CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Preview: USA Favorites to Top Group A

Although it boasts two participants from the 2006 World Cup, Group 1 isn’t quite as cut and dry as it looks. The United States are the front runner to take the group, but surprise qualifiers in 2006, Trinidad and Tobago, aren’t as certain to advance this time.
 
Rounding out the group are a feisty, in-form Guatemalan team led by Los Angeles Galaxy striker Carlos Ruiz. The minnows of the group, Cuba, give the group an intriguing political charge. 
 
Cuba
Cuba were the first Caribbean team to qualify for the World Cup, in 1938, when they made it to the second round. Since then, the Lions of the Caribbean haven’t had much to roar about, and in recent years, talented players like Maykel Galindo and Rey Angel Martinez defected to the United States.
 
Managed by German Reinhold Fanz, the Cuban side is very inexperienced, with all their players plying their trade on the island. However, they managed to jump 26 spots to #78 in the June 2008 FIFA world rankings due to their impressive recent play, namely its 8-4 aggregate victory over Antigua and Barbuda last round.
 
The key players are strikers Jaime Colomé and Roberto Linares, who had two and three goals, respectively, in the Antigua series.
 
Lingering Question: Will the geopolitics distract the Cubans, who can’t afford any lack of concentration, or will it play to their advantage?

Guatemala
As one of the less productive teams in the CONCACAF, Guatemala hasn’t experienced much success in its 80-plus years in existence. Currently led by tactician Ramon Maradiaga, the Guatemalans will ride on the shoulders of their select group of international veterans and a cluster of inexperienced players who are being given their chance to step up and make a name for themselves.
 
L.A. Galaxy strike Carlos Ruiz, Guatemala’s most capped active player, scored four goals in the Azul y Blanco’s deciding match against St. Lucia. He and strike partner Dwight Pezzarossi will need to create plenty more scoring opportunities, because the defense lacks the experience and talent to stop powerhouses like Trinidad and the U.S.
 
The schedule has Guatemala facing the United States in the first and last games in group play. La Azul y Blanco, therefore, must be in form during the heart of the group fixtures.
 
Lingering Question: With the huge dearth of experience on the team, who will lead the side if Ruiz is out of form or injured?

Trinidad & Tobago
Still buoyed by their qualification for the 2006 World Cup, Trinidad & Tobago must now show they can be a consistent regional force by repeating the feat. Having barely scraped by Bermuda 3-2 on aggregate in the first round of qualifying, the Soca Warriors must figure out a way to break down a stringent defense.
 
Despite their poor performance against Bermuda, T&T has experienced a good run of form in their last 10 games, going 4-2-4. The key man will be the team’s all-time leading goalscorer, Southampton striker Stern John. His amazing tally of 69 goals in 104 appearances, including two in his last two games for Trinidad, means a strong performance from John is vital if the team is to advance.
 
Lingering Question: With the high expectations after 2006, can the Soca Warriors handle the pressure?

United States
Being the class of Group 1, the US should easily continue their run toward South Africa, following on the heels of a 9-0 thrashing of Barbados.
 
Led by an impressive strike force that includes Fulham’s Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson, L.A. Galaxy’s Landon Donovan, and the Houston Dynamo’s Brian Ching, the US ought to be able to score plenty of goals. In Tim Howard, they have one of the top goalkeepers in the world backstopping a defense that has given up less than a goal a game since the beginning of 2007.
 
The US easily has the biggest pool of players to choose from out of the teams in this group, so Bob Bradley will have the luxury of varying his lineups. He can continue to assess the talent available to him in preparation of the next round’s Hexagonal, perhaps giving the likes of youngsters Freddy Adu, Sascha Kljestan, and Michael Bradley more experience at the international level.
 
Lingering Question: Can the team score consistently in the absence of longtime spiritual leader and attacking legend Brian McBride ?

 
Prediction
1.    USA
2.    Trinidad & Tobago
3.    Guatemala
4.    Cuba

-- Shane Evans, Goal.com