A day after Eddie Johnson compared Saturday’s United States-Italy match to a war, Bruce Arena attempted to defuse the backlash by saying the analogy was “distorted” in the media.
“[It was] a young player making a mistake and the press was glad to jump on that,” Arena said Friday. ” . . . That’s stupid if anyone believes that was really [his] intended use of that word.”
Johnson made the comment when talking about the Ramstein Air Base where the U.S. team spent Thursday and Friday nights while in Kaiserslautern for their match against Italy.
“It was nice for the guys to be around American people and have American [TV] channels so they can feel at ease,” U.S. captain Claudio Reyna said. “A lot of people that we saw put our game into perspective a little bit. The things they need to deal with in the world [made us] realize that it is just a game we’re playing.”
The United States is coming off a 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic that left it three points behind the Czechs and Italy in the Group E standings. That the United States could be eliminated may help, according to Reyna.
“We need a minimum of a point,” he said. “I think that urgency can help us.”
Arena has said he will make changes to the starting lineup. One of them likely involves one of Reyna’s fellow midfielders, DaMarcus Beasley. Many believe John O’Brien will take Beasley’s starting spot after having a good outing as a substitute against the Czech Republic. Johnson also is expected to join the starting lineup alongside Brian McBride.
No matter who is in the lineup, Reyna is encouraged by all of his teammates’ attitudes after the loss.
“The day after [the Czech match], we were disappointed, but when we got back on the field two days after we were just fully focused on Italy,” he said. “No one put their heads down. Everyone was up about it. People were smiling and having a good time.”
At 32, this World Cup is Reyna’s fourth and likely his last. Reyna suffered a right hamstring strain 2 1/2 weeks before the World Cup and was rested for the team’s final two exhibition matches as a precaution.
The Manchester City midfielder showed no signs of the hamstring injury during the match against the Czechs. Reyna even came within inches of scoring when one of his shots hit the inside of the post.
“I’m enjoying the experience,” he said. “You have to enjoy all of it regardless of what happens.
“I still get butterflies and that’s a nice thing. It’s an amazing feeling to be playing in the World Cup against a team like Italy with an amazing tradition.
“I think that’s what the team needs to take on the field–the moment. [They need] to enjoy it.”
A loss to Italy and a Czech Republic victory over Ghana on Saturday would eliminate the United States mathematically from advancing to the knockout stages. The United States can advance with triumphs over Italy and Ghana and an Italy loss to the Czech Republic.
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Who has the edge?
The United States hopes to put its loss to the Czech Republic in the past with a win or draw against Italy on Saturday. Italy plays a similar goal-friendly scheme to the Czech Republic, meaning the U.S. will be under attack from the opening whistle.
Here is a look at the matchups:
FORWARDS
ITALY: According to U.S. coach Bruce Arena, “[Luca] Toni is a beast, 6-4, probably 200 pounds, is very athletic and can run. [Alberto] Gilardino is a lethal finisher inside the box.”
U.S.: Eddie Johnson likely will start alongside Brian McBride this time. As a sub against the Czech, Johnson did what few other U.S. players did on the day–shoot.
EDGE: ITALY
Toni and Gilardino were stuffed on a few occasions by Ghana’s goalkeeper in Italy’s 2-0 victory, but they still came closer to scoring than the U.S. forwards.
MIDFIELDERS
ITALY: Francesco Totti and Andrea Pirlo connected on a corner kick for the first score against Ghana and are natural playmakers on the offensive end.
U.S.: Claudio Reyna’s Czech performance shows he’s still the U.S. leader. Secondhalf sub John O’Brien also was consistent and could start over DaMarcus Beasley.
EDGE: ITALY
Totti, like the Czech’s Pavel Nedved, is the heart of his team’s attack and showed against Ghana he still can make goalkeepers sweat.
DEFENDERS
ITALY: The Azzurri don’t rely on their defense like they used to, but veterans Alessandro Nesta and Fabio Cannavaro provide speed on the backline.
U.S.: Oguchi Onyewu held his own in his first World Cup match while veterans Eddie Pope and Steve Cherundolo struggled.
EDGE: ITALY
Even if Arena believes his “D” played fine considering the opponent, there were still a few costly mix-ups and man-marking issues.
GOALKEEPER
ITALY: Gianluigi Buffon
Ghana turned up the pressure after going down 1-0 and would have evened the game with Michael Essien’s volley if not for Buffon’s save.
U.S.: Kasey Keller Kasey Keller’s punt to his opponents led to a goal and Arena questioned his decision-making.
EDGE: ITALY
Keller was once Superman between the posts, but the 4-1 exhibition loss to Germany and the Czech loss show he’s human after all.
COACH
ITALY: Marcello Lippi
The win over Ghana is proof he has managed to keep his team focused on the matches and not the match-fixing scandal.
U.S.: Bruce Arena
Arena publicly criticized the performance of star players Beasley and Landon Donovan. Have the wheels come off or was it motivation?
EDGE: EVEN
Arena showed he could get his team to bounce back after the Poland loss at the 2002 World Cup with a win over Mexico.
PREDICTION: ITALY 2-1
The U.S.’s average attack fails to keep up with Italy’s offensive firepower.
Sources: Tribune reporting
Chicago Tribune
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larroyave@tribune.com
