USA vs. Scotland: Why United States Must Win This Match

There are very few friendly matches in soccer that are must-wins, but the United States' match against Scotland certainly fits the bill.

Jurgen Klinsmann's squad can almost smell the World Cup qualifiers coming after their next three matches, but the United States must realize it's one match at a time.

It's pretty easy to look past a team like Scotland when the US has their eyes on the ultimate prize of making the World Cup, but every match is vital to this team's future success.

The United States finished off last year strong, according to Keith Hickey of Goal.com, and could be primed to make a run towards being an elite soccer team moving forward.

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The U.S. has collected four consecutive victories dating back to last year, including three straight shutout wins against Venezuela, Panama and Italy for the 2012 campaign.

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Scotland isn't too shabby, and this will be an interesting test for the United States in order to see where they truly are as a team at the moment.

In the same report from Goal.com, it's abundantly clear that Scotland has no lack of talent on their roster.

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Nine Scotland players competed in the English Premier League, and seven are with Scottish Premier League teams. However, defender Christophe Berra (Wolverhampton Wanderers) and forward David Goodwille (Blackburn Rovers) both played for 2011-12 EPL sides that have been relegated to the League Championship.

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The next three friendlies should give a great deal of information as to how good this team is. Scotland will be a viable test to see if this team headed by Klinsmann is a contender or a pretender.

Also, according to Allan Ramsey of Goal.com, the United States will be without their two best goal-scorers, Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore.

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Dempsey has a groin injury that has been a nagging issue and Altidore was not released by his club in time for the match. Both could be back in the lineup by the time Jurgen Klinsmann's side faces Brazil next week.

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A win without those two would also show just how much depth this team truly has and, as Ramsey points out, will force others to step up in a big spot. It will speak volumes as to just how much this team can depend on their reserves down the road.

The US can ill-afford to drop matches that they should win and risk hurting their confidence as a team moving forward. Keeping the momentum from 2011 going could carry this team to the 2014 World Cup.

If they want to prove to themselves they can compete against the world's elite, the United States must beat this Scotland team. Certainly, the road to the World Cup begins early against Scotland tonight.