Strong U.S. soccer team still learning

CHICAGO – For a decade, the core U.S. team didn’t have to worry about that awkward, uncomfortable getting-to-know-you stage.

Let other countries figure out who was doing what and where. With ageless veterans like Claudio Reyna, Brian McBride and Eddie Pope, and Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley around since grade school, it seemed, the national team was an almost seamless fit.

Everybody knew their roles and what they had to do. More important, they knew what everybody else could do, too.

Those days are over. While much of the roster from last summer’s World Cup squad is still intact – Donovan and Beasley have been elevated to “old man” status – Reyna, McBride and Pope have moved on, and there’s a new group of players trying to work their way onto the squad.

“Talentwise, it’s as good as it’s ever been,” Donovan said Wednesday. “What we’re still trying to get at is having enough guys on the field that know what’s going on and knowing how we want to play and getting that consistently.”

That’s what makes games like tonight’s CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal against Canada so important.

In this part of the world, at least, the Americans have more depth than anyone else, more skilled players, more speed.

They’re heavy favorites to win the entire tournament, and not just because they’re hosting the party. They’ve won the Gold Cup three times, and this is their eighth trip to the semifinals in nine tournaments.

What they don’t have is that wealth of experience in big-time games. The only way to get that is by playing.

“The competition right now to get on the field is strong,” coach Bob Bradley said. “The mentality of this group I think continues to improve every day.”