Danish challenge with little meaning

Wednesday, 18 November 09, 07:40 AM · Comments (2)

Take your pick: a meaningless friendly on European soil, or fighting for a World Cup spot today. As far as that goes, American soccer fans can't complain about their situation. Thanks to some gutsy results in the final two games of the tournament, they aren't in Montevideo, with a tough Uruguay squad looking to deal a knockout blow.

That brings us to today. Two understrengthed squads meet in Aarhaus, with little to nothing at stake. The best result would be no significant injuries to key players. However, the roster indicates that there isn't really much to be worried about, seeing as though most of the top players have been left at home (or are already injured).

Then what's the point of the match? While answers are genuinely hard to come by, there are a few talking points ahead of the mid-afternoon kickoff on the East Coast.

*Spector as a centerback. Talk about your atypical American central defender. In recent memory, a player can only start in the middle of defense if he is a hulking, bruiser-type rather than a finesse player. Spector showed flashes of ability against Slovakia, and will be out for a repeat performance. Making this a little easier is no Nicklas Bendtner for the Danes, as the Arsenal hitman misses out with a groin injury. However, one can't help but doubt if the West Ham centerback is the answer there.

*Edgar Castillo, who are you? Supporters camped in the anti-Jonathan Bornstein corner are hoping that the Mexican leftback is the long-awaited answer at perhaps the weakest position -- aside from forward -- in the U.S. player pool. At the very least, fans who don't pay any attention to the Mexican league will get a first look at the intriguing prospect of Castillo representing the U.S. in 2010. The Mexican-American doesn't have to be the second-coming of Patrice Evra, but if he can consistently perform, he scores one over Bornstein, who is all over the shop at times.

*A creative game plan, please. Yes, it's a stretch to ask the assembled roster, one that is mainly a MLS All-Star (or former) squad to scratch out a creative bone amongst them, but once again doubting and questioning the ability to create scoring opportunities from the run of play is bothersome. Stuart Holden should be able to inject something on the wings, and it'll be interesting to see what the central midfielders accomplish.

*Just look at the forwards. So that answers the debate on last point. If Jozy Altidore and Conor Casey start up front again, I will likely sit down and gnaw on my keyboard. Jozy appears to be on the American-in-Europe career trajectory set by Freddy Adu (ok, that's a bit harsh), but if his career continues to regress, New York may not want him back. Playing Altidore or Casey with either Cunningham/Johnson should be the order of the day -- just to see what those last two are made of.

For those interested and still reading, follow along today's game at our Match Centre.

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Tags: US Soccer, Danish Football Union

Topics: US Soccer, Danish Football Union

Posted by travismclark | Comments (2)

2 Comments · Add yours

Soccer fan Wrote: 22.03GMT | Nov 18, 2009

Danish Soccer fan here.

So this ended up a major victory to Denmark 3-1 \o/

The US team had some nice play in the first half, but you lost it all again in the first 10 minutes of the second half. If we could have the chance in the World Cup, it would be really fun to have a rematch either the group play or later on. :)