The USA had a protracted journey day yesterday, flying from Jamaica to Seattle. The crew was again on the sphere at this time, and ASN’s Liviu Chook spoke with veterans Tim Howard and DaMarcus Beasley
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Liviu Chook
Posted
June 09, 2013
9:18 PM
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SEATTLE—Regardless of the grueling 3,000-mile journey from Kingston, Jamaica, the US males’s soccer crew was in good spirits earlier than Sunday afternoon’s coaching session in Seattle.
“We got to sleep in this morning, had a good workout in the gym, so I think everyone’s feeling refreshed,” goalkeeper Tim Howard mentioned. “Being in Kingston, it’s hard to get out. It’s really stuffy. So to be able to be in the fresh air, in a great city, which we feel like is home to us, it’s been good.”
It took nine-plus hours to get to the Emerald Metropolis. After an early wake-up, the crew constitution made a five-hour flight to Monterrey, Mexico, persevering with to Seattle after refueling.
Gamers began Sunday’s coaching session in two juggling circles, punctuated by noisy outbursts as teammates didn’t preserve the ball within the air. If fatigue was an element, no one confirmed it within the quick interval during which the media watched the crew practice.
Jermaine Jones, who sustained a concussion within the 2-1 win over Jamaica, was the one participant lacking from U.S. coaching. He’ll work with a specialist to make sure his medical exams match his measured baseline earlier than he rejoins the crew. As his teammates skilled, Jones tweeted that he could be out for the match in opposition to Panama.
Except for Jones’ harm, the thrill round coaching largely centered on the momentary grass floor laid on high of CenturyLink Subject’s synthetic turf. Not one of the gamers set foot on it earlier than Sunday’s session, and they’ll have simply two days to regulate to it earlier than taking part in on Tuesday.
“I saw it on TV last night, so it’s obviously much different in person. We’ll see how it goes. We’ll see how it plays,” Howard said. “You look for spots on the field that may tear up easily and try to avoid them, if that’s even possible.”
DaMarcus Beasley had probably the most optimistic remark concerning the floor of any participant interviewed to date, saying he “would rather play on this than on turf, for sure.” The floor acquired blended evaluations on Saturday night time after Seattle Sounders FC’s 3-2 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps, during which Vancouver defender Andy O’Brien pulled a hamstring, he mentioned, as a direct results of the slick pitch.
Waiting for Tuesday’s match, each Beasley and Howard in contrast Panama to the Jamaican crew they simply defeated.
“They’re a good team that’s kind of a little bit like Jamaica: they’re unpredictable,” Beasley mentioned. “We’re definitely going to have our hands full with them.”
Within the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Panama shocked the U.S. by successful 2-1 within the ultimate group sport. Simply 11 days later, the U.S. reversed that by successful 1-0 within the semifinals at Reliant Stadium in Houston.
However that was a very long time in the past, Howard mentioned.
“Different team, different coaching staff,” he mentioned. “A couple days after that, we turned around and put that [bad] result right in Houston. So there’s nothing residual from last time.”
On Tuesday, Panama can be with out ahead Blas Perez, who remained in Panama due to a gastrointestinal drawback. The American goalkeeper mentioned he would nonetheless be cautious, regardless that Perez is a key participant for the Panamanians.
“I think more than anything, we’ve learned that if we focus on ourselves and get our performances right, that usually goes a long way,” Howard mentioned. “We looked at this trip as a nine-point trip. We got to three in Jamaica. It will be important for us to get these three.”
Liviu Chook is the Cascadia regional editor for SoccerWire.com, in addition to an ASN contributor. Observe him on Twitter.
