FanHouse BobBradley

This much is simple for the U.S. national team's Saturday night 2010 World Cup qualifier at Honduras. If the U.S. leaves San Pedro Sula with three points, then it automatically qualifies for next June's World Cup in South Africa. Anything else? Well it's so confusing that the U.S. Soccer site has established a scenario generator to run through all the possible outcomes.

It's also known that a) the U.S. is stepping into a tricky road environment in a country in the midst of a political crisis, b) the U.S. won't have midfielder Clint Dempsey and c) the game will not be seen in America except for select closed circuit establishments.

Ever since he burst onto the worldwide scene at the 1994 World Cup thanks in part to his unmistakable fiery red goatee and flowing locks, Alexi Lalas has been one of the Apostles of spreading the world on U.S. soccer.

In the 15 years since the U.S. announced its ambition on the world stage, Lalas has witnessed the gradual steps as soccer awareness in America has slowly crept from the fringes, edging closer to the mainstream.

So when his brother Greg decided to host a soccer-themed film festival -- Kicking & Screening -- earlier this year in New York, he jumped at the chance to help. And when Greg Lalas decided to host another event next week in Washington, well, Alexi Lalas was going to be there to both help his brother and help spread the gospel of soccer.

Whichever side of the fence you fall on in the matter of Bob Bradley coaching the U.S. men's national team, there's one thing both his supporters and detractors can agree upon -- the man is consistent.

Thursday Bradley selected his 22-man roster for the upcoming CONCACAF 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and Costa Rica. There is little, if any, surprise in the players Bradley recalled for the crucial games, which will determine if the U.S. qualifies for South Africa automatically.

If there's one edict that U.S. National Team coach Bob Bradley has established since taking over the reigns from Bruce Arena at the end of the 2006, it's that if a player wants to be included in the U.S. squad he'd better be playing for his club team.

U.S. semi-regular left back Heath Pearce found this out the hard way when he was left off the 23-man roster for the upcoming crucial qualifiers against El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago since he was out of contract and without a club to call home.

Before reading any further, it's probably best to watch the video embedded above. Let's call that the good the Michael Bradley.

Fans of the U.S. National Team have seen plenty of the good Bradley, the player that's a box-to-box midfield force who's chipped in with six goals in 34 international appearances, while simultaneously establishing himself at SC Hereenveen in the Dutch Eredivisie and currently at Borussia Mönchengladbach in the German Bundesliga.

Better than that never for the U.S. national team. Friday, a scant four days before next week's crucial 2010 World Cup qualifier in Mexico City, U.S. coach Bob Bradley released his 20-man squad.

There aren't too many surprises among the 20 men selected for the Aug. 12 match where the U.S. is looking to break its all-time winless streak at the Azteca Stadium. (The U.S. is 0-22-1 in Mexico overall) Mainly it's the core team that finished as runner's up to Brazil at June's Confederations Cup.

As we hit the semifinals of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the U.S. lineup continues to resemble a revolving door. Players are in for a game, then scuffling back across the Atlantic to join their club teams.

Take defender Michael Parkhurst for example. The former MLS Rookie of the Year was with the U.S. for its group stage matches, then flew to Denmark to be with his club team (FC Nordsjaelland) and missed the U.S. 2-1 semifinal win over Panama on Saturday. Now he's back in the fold as the U.S. looks to book its place in the final with its third match since June against Honduras Thursday night at Solider Field in Chicago.

When the U.S. Soccer Federation announced the roster for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup in the midst of the U.S.'s surprising run to the Confederations Cup final, the general consensus was that the lineup was thoroughly a "B" team. After all, the supposed "A" team had done enough work in upsetting then-FIFA No. 1 Spain, and giving newly minted top dog Brazil a run for its money, before losing 3-2 last week.

On Wednesday, CONCACAF said it would allow the U.S. to add seven players to the already 23-man roster for the Gold Cup due to playing in back-to-back competitions barely separated by a week and, more importantly, over 10,000 miles. Thursday the USSF announced those seven players -- all members of the Confederations Cup roster -- upgrading the roster to a solid "B+."

The work, apparently, is never over for the U.S. National Team. Fresh off takings its bows after a stunning 2-0 upset over No. 1-ranked Spain at the Confederations Cup Wednesday, the U.S. was back to work Thursday.

In this case, it was naming a 23-man roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which begins on July 4 in Seattle with a match against Grenada. Of note, only six players on the Gold Cup roster have over 10 caps. On top of that, just Michael Parkhurst and Brian Ching were on the 2007 competition roster, which the U.S. won, punching their ticket to the 2009 Confederations Cup in the process.

Wednesday night in chilly Bloemfontein, South Africa, the U.S. national team lodged one of its greatest victories in its history, beating FIFA No. 1 Spain 2-0 in the Confederations Cup semifinals. The win snapped Spain's 35-match unbeaten run, denying them a chance to set a new record at 36.

This win almost made me pull out the thesaurus for the proper word to describe it. Stunning? Yes. Unbelievable? Pretty close. Deserved? You bet.