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World Cup soccer: High stakes in today’s U.S. qualifier

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Even though the United States has a guaranteed spot in the regional finals, forward Eddie Johnson says there are still high stakes in today’s World Cup qualifying match against Jamaica. The 20-year-old said his breakout season with Dallas in Major League Soccer and three-goal game with the U.S. team against Panama in World Cup play last month won’t necessarily impress U.S. coach Bruce Arena.

“This is one of the most competitive camps I’ve been in,” Johnson said. “You have a lot of MLS guys who have to prove themselves to Bruce, including myself. I’m not taking anything for granted.”

The United States’ win over Panama clinched first place in Group A in the semifinal round of the North and Central American and Caribbean region. The top two teams from three groups move into the CONCACAF finals next year.

The top three teams in the finals advance to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and No. 4 meets a team from Asia for another berth.

Jamaica would grab the second spot with a win on Wednesday at Crew Stadium. The Reggae Boyz and the United States tied 1-1 in August at Kingston, with the Americans needing a late goal.

Jamaica has never beaten the United States (3-0-2), which has 11 points. Jamaica (1-1-3) is second with six points. Panama (1-2-2) is one point back and on Wednesday hosts El Salvador (1-3-1).

Meanwhile, several U.S. players training alongside their MLS rivals see the training camp as “therapy” after disappointments in league playoffs.

“It’s helped me mentally to keep playing,” said midfielder Steve Ralston, whose New England team lost the Eastern Conference semifinal to D.C. United on penalty kicks.

Johnson, who tied for the MLS lead in goals with 12, took two weeks off after Dallas failed to make the playoffs.

“It’s good to get going again,” he said. “The more caps you go to, the more chances you have to be around veteran players, players who’ve been overseas. You step your game up.”

In Europe, without a victory from its first three games, European champion Greece is next to last in its World Cup qualifying group. A loss at home to last-place Kazakhstan on Wednesday and coach Otto Rehhagel, the hero of Euro 2004, could be looking for another job.

“We had a poor start, but we hope the game against Kazakhstan will be the beginning of a counterattack since qualification is not lost yet,” said Rehhagel, a German who became a national hero and was offered Greek citizenship after the team’s amazing European Championship triumph in July.

World Cup qualifying resumes on Wednesday with a smaller schedule than usual.

Group 1 leading contenders the Netherlands and the Czech Republic are in action as they play catchup on co-leaders Romania and Finland, while Portugal aims to take another big step toward World Cup 2006 by winning at Luxembourg.

The Dutch play Andorra in Barcelona, Spain, and the Czechs play Macedonia. Estonia is at Russia in the other qualifier.

In South America, Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay are hoping to bolster their World Cup qualifying chances Wednesday, seeking to capitalize on home games in a tight race for a berth in the 2006 championship.

Colombia, buoyed by a 0-0 tie with Brazil last month, will host Bolivia. Peru faces archrivals Chile. And in a game of defensive-minded teams, Uruguay and Paraguay face off.

Defending world champion Brazil leads the qualifying race, followed by Argentina. Both teams will hope to avoid surprises as the Brazilians travel to Ecuador and Argentina takes on Venezuela in Buenos Aires.

AP-ES-11-16-04 2010EST

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