IF YOU CAN STAND BAD COACHING AND TERRIBLE OFFICIATING HERE ARE SOME GUYS TO WATCH:

23 Players Bradley Should Call for June Qualifiers : Goal.com's Noah Davis breaks down the 23 players he thinks Bob Bradley should call in for the next round of qualifiers. (Noah Davis, May 20, 2009, Goal.com)

Bob Bradley, generally conservative by nature, cannot afford to gamble. After three of 10 matches in the final round of CONACAF qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, his United States Men's National Team sits atop the table, but it's far from assured a place in the 32-team tournament. Victories in the next two games -- in Costa Rica on June 3 and against Honduras in Chicago, IL on June 6 -- could virtually guarantee the Americans the top three finish needed to advance. [...]

Tim Howard: With his Everton-record 16th shutout in the rearview mirror, the U.S. No. 1 has another line on his resume as one of the best goalies in the world. [...]

Marvell Wynne: A good performance in qualification and during this summer's Confederations Cup should vault the Toronto FC defender across the pond.

Jonathan Spector: He played the second half in West Ham's 3-1 loss over the weekend and continues to round into form after a long battle with injuries.

Oguchi Onyewu: His club future remains up in the air, but the central defender could help his standing considerably by shutting down Costa Rica and Honduras' potent offenses. [...]
Clint Dempsey: Becoming a fixture on the right side of the American lineup.

Robbie Rogers: Let's give the kid another run and see what he can do.

Michael Bradley: With an impressive season at Borussia Mönchengladbach almost behind him, the coach's son further cemented his role in the center of the American midfield.

Maurice Edu: A study in persistence: Edu struggled to find time at first on Rangers but adjusted and fought his way into the starting XI. More Americans abroad can hopefully follow his lead. [...]

Pablo Mastroeni: The Red, White, and Blue will need his hard-nosed tackling, especially in the brutal environment of Costa Rica's Estadio Ricardo Saprissa. [...]

Jozy Altidore: Playing time at Xerez or not, Altidore and his big toes need to be in camp (and on the bench as a sub if a lack of match fitness prevents him from starting).

For Some, First Venture Into Saprissa Will Come Wednesday:
Of the 24-man roster that traveled to Costa Rica for Wednesday's game, only seven have experience playing with the national team in Estadio Saprissa. (Goal.com, Jun 2, 2009)

[E]ven though the U.S. team features several talented and experienced youngsters, playing in Saprissa is a world unto itself.

"It's hard, because it does affect you," former U.S. national team defender Gregg Berhalter said. "I'd like to say that it doesn't affect you, but it does."

Berhalter suffered through something that may hamper the Americans on Wednesday, as he was victim of a phantom penalty kick in a 2-1 loss to Costa Rica in 2000. Dodgy refereeing in MLS is one thing, but on the road in Central America, the calls can be downright catastrophic -- as Berhalter would attest.

While some of the players who figure to have a chance at playing in Saprissa on Wednesday have played in important games for youth national teams, Saprissa represents a challenge onto itself. The U.S. has not had much luck pulling anything out of Saprissa that was not a lopsided defeat. Four years ago, an already-qualified U.S. team fell 3-0 to an energetic Costa Rican side. In 2001, a waterlogged pitch helped Costa Rica to a one-sided 2-0 win, while the call that went against Berhalter happened a year before that.

Such a dubious history is not lost on the players.

U.S. likely would be happy with a point in Saprissa (Steve Davis, 6/01/09, ESPN SoccerNet)

Starting Wednesday, Bob Bradley's U.S. side will take the field twice in four days, and the results could say a lot about the Americans' bid for a sixth consecutive World Cup.

By Saturday, the United States will have finished half its final-round qualifying. If things go OK, American fans can't necessarily start booking their travel packages for South Africa, but they sure can start Googling for hotel deals and such.

But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Up first is a big test in sultry Costa Rica, a historically nasty cauldron where U.S. teams have limped away like most other visitors. In qualifiers in San Jose, Costa Rica, the United States' record is a humbling 0-6-1.[...]

So, what awaits Bradley's bunch down on the "Rich Coast"?

The world's 41st-best team (according to those flaky FIFA global rankings) is a bugger at home, for sure. The Ticos are 18-1-2 at Saprissa since 2000. Strikers Bryan Ruiz and Andy Furtado were pouring in goals as the Ticos exploited a weak group (El Salvador, Haiti and Suriname) in a 2008 waltz through Confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean Football semifinal qualifying. The offense runs through Walter Centeno. He's 34 years old but still has the feet to go with the vision.

"I've been impressed with the way he's played in recent qualifiers," said U.S. assistant John Hackworth, who does much of the team's in-person scouting. "I don't think he's come down [in form] at all. He's still someone who can play at this level, and he's certainly an important player for them."

Barring unforeseen adjustments, the Ticos' 4-4-2 arrangement will attempt to parlay high pressure with the opposition's unease of playing inside the octagonlike fences surrounding the pitch. The fullbacks will get forward liberally, and the outside midfielders will pinch in to allow a freer role for Centeno.

Costa Rica will be no pushover for U.S. men's soccer team (MICHELLE KAUFMAN, 6/01/09, MiamiHerald.com

The U.S. national team wanted hot and steamy conditions to prepare for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier at Costa Rica, and they certainly got their wish during a five-day Miami training camp that concludes Sunday morning.

''Wow -- it's like a sauna here,'' defender Oguchi Onyewu said. ``I can't imagine it will be any more uncomfortable there.''

The game is on ESPN at 10pm

We were in Orlando last week and it was unfit for human habitation, though Kali River Rapids helped:

From Blog Stuff

Quite coincidentally, we rode them with legendary American keeper, Brad Friedel. Though, being a soccer player, he wore a poncho.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 2, 2009 7:33 AM