With J Hutcherson -- For the United States National Team, proving it in Europe no longer has the same impact it did in the Arena era. Results will do that, and the United States has shown they can get them against mid-tier European teams. Even against the elite, the US hasn't simply rolled over.
Sure, there was a lot of criticism a year ago when the US lost to England at Wembley and Spain at Santander. At the time, it was taken as indications of everything from tactical naivete to proof that the US was a team that desperately needed home field advantage for the shock result.
Spain beat the US that night on a very good goal from a very good player, but they didn't dominate. The United States showed they learned from the game a few days earlier in London, responded, and put themselves in a position to get a result.
A similar scenario would play out at last summer's Confederations Cup, where they ended Spain's undefeated streak. In this World Cup cycle, that's becoming the story for the US. For all the knocks the team takes when they disappoint, the response is usually extraordinary.
That game in '08 against England was partially answered against Spain, but not enough people chose to see it that way. So the US went to Giants Stadium and got a quality result against Argentina.
During Qualifying, an August loss at Azteca quickly became an excuse to start running the numbers that would have the US in the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff for the final qualifying slot. Instead, they finished Qualifying in first-place with three wins and a draw. As everyone from the coach to the players said that night at RFK Stadium, finishing first was the point of their Qualifying campaign.
Now there are two games in Europe for what most expected to be a quiet November. Slovakia, a team that's better than most casual fans would expect. Denmark, a team that has enough to be considered a favorite for the knockout stage if the World Cup draw goes their way.
For the US, the issues going into these games are obvious. They're missing players due to injury, MLS playoffs, and coach's discretion, so this won't be first-choice. That means a squad that has had to adjust to each other this week in training. What works against Slovakia might not against Denmark, and there's the possibility that US coach Bob Bradley makes changes to the roster after Saturday's game.
Denmark might actually be easier, as these things go. For one thing, Bradley will have multiple players he could chose to call in with experience in Denmark's SuperLiga. Denmark's squad has the same big club punch as most European teams, but it's not going to cover every position. Add in the US players with experience in the Premier League and the Bundesliga, and the knowledge base evens out.
Not so for Slovakia, a team where the best player in the squad plays in Serie A and there's a distribution of leagues that don't turn up in American Abroad reports.
That's a test for the US, responding to a team with one highlight player that no one has first-hand experience against. It's a different twist on matching up quickly, and exactly the kind of experience the US should want as early preparation for South Africa.
Comments, questions, solutions to problems that have yet to present themselves. Please, tell me all about it.
