Sampson Continues to Fine Tune Line Up Before World Cup
May 25, 1998 - 0:0
PORTLAND, Oregon The U.S. national soccer team has been cooped up in its hotel all week, occasionally coming out to kick the ball around on sodden practice fields. While some players are anxious to get to the June 15 match against Germany in the first round of the world cup in Paris, coach Steve Sampson still has some tinkering to do with his lineup.
Sampson, whose team plays Kuwait on Sunday in the United States' next-to-last exhibition before leaving for the world cup, apparently had his 22-man roster filled out earlier this week when he announced that Tab Ramos had made the team after sitting out seven months with his second straight knee injury and Frenchman David Regis was almost assured a spot after being sworn in as a U.S. citizen on Wednesday. But Sampson, who dumped John Harkes as team captain last month and replaced him with Thomas Dooley, hasn't hesitated to shuffle the lineup.
``We want the best team to play in the world cup, not the best individuals,'' Sampson said. Sampson hasn't ruled out dropping No. 3 goalkeeper Juergen Sommer and add forward Roy Lassiter to the team. Lassiter led major league soccer last season with 27 goals, but he has been much quieter with the national team. Sampson has until June 2 - after a final exhibition against Scotland at RFK stadium in Washington, D.C., on May 30 - to complete his roster.
Sampson will continue to go with his 3-6-1 formation of three defensemen, six midfielders and one striker. The plan produced plenty of shots on goal last weekend in an exhibition against Macedonia, but the United States wound up with a frustrating scoreless tie. The United States is playing Kuwait, which failed to qualify for the world cup, because of its experience in playing Iran, one of the teams - along with Germany and Yugoslavia - the U.S. team will play in the first round in France. The U.S. team walked onto the Civic Stadium field for the first time Saturday for a brief workout, checking out the newly laid sod trucked in to put over the stadium's artificial turf.
(AP)
Sampson, whose team plays Kuwait on Sunday in the United States' next-to-last exhibition before leaving for the world cup, apparently had his 22-man roster filled out earlier this week when he announced that Tab Ramos had made the team after sitting out seven months with his second straight knee injury and Frenchman David Regis was almost assured a spot after being sworn in as a U.S. citizen on Wednesday. But Sampson, who dumped John Harkes as team captain last month and replaced him with Thomas Dooley, hasn't hesitated to shuffle the lineup.
``We want the best team to play in the world cup, not the best individuals,'' Sampson said. Sampson hasn't ruled out dropping No. 3 goalkeeper Juergen Sommer and add forward Roy Lassiter to the team. Lassiter led major league soccer last season with 27 goals, but he has been much quieter with the national team. Sampson has until June 2 - after a final exhibition against Scotland at RFK stadium in Washington, D.C., on May 30 - to complete his roster.
Sampson will continue to go with his 3-6-1 formation of three defensemen, six midfielders and one striker. The plan produced plenty of shots on goal last weekend in an exhibition against Macedonia, but the United States wound up with a frustrating scoreless tie. The United States is playing Kuwait, which failed to qualify for the world cup, because of its experience in playing Iran, one of the teams - along with Germany and Yugoslavia - the U.S. team will play in the first round in France. The U.S. team walked onto the Civic Stadium field for the first time Saturday for a brief workout, checking out the newly laid sod trucked in to put over the stadium's artificial turf.
(AP)