See USA World Cup schedule at end of article.
Updated: May 28, 2006, 12:00 PM UK
McBride header seals win for the U.S.
<!-- end pagetitle --><!-- begin bylinebox -->
Associated Press
<!-- begin presby2 -->
<!-- end presby2 -->
<!-- end bylinebox -->
<!-- begin text11 div -->
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=425><!-- begin leftcol -->EAST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Brian McBride scored, DaMarcus Beasley shifted across the field to the right side and Eddie Johnson looked a lot better. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
With a 1-0 victory over Latvia on Sunday night behind McBride's 43rd-minute goal, the United States completed a grueling series of three World Cup warmup games in six days.
"All the talking is done. We'll have to step on the field June 12 and show what we're about," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said.
Following a 1-0 loss to Morocco and a 2-0 victory over Venezuela, the Americans looked sharper and dominated possession until tiring midway through the second half.
American players will be given three days off to return home before the team leaves for Germany on Thursday. They have a closed scrimmage against Angola on June 5 in Hamburg, then meet the Czech Republic in their World Cup opener on June 12 in Gelsenkirchen.
"I think the loss against Morocco was a good wakeup call," said U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who got his 45th shutout in 93 international games.
Ranked 70th in the world, Latvia failed to qualify for the World Cup after making it to the 2004 European Championship. Keller was rarely tested until a diving stop of Girts Karlsons' header in the 89th minute.
"What we did now isn't that big a deal," Keller said. "I don't want guys thinking, 'All right. We beat Latvia 1-nil, so now we're going to roll over the Czech Republic.' That doesn't quite equate."
Coming off a quarterfinal finish at the 2002 tournament, the United States is in a difficult group with the Czechs, Italy and Ghana. Trying to test players, Arena changed nine starters for the second straight game.
In a possible signal of what he might do in the World Cup opener, he moved Beasley to right midfield from left, and inserted John O'Brien on the left side.
"I'm probably the only left-footed guy that will play the right because I played there all year at PSV. I feel comfortable out there," Beasley said, referring to PSV Eindhoven, his club in the Netherlands.
O'Brien, coming off a lengthy string of injuries, played well until he was replaced by Bobby Convey in the 66th minute.
"He still has a way to go," Arena said. "He's probably not going to be ready to position himself to play 90 minutes on June 12, but we're getting to see the old John again. His match fitness isn't where it needs to be, but physically he appears to be fine."
Landon Donovan was positioned at the top of the midfield diamond behind McBride and Johnson.
Johnson scored seven goals in seven World Cup qualifiers but missed much of last year with a toe injury. He has struggled to regain his sharpness and failed to convert several opportunities against the Latvians, just missing or getting called offsides.
"We've had a tough time with him over the last five months, and I think he's starting to break out of it now," Arena said. "Although he didn't get a goal tonight, I thought he had some real good moments."
McBride could be paired up front with Josh Wolff against the Czechs or Arena could go with Johnson, who had four of the 16 American shots against Latvia.
"I was doing things that I did back when I was scoring goals," Johnson said. "I was getting in behind the defenders, getting dangerous in the box, getting in crosses, making those runs in the back, holding the ball up, bringing other players into the game."
Only the U.S. defense seems set, with Eddie Lewis at left back, Eddie Pope and Oguchi Onyewu in the middle and Steve Cherundolo at right back. Captain Claudio Reyna, who plans to resume training in a few days after a right hamstring strain heals, is likely to be in defensive midfield.
McBride scored from 6 yards off a cross from Cherundolo, sending the ball off the fingertips of leaping goalkeeper Aleksandrs Kolinko and into the net at the far post. With his 30th goal in 92 international appearances -- his first since connecting in a 1-0 qualifying win against Trinidad and Tobago at East Hartford last Aug. 17 -- McBride moved within four goals of Eric Wynalda, the American career scoring leader.
McBride was playing with a large welt on the left side of his forehead, incurred when Genadjis Soloncins butted heads with him in the 18th minute.
"For McBride, that's nothing," Arena said. "He's had a lot worse."
Game Notes
MFs Reyna (strained right hamstring) and Clint Dempsey (sore back) didn't dress, and D Carlos Bocanegra was suspended following his ejection against Venezuela. ... The U.S. team wore special edition red "Don't Tread on Me" jerseys with a 1950s-era crest.
<TABLE id=inlinetable cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 width=200 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TH style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #000000"><CENTER>U.S. World Cup schedule</CENTER></TH><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD width=184>• Monday, June 12 -- vs. Czech Republic at Gelsenkirchen, Germany, noon (
ESPN2)
• Saturday, June 17 -- vs. Italy at Kaiserslautern, Germany, 3 p.m. (
ABC)
• Thursday, June 22 -- vs. Ghana at Nuremberg, Germany, 10 a.m. (
ESPN)
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=195583&cc=3888
