United States vs. Turkey: Film Focus Preview of a Big Match for Clint Dempsey

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: May 31, 2014

commentComment        

In all the breathless drama surrounding Landon Donovan's failure to launch for the 2014 World Cup, Clint Dempsey's recent absence went somewhat unnoticed.

Dempsey was set to face Azerbaijan until minutes before kick-off in the United States men's national team's recent friendly. The Americans won that match relatively comfortably without Dempsey, so his absence was a footnote.

But the two friendlies the Americans have left before World Cup play pit them against much stronger opposition than Azerbaijan. Their next opponent on Sunday, Turkey, is ranked 39th in the world by FIFA—one spot below the Americans' most beatable World Cup opponent, Ghana.

After Turkey, the Americans get one more tune-up match against 44th-ranked Nigeria before going to Brazil and playing games that count.



If the Americans are to have any chance to survive their "Group of Death," Dempsey needs to transfer his Major League Soccer scoring touch to his USMNT play. And fast.

Dempsey leads the Sounders in goals, shots and shots on target, and the club is atop the league's Western Conference as of this writing. So Dempsey is as potent as ever.

Dempsey will also have some favorable history working for him against Turkey.

The United States has played Turkey only once in this decade, fittingly a last friendly before the 2010 World Cup. The Americans beat Turkey 2-1 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on May 29, 2010.



Dempsey scored the game-winner for the Americans that day.

"Dempsey’s first touch pushed the ball forward and then he showed great balance in riding the tackle of Sabri Sarioglu before stuffing his shot under (Volkan) Demirel from five yards away," noted the match report on USSoccer.com.

Care to take a guess on which American assisted on both Dempsey's game-winner and Jozy Altidore's earlier tally in that match?

Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!