U.S. has feet full

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany – Eddie Pope answered a question with a question and said all that needed to be said.

Czech Republic forward Jan Koller has been listed at either 6-foot-7 or 6-8. So Pope, a defender for the United States who stands 6-1, was asked to clarify Koller’s size.

“Does it matter?” Pope said with a laugh. “Six-seven, I think. He’s big.”

Koller is just one of many offensive weapons for the Czech Republic, which the U.S. team faces today in the Americans’ first game of the World Cup.

Czech midfielders Pavel Nedved and Tomas Rosicky can be a handful, and pairing up top with Koller is speedy Milan Baros. The forwards in particular each provide a difficult challenge for the U.S. defense. One you have to catch up with, and the other you have to, well, maybe box out like in basketball.

U.S. coach Bruce Arena won’t announce his lineup until just before today’s game, but it’s a good bet that Oguchi Onyewu will be starting in defense. Onyewu, nicknamed “Gooch,” is 6-4 and 210 pounds and looks more like a linebacker than a soccer player. He already delivered one devastating hit during practice last week, conking heads with U.S. forward Brian Ching. The collision left Ching with a gash above his right eye that required 13 stitches to close.

However, Gooch isn’t a thug.

“I think he brings so much more physical presence than a lot of backs in the past,” Pope said of Onyewu. “He’s intelligent, good in the air obviously, and he’s just a threat on set pieces on both ends.”

This is not to say the U.S. defense rest solely on the shoulders of Onyewu or Pope or even Jimmy Conrad, for that matter.

“I think we cover for each other,” Conrad said. “We don’t leave anyone out to dry. That goes a long way. … There are some players who will leave you hanging and are just worried about their own patch of grass. If something breaks down, everybody’s there to back you up. That’s (why it’s) special.”

But the U.S. team isn’t merely concerning itself with how to stop the Czechs. The Americans believe they can cause the Czech defense some headaches.

“We’ve taken a lot of looks at video,” forward Josh Wolff said, “and there are certainly a lot of (Czech Republic) strengths that we’re aware of. … We’ve got more than capable players. With our guys, we’re going to look to get goals in a variety of ways.”