"U.S. Offense Has Spiced Up"

“It’s getting hotter and hotter.”

The Korean national soccer team should open their eyes wide from the triumph over Scotland. The first opponent of the 2002 World Cup finals, U.S.A., has been rapidly advancing in its strength.

U.S.A.-Jamaica evaluation match was held at New Jersey’s East Rutherford Giants Stadium on the 17th. The U.S. team showed off mighty offense, as Josh Wolff scored 2 goals, and Clint Mathis, Landon Donovan, and DaMarcus Beasley 1 each. Jamaica, which once beat Japan by 2-1 in the 1998 France World Cup, was outran by 5-0 on the day.

The U.S. team, which was defeated by European teams like Germany and Ireland in a game after a game, maintained good spirit since the victory against Uruguay on the 13th.

However, the U.S. team is expected of some changes in the formation, as goalkeeper Kasey Keller, striker Clint Mathis, and defender Greg Vanney got hurt and substituted during the match. The U.S. team is to hold the last evaluation match with Netherlands on the 20th before arriving in Korea on the 24th.

It was `young power` of the U.S. offensive line that shined on the day. At its center was Donovan (San Jose), who just turned 20. Most of goal chances came from the tip of the offensive vanguard’s feet.

At the 32nd minute in the first half, Donovan stole the ball from the opponent’s defender and passed it to Joe-Max Moore, who was rushing in on the right side, and Moore then gave it to Wolff, who scored the first goal. Donovan also made an indirect assist for the second goal, and he gave the ball to Wolff at the 15th minute in the second half for the third goal. 38th minute was his own turn, as he made a left-footed shot after receiving Eddy Luis’ pass.

Beasley, who made the last score during the injury time in the second half, is another 20 year-old rookie star. `Young guns` dominated the game, as Wolff (25) and Mathis (26) are also in their mid-20s.

On the other hand, the defense line seemed still shabby. The U.S. placed playmaker Claudio Reyna in replacement of defensive midfielder Chris Armas. Defense held the four-back formation of Vanney, Gregg Berhalter, Pablo Mastroeni, and Frankie Hejduk, excluding starting members in the Uruguayan match like Jeff Agoos. The U.S. was shaky several times before the Jamaican offense.

Jong-Koo Yang yjongk@donga.com