TUKWILA, Wash. — All eyes will be on the United States national team for the first of its two remaining CONCACAF Group C World Cup qualifying matches on Friday when they travel to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The U.S. are currently in second in the group and expect to qualify for the Hexagonal round at some point over the next two games and already beat St. Vincent last November, but don’t overlook the tiny island nation just yet.
The Sounders’ connections between the States and St. Vincent are aplenty, with Jordan Morris representing the U.S. and Oalex Anderson and S2 forward Myron Samuel suiting up for the Vincy Heat. S2 head coach Ezra Hendrickson happens to know the U.S.’ opponent pretty well too: He was St. Vincent’s captain for 12 years.
“[St. Vincent] sees this as a big opportunity,” Hendrickson said Wednesday. “It’s the world stage, they’re playing a top team in the world…it’s a good opportunity for our players to showcase themselves.”
Despite sitting in last place in Group C, the Vincy Heat put themselves on the United States’ radar when Anderson opened the scoring after just five minutes in their match last November (above). The USMNT went on to win big, but the attacking prowess St. Vincent has, especially in Anderson and Samuel, is evident and won't be an easy ask to slow them down.
And the atmosphere awaiting the United States in Kingstown on Friday will be one of unabashed support and enthusiasm.
“[Soccer] is what we do,” said Hendrickson. “You’re going to see a sea of yellow down there. They’re going to come out in their numbers. I think the stadium holds maybe 10,000 [fans] or so, it’s going to be full, it’s going to be packed, there’s going to be music, there’s going to be dancing, it’s going to be a national half day. The government, the prime minister, has given a 12 p.m. [cutoff time] for everyone to leave work and head to the game. It’s a big thing for them. It’s a big occasion.”
What the United States then can’t do is lose sight of the objective, which is to take care of business and solidify their standing for the Hex.
“Four points minimum [from the final two qualifiers] would be great, max points would be awesome,” Sounders forward and former U.S. national teamer Herculez Gomez said. “Every game is different, these are not easy games where you can just say because it’s St. Vincent we’re supposed to go out there and automatically roll through them. That’s not the way it works.
“In this region, on the road there are no easy games. The objective has always been steal points on the road and secure three points at home.”
Still, it will be easier said than done, as the United States will be without mainstays Jermaine Jones, captain Michael Bradley and most notably Sounders forward Clint Dempsey, who is currently sidelined after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat last week. Playing tricky matches against St. Vincent and later against Trinidad and Tobago on Sept. 6 in Florida will be that much more difficult without the presence of Dempsey & Co. leading by example on the pitch.
“[The United States will miss Clint’s] edge, that attitude, that chip on his shoulder, when things get dirty that willingness to fight,” said Gomez. “Sometimes in this region, it’s not going to be the prettiest of ways to grind out a result, and that’s when you need players like Clint, like Jermaine, like Michael, those players that have that character, that tenacity to get in your face and make things difficult for the opponent.
“[Head coach Jurgen Klinsmann] has said many times he wants players to get nastier. Those are the players who don’t mind getting nasty. They can play pretty football plenty, but they don’t mind rolling up their sleeves and doing what needs to be done.”
Morris will look to earn his 10th career cap and score his first competitive international goal after scoring in a friendly vs. Mexico last year. The U.S. will likely need his scoring touch up front, or the celebration in St. Vincent and the Grenadines may just never end.
