The United States soccer team is fresh off a 3-0 win over Costa Rica Saturday in Salt Lake City and sits in second place in the North and Central American and Caribbean region just one point behind first place Mexico. The Americans have a five point lead over three teams tied for third place. The top three teams in the region are guaranteed a berth in the World Cup Finals next year.
Tonight, the U.S. team heads to Panama City to take on last place Panama who presently is 0-2-2 in the qualifying round. Tonight's game will mark the half way mark of the qualifying round for the Americans who are seeking their fifth straight appearance in the World Cup finals.
Coach Bruce Arena is worried that the Americans could take the Panamanians too lightly. 'If we're overconfident, we're completely stupid,' Arena told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
Landon Donovan recalls that a the U.S. had a problem with overconfidence four years ago after getting off to a quick start. 'We had 13 points after five games, and we thought we were God's gift to the world,' Donovan said. 'We're aware of that, and were more experienced this time.'
Another concern of the U.S. team is the conditions at Estadio Rommel Fernandez. The lighting in the stadium is poor and the field can often get extremely muddy especially after typical tropical late afternoon or evening thunderstorms.
Panama lost to Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 Saturday. Thus far, the Panamanian team has played to a draw in both of its home games.
The United States enters the match ranked 10th in the FIFA world rankings while Panama is ranked 95th. This, however, is a game the Americans cannot afford to overlook.
'They're going to throw everything they have at us,' Arena said. 'I can't imagine after five games, having two points, you're going to be in great shape. I don't think three points is necessarily great either, so I think they have to come at us hard. I'm not sure they're capable of playing us over 90 minutes. If we're smart, we're capable of coming out of here' with a victory.
