USA vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina: Why Friendly Is More Significant Than the Gold Cup

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: August 13, 2013

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Before restarting World Cup qualifying in September, the United States national team has one important international friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

While most Americans cannot find the country on a map, this match will be a significant test to truly see where this team is compared to the rest of the world.

At this point, the squad seems to be playing as well as ever. It is currently in the midst of a record 11-game winning streak that includes a dominant run through the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Prior to that, the team had a couple of narrow wins in World Cup qualifying.

The problem is that the region simply is not that good compared to the rest of the world. Looking at the official FIFA world rankings, it is clear that the competition from North and Central America is well below that of Europe and South America.



If you do not trust the ranking system, simply look at the World Cup, which has been dominated by these two continents over the years. Not a single squad has even reached the finals from any other region since the tournament began.

This is why if the United States wants to attempt to be a world power in the sport, it will need to match up with the best. At the moment, Bosnia-Herzegovina is playing as well as almost anyone in the world.

Led by Manchester City's Edin Dzeko, the squad is a few matches from clinching a bid to the 2014 World Cup. It is unbeaten in nine contests and has dominated the current stage of qualifying with five wins and a draw in six matches.

The group has defeated opponents 23-3 in the recent stretch and is now up to the No. 13 spot in the world rankings.



Beating an opponent of this quality would be much more impressive for the USA than defeating virtually anyone in its own region.

The last time the United States matched up against European competition, it competed in back-to-back friendlies against ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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