Soccer fans, it's almost time for the greatest tournament on Earth. That's right, the FIFA World Cup.
In the past week, most of the 32 teams that qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa released their provisional rosters, comprising 26 to 30 players.
The big unveiling for Americans came 2 p.m. Tuesday - literally one month, one day and 30 minutes before the Group C opening match between England and the U.S.
Excited yet? I thought so.
Can the Americans finally break through? The team showed signs of excellence in South Korea/Japan during the 2002 World Cup, making it to the quarterfinals before being bounced out by runner-up Germany.
Of course, the 2006 World Cup was a bust for the Americans, losing to the Czech Republic and Ghana and tying eventual champion Italy. I can remember how especially difficult it was to watch that Ghana match - stained my deck the entire second half instead of watching that debacle.
After last year's Confederations Cup, when the Americans shocked world No. 1 in Spain in the semi-finals and gave Brazil all it could handle in the finals, I saw a chance for a World Cup title on the horizon.
Then, my fantasy shattered.
After the injuries to the speedy Charlie Davies because of a car accident Oct. 2 and to defensive-stalwart Oguchi Onyewu in a practically meaningless tie against Costa Rica, things started to go downhill.
Onyewu was the undisputed big man in the middle of the American's back line. He kept teams from bombarding goalkeeper Tim Howard and the U.S. defense with crosses and corners. He moved to a great AC Milan team this past summer, which was supposed to enormously increase his skill set by playing top-flight European soccer.
Without Onyewu in the lineup, the U.S. defense had no answer. Moving captain Carlos Bocanegra to Onyewu's spot seemed to be a quick fix, but nobody seemed to fit at the Bocanegra's spot, the left back.
Luckily, for U.S. fans, Onyewu has been cleared to play after recovering six months from a torn patellar tendon, shoring up the defense in front of Howard.
Davies, though, wasn't so lucky.
He broke his right leg, left elbow, bones in his face and lacerated his bladder during the car accident. Those serious injuries all but ruled him out from playing in the World Cup.
But the striker, surprisingly, came back quickly from the injury, creating speculation that he could be named to the provisional roster Tuesday, but having not been cleared medically by his French club Sochaux, coach Bob Bradley couldn't name him to the roster.
This leaves the biggest question for the Americans: Who will play at the second striker position alongside Jozy Altidore?
The combination of Altidore and Davies was potent and the reason the Americans had success up top last summer. Since Davies' injuries, Bradley couldn't find a replacement to complement the strong Altidore.
Bradley knows he needs someone with pace, but of the players he has brought in, nobody has stood out. Robbie Findley has the speed, but in his appearance against the Netherlands March 3, he couldn't keep the ball. Eddie Johnson played well in the Greek Super League playoffs, scoring three times, but his U.S. career has been inconsistent, and Brian Ching seems to be on the outside looking in.
Two players to watch who might steal a roster slot and maybe the starting job: Edson Buddle of the L.A. Galaxy and Herculez Gomez of Mexico's Puebla. Buddle has scored nine goals so far in Major League Soccer, while Gomez tied first in goals in Mexico. But both have little experience with the national team, which raises questions.
Of course, Bradley could move either Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey to striker, but that would open up even more questions at the midfield.
The good news for Bradley is he has a month and two exhibitions against the Czech Republic and Turkey later this month to figure it out.
Until then, I'll be buying EA's FIFA World Cup 2010 for the PS3 to get myself ready and waste time.
- Matt Wagner is a junior studying journalism and sports staff writer at The Post. E-mail him at mw102906ohiou.edu
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Matt Wagner
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