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USA vs Uruguay
Match scheduled:
Date: 21-11-2009
Time: from 22:00 until 00:00(GMT)
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One of the smallest nations on the globe against the country at the very bottom of the world.
All the training is done, the pre-match hype is over and both coaches will have their line-ups inked in.
Everybody knows what is at stake - a place in the 33rd edition of the World Cup Finals, which is by far the biggest show on the planet.
Tvnz.co.nz takes a look at seven key questions.
Will Bahrain bottle it?
As Ricki Herbert admitted on Friday, Bahrain are "technically very good". They are tidy and composed on the ball and have the benefit of familiarity with many more matches together. In the first leg in Mamana their ball speed was a notch faster than the All Whites and when the match settled down in the second half they had several clear goal scoring opportunities.
Crucially though they could not finish - which is the hardest task in the game - and that hints at a lack of quality in that area. The loss of a key striker will not help their cause. One would assume they will create chances on Saturday night. All Whites fans will hope they are profligate with their finishing once again.
Has Ricki got it right?
The 3-4-3 formation was virtually forced upon Ricki Herbert after the Confederations Cup where his team was savaged down the right hand side by Spain and South Africa. Herbert decided he did not have a right full back of international standard and it was 'adios' to the traditional 4-4-2 system.
But it is not as risky as it appears. In practice the team will front with a 5-2-1-2 look, with flank players Leo Bertos and Tony Lochead providing defensive cover and third striker Shane Smeltz playing behind Chris Killen and Chris Wood and operating as an extra midfielder when the All Whites are not in possession.
Many experts feel Bertos' attacking talents are under-utilised in this way but coach Herbert said on Friday he is more than happy with the job he is doing for the team. The 27-year-old Bertos will push forward more as the match goes on and especially if the All Whites fall behind.
So while the formation is a gamble for Herbert, it was probably his only option.
The Tim Brown factor
Much of the talk this week has revolved around Simon Elliot. Can the midfield veteran recover from his hip injury to take his place in the side? And should John McGlinchey, who impressed many in the first leg as a second half substitute, take his place anyway?
But it is the other centre midfielder Tim Brown who is absolutely crucial for the home side on Saturday night. While there is no questioning his energy levels and passion for the match, critics of 29-year-old Brown feel that he can sometimes hide in the big matches, not wanting the ball in the red zones of the pitch.
With the 3-4-3 formation the midfield is more crucial than ever in providing the link between defence and attack otherwise the three strikers up front will get very isolated and spend most of the match chasing hopeful long balls. Brown has come into some good form for the Phoenix over the last month which is a positive omen as he needs to have the game of his life on Saturday night
Whistlin' Dixie
Uruguay referee Jorge Larrionda will hopefully go fairly unnoticed on Saturday night. He is one of FIFA's top officials and has a reputation of showing no mercy when it come to foul play. Larrionda is unafraid to go to his pocket - even in big matches - in the 2006 World Cup he issued three red cards in a single match between USA and Italy.
He will hopefully be less trigger happy on Saturday night and one also hopes those money laden Sheiks have been nowhere near his pockets. On a serious note, the South American style of play matches up well with the Middle Eastern - where diving is de riguer and there is less physicality - and there remains the concern that the All Whites could be harshly punished for some heavy tackles.
[TRIVIA] It's rare that a father coaches his son in top-level soccer, let alone at the national team level. Saturday's Slovakia-USA game is believed to be the first time that father-son combinations will meet at the international level.
Squaring off against U.S. coach Bob Bradley and midfielder Michael Bradley will be Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss and his son of the same name, a 19-year-old midfielder at Manchester City.
They could be the fourth and fifth father-son combinations at the World Cup. The others:
-- Ondino Viera, who played on Uruguay's 1924 and 1928 Olympic gold-medal teams and on its 1930 World Cup championship team, started Milton for the first three games at the 1966 World Cup. Without Milton, the Celeste got clobbered by West Germany, 4-0, in the quarterfinals.
-- Cesare Maldini was the coach and Paolo Maldini the captain in 1998 when Italy fell to France on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals.
-- Zlatko Kranjcar started son Niko in all three of Croatia's games at the 2006 World Cup, where it was knocked out in the first round.
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