LOS ANGELES, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup kicks off Friday in Miami and Pasadena, Calif., and despite its historically low profile, the 12-team bi-annual soccer tournament has
special resonance this year.
Four teams are World Cup finalists and two -- the United States and South Korea -- will meet each other both here and in Seoul this summer. As such, the tournament is the beginning of World Cup tuneups, with most countries using this as a chance to get a last look at players before solidifying their rosters.
But, the tournament as a whole is not a strong one. Three of the teams define the term lightweight and Mexico and the U.S. have declined to send anything close to a full squad.
For the Americans, this means Coach Bruce Arena is getting his MLS-based players some offseason games. For Mexico, which has teams in season, it means the country really isn't putting that much stake in the competition.
Mexico has won the Gold Cup three times -- 1993, 1996 and 1998 -- while both Canada (2000) and the U.S. (1991) have won it once apiece.
The U.S. is bracketed with the Korea Republic and Cuba. Other groupings include Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador; Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago and Martinque; and Canada, Ecuador and Haiti.
The U.S. will get another good look at the South Korean team it will face in the World Cup, matching MLS-based players such as Josh Wolff (Chicago) and Clint Mathis (New York) against a side the Americans has lost four straight games to. Keeper Kasey
Keller (Tottenham Hotspur) is one of the few European-based players to make the trip. He joins this team after falling out of the starting job at Hotspur following a miserable day against Chelsea in the League Cup last week.
South Korea is an emerging team but still lacks the finishing power of a truly complete team. That said, the matchup against the U.S. will be an interesting test for Arena's men as the Koreans have never lost to the Americans in each of their three previous meetings.
"It is a little strange that we're going to end up playing Korea twice in the past six weeks," Arena said. "Obviously, from the makeup of our team, they're not going to
see the real USA. But we get a good feel for what they're about as they have brought their entire team here. They are very fit and tenacious, and they defend very well. I don't think they're a real good team going forward but they can be dangerous on
counters and set pieces."
Cuba, of course, presents historic overtones for the Americans, who have maintained an international blockade against the island nation since Fidel Castro seized power. The U.S. last played them in 1998 Gold Cup, winning, 3-0.
