Czech Republic Beats America 3-0

Czech Republic's Jan Koller, right, scored his team's first goal past Kasey Keller of the U.S. Photo by Jerry Lampen for Reuters.

Our national soccer team was thoroughly dominated by the Czech Republic in their opening match of World Cup play yesterday. The Americans appeared nervous and out of sync in the 3-0 defeat. Scoring chances were few and far between. Unlike the 2002 World Cup where America surpassed expectations by making it to the quarterfinals, largely on the back of Landon Donovan's brilliance, the American team appeared almost passive--content to merely maintain possesion. And as for Donovan, America's best player simply wasn't agressive enough.

The Czechs, meanwhile, silenced the questions about the overall fitness of their team. Pavel Nedved, Europe's player of the year in 2003, and Tomas Rosicky lived up to their reputations. Perhaps more importantly, Jan Koller seemed to be injury free as he scored the supremely important first goal of the game.

Though America is ranked fifth in the world by the FIFA computer, somewhere around tenth is more believable. The Czechs, on the other hand, are deserving of their second place ranking (behind perennial powerhouse Brazil).

The margin of error is now very thin for the American side. With the Czechs having beaten them badly, the Americans must have strong showings against Italy and Ghana in order to advance out of group play.