Back from Panama, Pope shows why he's so tough

Real Salt Lake defender Eddie Pope returned to Utah last week a very satisfied and sore man.

After playing virtually every minute of a pair of World Cup qualifying matches with the U.S. National Team over a four-day span, Pope more than redeemed himself for his England debacle, and reminded everyone that he's still one of the best defenders in this country.

"For me it was important to have two good games after that," said Pope, in reference to the May 28 U.S. friendly with England in which his two mistakes led to a pair of England goals. "If you play enough games, you're going to have bad games. It would be nice not to have them, but it comes with the territory. When you do, it's about how you come back after them."

Many wondered, however, if Pope would even get a shot to redeem himself the following week in a World Cup qualifying match with Costa Rica at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

In the cruel world of international soccer, in which players are competing against an entire country for a roster spot, sometimes it only takes one mistake for a player to tumble down the depth chart.

Pope, 31, had three things working in his favor, however.

The game was in his new home, Rice-Eccles Stadium. Secondly, fellow central defenders Onyewu Oguchi, 23, and Cory Gibbs, 25, were both unavailable because of lingering injuries. Lastly, and realistically the most important, U.S. coach Bruce Arena wasn't about to let two Pope mistakes overshadow a decade of being the most dominating defender in the United States.

Just like he knew he could, Pope came back a week later with an excellent 90 minute performance in a critical 3-0 victory over Costa Rica at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Four days later, he again got the starting nod in Panama, and once again played a critical role in preserving the 3-0 victory.

"If you continue to have bad games, maybe you become known as being inconsistent," said Pope. "And for myself, having played enough good games, I knew I could come back and play well. And they were big games."

Because of a yellow card in the Panama game, Pope won't be available for the next U.S. qualifier on Aug. 17 against Trinidad & Tobago, but it's a foul he would commit again and again if necessary.

In the 10th minute, and the U.S. leading 1-0, he sensed a Panama scoring attack coming, but quickly ended it with a hard, "professional" foul in the midfield.