The US will pretty much have no chance ahead of their game with Italy if Ghana fails to beat the Czechs three hours earlier. A win for the Czechs would practically put them through to the knockout stages and give them no motivation to defeat Italy in their third game. Giving the Azzurri an un-motivated Czech side to face would spell doom and would likely send the US home early. Even with two US victories, they would most likely lose on goal difference to Italy and the Czech Republic (who would also have two victories). That being said, here’s why the Czechs could still lose to Ghana:
- No Koller or Baros: With a minimal strike force the Czechs attack will be hindered.
- Yellow Cards: The Czechs racked up four yellow cards against the US. Grygera, Rosicky, Lokvenc and Rozehnal are all going to be avoiding aggressive play or face having to watch their match against Italy from the sidelines.
- Eissen: The US midfield parted like the Red Sea for the Czechs and coughed up 2 goals. With “the Bison” in the center of the park, I doubt the Czechs will get much time or space to create long shots versus Ghana.
- Kuffour is not Eddie Pope: The Czechs were given a commanding lead four minutes into the game thanks to Eddie Pope (Who played defense more like the late Pope John Paul II). Samuel Kuffour and the Ghana defense were able to hold Italy off for 40 minutes. Case-in-point is that the Czech Republic will be forced to actually play.
Now all that’s left if Ghana wins is for the US to defeat three time World Cup champions, Italy. An unlikely best-case scenario? Yes, but the situation is not as bad as we’ve been given the impression of from the press. The drastic loss is a good motivator for the US and will also shake things up in the locker-room (for the better). Arena, now, can play his in-form players rather than the most seasoned ones. Dempsey, Johnson, O’Brian and Bocanegra hopefully will get some action. Arena will most likely end the sad zonal coverage that failed versus Czech Republic and go for man on man. Added up, here is where the US stands:
14% chance of the US advancing to the knockout round
I like soccer. I watch a lot of soccer. Sometimes I play soccer and it's a sad site.
I pretty much exclusively support Liverpool after being deserted by the MLS (see: San Jose Clash… I mean Earthquakes… I mean Houston 1836? errr… Dynamo, whatever). I’ve been following the game since 1995, and in-depth since about 2002. I’m currently a senior in college at Arizona and catch Sounders games over the summer in Seattle. So yup, that’s about it.
