As it should be. (Yes, I'm a homer). Playing the weather card? Weather in late March in Ohio is unpredictable-- could be an 80 degree day or could have snow on the ground.
This is a qualifier, and if results go the way we worry about, we are going to desperately need all three points, so you take whatever advantage you can get. Personally, I don't know if this is as big an advantage as we think it is, as there aren't a lot of players who thrive playing on a frozen tundra at 30 degrees (if it happens to be the weather that day as US Soccer hopes). Most of the Guats though will definitely struggle. I don't know of a lot of Guat players who ply their trade outside of their league? It's a team made of Comunicaciones and Municipal sprinkled with a few MLS'ers here and there. They are going to be frozen.
Temperature, like altitude, requires adaptation by the body. Our players won't necessarily like it more but they will be more adapted. This is also a reason why we might have problems in Guatemala.
Agreed. I think the frozen tundra is much more of an equalizer for both teams, than the advantage Central American and Caribbean teams have at home with the heat and humidity. Especially over the last cycle we struggled mightily away to those teams outside of the minnows like SVG.
Well, I think the advantage we're looking for in Columbus is in the stands. Not neccearily weather related..........................
Fair point. Brings up a good point. If we had to play a must win qualifier, is this where we would want to play it? This is the thinking of US Soccer for sure, but does everyone agree? I like the atmosphere of a rowdy SKC stadium, but the atmosphere at Sounders is unrivaled. If it was a natural turf field, that would be my choice for a national stadium.
Columbus is where I'd play it. A history of a heavily pro-US crowd. We should try Kansas City again. They did a good job at the Gold Cup this past summer for our game against Panama (the game we drew in the group stage).
I believe the USMNT is 7-3-0 all-time in Columbus (W-D-L) with only one goal conceded. I could be off by one on the wins, but I know we are undefeated here and have allowed only 1 goal (1-1 draw with Jamaica). Not all of those are WCQ's of course, but the history speaks for itself. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. We may need this one.
Its possible we'll need this one. Guatemala, though, has REALLY been struggling of late. They've won three games in the calendar year of 2015. They were against Bermuda, Antigua & Barbuda, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. That's it. In fact, they drew with Bermuda 0-0 at home and only beat them 1-0 on the road in order to get thru to the next round in WCQing. They're STILL calling up Carlos Ruiz for Pete's sake. Guatemala hasn't beaten the USMNT in 20 straight attempts, whether home or away. In theory we could play this game anywhere and get the W. I'm all for playing this game in Columbus, but if we can't beat Guatemala ANYWHERE in the US...................then we don't deserve to advance.
Wonder if the US has ever considered what amounts to a split squad for this kind of situation? One that trains in Miami for the Friday game and one that trains in Minnesota for the C'bus game? I can think of all kinds of difficulties with this arrangement for myself, but I wonder if there could be a group of starters that got swapped out and were prepared like this? Might particularly work for a team that has adequate depth without brilliant talent as its principal characteristic. Yes, it is the no news, very little to analyze season.
I really like the split-squad theory on the rare occasions when it's applicable. For example, if Canada's March fixtures were in Azteca first and at home against Mexico second (in reality, they're the reverse), I'd recommend sending the weaker part of the squad to Azteca as sacrificial lambs, and keeping a fresh group of your best 18 or so at home. For intercontinental playoffs against New Zealand or certain AFC teams on the other side of the world, I think there's a lot to be said for splitting up to acclimate each group to its own time change as early as possible. I'm not sure any of these considerations apply to Guatemala, though.
I like the split squad idea, too; especially since there is no continuity or cohesion in the lineups JK puts out to be disrupted. Columbus is good because it will suit any of the European players that participate.
In case you missed it, we haven't beaten anyone in the top 100 in a while either. Our last two wins are against SV&G and Cuba with half their team defecting.