U.S. Faces a Tall Order in Czechs

Talented, Attacking Foe Could Damage Americans' Hopes of Advancing

Czech Republic striker Jan Koller has 42 goals in 68 matches with the national team and the U.S. defense is keying on stopping him. (Petr Josek - Reuters)

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany, June 11 -- The U.S. national soccer team looks at its first adversary in the 2006 World Cup and sees a 6-foot-7 forward who is better with his feet than his shaved head. It sees a former European player of the year prowling the left wing and a goalkeeper who starts for the most expensive club the British pound could buy.

When the Americans enter Veltins Arena on Monday evening, they will encounter a Czech Republic squad that, if able to unleash its menacing attack, could severely damage U.S. ambitions of replicating its historic quarterfinal run of four years ago in South Korea.

The Americans will confront a team that advanced to the semifinals of the most recent European Championship -- the sport's second-most important tournament -- and has stirred memories of the great Czechoslovakian teams of decades past.

"If they have the freedom to attack with seven or eight players throughout the game," U.S. Coach Bruce Arena warned Sunday, "they're going to be a tough team to stop."

Although the Americans will play two other Group E first-round matches over the next 11 days, Monday's game is vital to their hopes of advancing to the elimination stage. A loss would almost certainly mean having to earn no worse than a tie with Italy, a title contender, on Saturday and beating upstart Ghana five days later.

With that potential scenario in mind, Arena has developed a plan he hopes will both strangle the Czechs' potent attack and provide the opportunity for his team to expose weaknesses in its vaunted opposition.

"The Czechs can score some goals, there's no doubt about that," goalkeeper Kasey Keller said. "They've got world stars and they're a great team, but we're no slouch ourselves. We know if we compete to the best of our ability, we can compete with anybody in the world.

"We know they have great players, they know we have great players."

The Americans' most obvious concern is the towering Jan Koller, who has scored 42 goals in 68 appearances and appears to have fully recovered from a serious knee injury suffered last year.

The task of neutralizing Koller will probably fall to 6-4 Oguchi Onyewu, who has "come a long way in the last two years, and he's dealt with big players before," team captain Claudio Reyna said. "But it's not really down to one player. I think everyone is making this matchup a big thing, but everyone has to help. There are going to be times when different players make plays against him."

Koller was expected to play up front along with Milan Baros, but a foot injury has jeopardized Baros's availability for Monday's match -- and perhaps the entire tournament.

Although Coach Karel Bruckner said a decision will not be made about Baros until Monday, speculation in the Czech media was that Baros had little chance of being ready.

Arena didn't see Baros's likely absence as an advantage, saying, "They have many other options in the attack and although he's certainly a loss, they are one of the few teams in the world that can afford losing a player like that and still be pretty potent in attack."

Without Baros, Bruckner could leave Koller by himself at the apex of the attack, add a fifth midfielder and move superstar Pavel Nedved from the left wing to a central role.

No matter how they line up, the Czechs will attack like few teams the Americans have seen in recent years -- waves of forward-thinking players capable of slicing apart a U.S. defense that was susceptible to breakdowns during three tuneup matches last month.

"Their posture is very much attacking and they have a style of play that, from what I can trace to Euro 2004, they've been pretty consistent with," Arena said. "I think they are strong believers in that they have a good team and they will bring what they have to the field each and every game regardless of the opponent. There's an obvious style there, there's a method to their madness and certainly their focus is coming at you."

Questions remain as to who Arena will call upon to stop the Czechs. Pablo Mastroeni, a rambunctious defensive midfielder, seems like an obvious choice to play behind the tone-setting Reyna and the explosive Landon Donovan. Arena is also likely to start DaMarcus Beasley on the right instead of the left to utilize his defensive awareness.

Similarly, the Czechs are wary of U.S. threats. "We have seen a lot of the U.S. team on DVDs," midfielder Tomas Galasek said through an interpreter. "We have respect and we will never underestimate our opponent."

The Americans have "played a long time together," Bruckner added. "I know it's a team that believes in itself."

The U.S. team held its final workout here Sunday, capping a month of preparation that began with an intensive training camp in North Carolina.

"I'm basically sick of the preparation, and I want to hear the whistle tomorrow and get on with the game," Arena said. "We're very well prepared, there's very little to say, now it's about stepping on the field and getting the job done. I can't wait till tomorrow."