelsea teammate Salomon Kalou to step up offensively to beat out Nigeria.

The Pharaohs of Egypt are the defending African Cup of Nations Champions and the class of Group C. They should reach the quarterfinals along with traditional power Cameroon. If either side slips up, Zambia and the Sudan have the potential to surprise. Group D might not have the best teams but it has the potential to be the most entertaining of all the groups. Tunisia, Senegal, South Africa and Angola each possess roughly the same level of talent and each have something to prove. Tunisia and Angola want to prove that qualifying for the 2006 World Cup wasn’t a fluke. Senegal went on a magical run during the 2002 Cup but failed to qualify in 2006. Returning to the elite of African soccer with a solid showing is their goal. South Africa faces the pressure of preparing for hosting the 2010 World Cup. Failure to make it to the quarterfinals would be perceived as a national tragedy with the World Cup only two years away.

The tournament will be closely watched as European coaches monitor their star players performance and health during the twenty day competition. Many have expressed concerns about taking players away during the heart of the season. Arsenal, Everton, Chelsea, and Portsmouth each have multiple players who will be unavailable to their clubs for at least a month and possibly more. The most reasonable solution would be to follow the schedules used by other continents where the championships take place during non-World Cup summers.

Unfortunately, live television in the U.S. for the tournament remains doubtful. The best option may be streaming video on outlets like JUMPTV.com on a pay-per-view basis. At this point in time, there is no indication that Univision, Fox Soccer Channel or Setanta, the top sources for soccer will pick up the cost of airing the games. The best bet will be to check soccertv.com the week before the competition begins for an update. n