The Copa

I've been doing a lot of thinking about this summer, and what I have slowly come to realize is that the Copa is basically meaningless for the U.S. team. Yes, it will be great to face some quality competition. Yes, it would be good experience for both the veterans and the youngsters.

The truth is, however, that the most important thing the United States can do to prepare for 2010 is to win the Gold Cup this year, since that will qualify them for the 2009 confederations cup. Experience agaisnt the other federation champions in hot South African stadiums (and only 1 year before the WC) would be priceless.

The Copa serves a certain purpose for exposing whatever squad ends up going to hostile environments and quality competition, but I wouldn't be surprised if the U.S. ends up being somewhat embarrassed there. Why? Because it is not a priority for the national team to do well in the Copa, and it shouldn't be.

ESPN quotes Kasey Keller as summing up the situation with regards to the Gold Cup vs. the Copa, "To go to the Copa America and win a game, that's great, but the most important thing for us is to win this [The Gold Cup] tournament."

My guess is the squad sent to the Copa will not include Donovan, and will probably be shy of a few other MLS players. However, this would allow the possibility for people like Nguyen and Davies to get playing time in the Copa, which I think would be excellent for them.

So don't be surprised if we don't win any games at the Copa, because that tournament seems to be more like a thresher for the younger / overseas players to mesh together and try to overcome a very difficult environment.