USA vs. Antigua and Barbuda: Americans Need Convincing Win to Silence Critics

The USA national team had its chance to shake off the rust. Now it must perform when the games matter in CONCACAF.

Tonight begins the first round of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The United States is in a group with Antigua and Barbuda, Guatemala and Jamaica. The squad needs to finish in the top two in points to advance.

Given the relative talent of the group, it should not be a problem for the Americans to advance. However, that is not enough for this team. 

The United States has steadily been improving, and there is enough talent on the roster to expect them to be a real contender in world tournaments. New coach Jurgen Klinsmann has the team being more aggressive and there are signs the squad can start making deep runs in a few years.

Unfortunately, the results have not always been great.

After a dominating 5-1 win over Scotland on May 26, the team followed up with two poor showings in international friendlies against Brazil and Canada.

The 4-1 loss to Brazil was excused as they were facing a superior team, but the scoreless draw versus Canada is almost inexcusable. American fans are officially worried that this team will not be successful anytime soon.

However, there were a lot of positives to take from each of those contests. Against Canada, the U.S. took more shots, had more corner kicks and maintained possession for over 60 percent of the match.

In the contest versus Brazil, Klinsmann's squad was once again the more aggressive of the two and had more scoring chances throughout.

While this does not change the scoreboard, it is refreshing to see a team create opportunities for itself against a quality opponent. When the games count, maybe they will catch a few breaks and the balls will go in the back of the net.

There are a number of very talented players on this team. Between the leadership of Landon Donovan, the skill of Clint Dempsey and the great goaltending of Tim Howard, this team should win a lot of games.

The team needs to start turning potential into production, beginning with this opening game of qualifying.