Can’t get ahead: Maybe US should make believe it trails at the opening whistle

US wants to stop falling back at World Cup

IRENE, South Africa — Maybe the U.S. needs to install a private scoreboard in its locker room, one that it can control.

Just before the match starts, it could flash that the Americans are losing “1-0.” Or maybe even “2-0.” Just to inspire themselves before the anthems and opening whistle.

For some inexplicable reason, one that eludes the players, the U.S. doesn’t start to assert itself in most games until after it trails by a goal or two.

That certainly is a recipe for trouble.

“It’s something that’s been with this team for a number of years now, and it’s not something we enjoy,” goalkeeper Tim Howard said Sunday. “Don’t get me wrong. No one likes going behind in a game, But for whatever reason, we seem to be very, very resilient and we start to play more to our strengths when we get desperate.”

The U.S. gave up a fourth-minute goal to England and fought back on Clint Dempsey’s goal for a 1-1 tie. After falling behind by two goals to Slovenia, the Americans tied it on goals by Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley and nearly went ahead, only to have Maurice Edu’s goal disallowed in a 2-2 draw.

“The funny thing is, we talk about, you know, don’t concede early,” captain Carlos Bocanegra said. “And man, it’s been our trademark lately, conceding early.”

For this team, “fall behind” doesn’t mean the end of Daylight Savings Time. It’s the regular pattern. The U.S. gave up the first goal in six of 10 final-round qualifiers last year.

But trailing creates steep odds in the World Cup, when teams with leads turn defensive and drop eight, nine, 10 players behind the ball — like turtles retreating into their shells, hoping shots will bounce away to safety. It’s akin to the Italian system of “catenaccio,” which translates to “door bolt.”

Of 160 teams that fell behind 1-0 in World Cup matches from 1998-06, just 21 rallied to win and 36 others gained ties, according to STATS LLC. Among the 73 that trailed 2-0, just six achieved draws and the only one to win was Ivory Coast, 3-2 against Serbia in 2006.

Coach Bob Bradley preaches caution in the opening minutes, saying players must work themselves into the rhythm and flow of the game. But by the time they get into it, it’s time to play catch up.

“It seems like in that feeling-out process of the game, you find yourselves behind too often,” Bradley said. “So we’re all looking hard.”

It hasn’t been fatal, so far. With a victory in Wednesday’s Group C finale against Algeria — or even possibly a tie if England fails to beat Slovenia — the U.S. would advance to the second round for the first time since 2002.

Slovenia (1-0-1) leads with four points, and the U.S. (0-0-2) is second with two, ahead of England (0-0-2) based on a 3-1 advantage in goals. The Desert Foxes (0-1-1) are last with one point and can advance only with a victory.

“Initially it’s going to be a game that’s going to be tight,” Dempsey predicted. “And then as the game goes on, seeing how things go, it’s going to have to open up, no matter what. People are going to start taking risks because we know that pretty much a draw is not going to get you through.”

Practice resumed on a warm Sunday — winter begins the next day — with most players ditching the ski caps and sweat pants they had been wearing since the cold snap began Tuesday. Just two additional training sessions remained before taking on Algeria.

The U.S. has never won a World Cup match in which it trailed, scoring first in all six victories (Belgium and Paraguay in 1930; England in 1950; Colombia in 1994; Portugal and Mexico in 2002).

Of the 16 American losses, the U.S. held the lead in only one, a 3-1 opening defeat to Spain in 1950.

Players know falling behind repeatedly is a pattern that ultimately leads to failure. They just don’t know what to do about it.

“Warmups have been fine. Attitude going out before the tunnel has been fine. So I don’t think there’s one thing that we could put our finger on,” defender Jay DeMerit said. “But we are a team that seems to really respond to that.”

Maybe it just suits them. With the insertion of Edu and Benny Feilhaber at the start of the second half Friday night in place of Jose Torres and Robbie Findley, the U.S. was much more assertive in pressuring the Slovenes.

“We started hitting them long and letting the big boys up front hit those guys in the mouth and get forward and push them around and wrestle them, and you saw how well we did,” Howard said. “And sometimes that’s not always on your mind when the game starts. You want it to be a little bit more pretty and a little bit more flashy and so, again, I don’t know the answer to it yet. We can all go around and say, ‘Hey, let’s get an early lead.’ But that doesn’t always translate on the field. So with a little bit more hard work and concentration and, hopefully, a little bit of luck, we can get on the right end of the score early on.”