Shocked? I bet you are.
USA 3-0 England was the scoreline predicted by USA striker Jozy Altidore, to David Beckham, during a Los Angeles Lakers playoff game.
Pulling back the bull?
Altidore was at the game, scheduled to meet NBA superstar Kobe Bryant in the locker room, but saw Beckham in the crowd and decided to indulge in a little trash talk.
“I saw Becks there and I had to go over and tell him what is going to happen in South Africa,” Altidore said in an exclusive interview with Yahoo! Sports. “I made sure he knows how it’s going to be without him playing – USA 3, England 0.
“I was having fun with Becks and talking a bit of trash, and I forgot I was supposed to go to the locker room and meet Kobe.”
Beckham was ruled out of the World Cup when his Achilles snapped, and was devastated at the prospect of missing out on the record of being the first English player in four World Cups.
Altidore, who played for New York Red Bulls before moving to England with Hull City, however, is bullish about his country’s chances at the World Cup. USA has pulled off some amazing performances in the recent past, with their win over favorites Spain, and their narrow defeat in the finals of the Confederations Cup last year, also in South Africa.
"Frank"ly, I am confused!
Altidore was involved in an epic encounter with Beckham’s LA Galaxy, where the Red Bulls edged past 5-4, the striker himself scoring a brace, and Beckham providing three assists. But more recent form suggests that the USA forward might have misplaced his confidence in himself, having appeared for the relegated Hull City in the Premier League, and having only a single goal in 25 appearances for his efforts. Although USA have some important players, most notably Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and Tim Howard apart from Altidore himself, they are nowhere near as high-profile as the stars of the England lineup. Not that Jozy is worried, though.
“We don’t worry too much about names,” Altidore said. “What has happened in the past year has shown us that we don’t need to be afraid of any team, no matter how good they are or what their reputation is.
“That is a big step. To beat these teams you have to believe you can, and to believe you can play at that level too. If you don’t do that when you go out on the field, you will find yourself playing their game, and you have no chance.”
Incidentally, New York Red Bulls might well be the destination of out-of-favor Barcelona striker and France’s striker, Thierry Henry.
USA and England are in the same group, and will face off against each other on June 12th. We’ll just have to wait and see how true Altidore’s comments are.
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