Columnist Steve Carp: Sammy’s lads not ready for prime time

Steve Carp

Tuesday, June 16, 1998 | 7:14 a.m.

THERE HAD TO BE a great hue and cry across the land as daily routines were interrupted and tossed topsy-turvy.

Imagine all the regulars who turned on ABC at midday only to find their favorite soap operas preempted by soccer.

And then, to sit through the United States' 2-0 loss to Germany in its opening match of the 1998 World Cup, you can bet more than one angry viewer could be found screaming at his television, "I missed General Hospital for this?"

Truth be told, the soap addicts may have been right. The Americans, try as they might, were simply no match for the superior Germans. A more appropriate forum might have been ESPN2. At 5:30 a.m.

The hope was Steve Sampson's team would deliver a Miracle on Grass the way the U.S. hockey team did at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. Nine minutes in, it was evident any notion of a miracle would have to wait for another day.

The U.S. failed to clear a corner kick and Andreas Moeller managed to wedge a header between Mike Burns and the left post to put normally slow-starting Germany up 1-0.

A tie would have been more than acceptable. And with 80 minutes still to be played, that remained an achievable goal. But with the Americans' impotent attack unable to generate much of anything, it puts a greater burden on Sunday's game with Iran and next Thursday's final first-round match with Yugoslavia if the U.S. hopes to make it to the second round.

As UNLV coach Barry Barto astutely pointed out Monday, the Americans' success hinges upon their ability to score. The national team's last four matches have produced a grand total of two goals. Even the return of Eric Wynalda, the best soccer player in Las Vegas' Canyon Gate community, wasn't enough to change the Yanks' fortunes.

There had been all this posturing prior to Monday that our national side was ready to take its rightful place among soccer's elite. All the right buttons had been pushed, or so it seemed. Besides, the Americans had been preparing for the Germans for six months.

But the result was no different than what the Chicago Bulls did to the New Jersey Nets in the first round of this year's NBA playoffs. The great ones expose your shortcomings. Then they rip out your heart.

This is a team of Keith Van Horns -- lots of talent and youthful enthusiasm. But there aren't any Michael Jordans. The Germans still have a Jordan in veteran striker Juergen Klinsmann, who threw additional dirt on the Americans' grave with his pretty goal in the 66th minute.

Yet despite Monday's disappointment, all is not lost. Four points are still atttainable, assuming the Americans can overcome the jihad-like effort expected from the Iranians Sunday and assuming they can find a way to tie Yugoslavia.

Look at it this way: Nobody really expected a U.S. victory, therefore no one should be dejected -- unless you were planning to see General Hospital at its regular time. Then you might have a case for being upset.