El Salvador |
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USA |
El Salvador vs USA Live Streams and TV Channels
| Country | Channels |
|---|---|
| United States | Watch ESPN »live stream, ESPN2, Telefutura |
| *Don't see your country or favourite channel listed? Let us know and we will include it. | |
El Salvador vs USA Match Preview
Bob Bradley’s boys are in a splendid shape having won 9 of their last 10 internationals. The United States are favorites in the CONCACAF zone group and their 2-0 win at home to Mexico in February helped them to kick start the last round of qualification to the World Cup in grand style.
They resume their campaign on March 28 with a game away to El Salvador, led by skipper Landon Donovan.
Donovan ready to face El Salvador
The striker is fresh from a wonderful performance that powered LA Galaxy to a late comeback against D.C. United last Sunday."There was a little transition coming back, and having not played 90 minutes in a while was an issue," Donovan stated, reflecting on LA Galaxy’s game.
"But now that [the Galaxy] have played a preseason game and the D.C. game, I really feel good. And having a week here to train will help a lot too."
Coach Bob Bradley also expressed his appreciation towards the USA’s all-time top scorer.
"Certainly within the group everyone respects his talent, and we're always challenging Landon and the others who have been around to take responsibility and take bigger roles," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. "I think in those ways he appreciates the fact that we hold him to a high standard and constantly challenge him and he knows that leadership is important for us to become a better team."
A loan move to German giants Bayern Munich helped the 27-year-old to better his form. His presence will be exceptionally vital when his side faces El Salvador.
On paper, there is no other favorite than the USA to win the encounter.
Still, the Yankees refuse to take anything for granted and Captain Donovan wants to make sure that the beat goes on.
"I think we're progressing and I think we're getting close to where we want to be," Donovan said. "The game against Mexico was the biggest test to this point for this team. A lot of guys haven't played in those kinds of games yet, so now we just hope to keep moving forward."
The United States might use the El Salvador encounter as a test ahead of their second qualification game against Trinidad and Tobago in a space of five days.
The Yanks bowed down 2-1 to T&T at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in October 2008; a defeat which ended the USA’s six straight world cup qualifying victories since June 2008.
In any case, Bob Bradley’s boys should have no problem facing El Salvador. Two things they’ll want to avoid is complacency and troubles...
How the game might unfold
The match will take place at the Estadio Cuscatlan, a venue that witnessed bad behavior from the fans a month ago, which led to FIFA imposing a $25,000 fine to the El Salvadoran Football Federation.USA defender Frankie Hejduk is already anticipating how things might go on.
"The crowd's going to be noisy, and no one really knows what the field conditions are going to be like,"
"It's going to be tough; it's going to be physical with lots of fouls, in typical World Cup qualifying fashion."
Emulating the display the showcased against Mexico last month will help USA cut El Salvador’s rhythm in attack.
The Yanks will have to deal with Star men Eliseo Quintanilla and Osael Romero but Donovan insists that the pressure is not on his team.
"We have a style of play that always makes it hard on teams, especially through midfield," said LA Galaxy front man Landon Donovan.
"But at the end of the day, the team gets a sense of how the game is flowing, and if we feel that momentum is going our way, then we're going to play like we're the home team and make it difficult for them.
"If in spots of the game it's not going as easily, then we have the ability to play a different way and be a little safer. But for the most part we want to be aggressive and make them stay at our level."
Another issue could have come from the fact that USA’s number one goalie Tim Howard won’t be able to feature due to suspension. The goalkeeper sustained a yellow card in Everton’s game against Portsmouth in the Premier League.
However, Brad Guzan and Marcus Hahnemann are available options and Hejduk believes that Howard’s absence in post won’t create any problems for his side.
"Guzan is playing at a high enough level in England where those things won't be an issue," Hejduk said. "The same goes for [Hahnemann]."
Reflecting on El Salvador’s De los Colobos’ statement saying “We cannot play with fear”, Hejduk concluded:
"There's always those little butterflies before the game," Hejduk said. "But I try to use those to amp me up a bit. Those nerves turn into amps, and it's a positive type of nervousness."