Like for all of the participating nations at the upcoming 2010 World Cup in South Africa, this clash will serve as an important warm-up for the United States of America.
USA vs El Salvador: are Bradley's men ready?
Expectations on the US national soccer team are quite high ahead of the 2010 World Cup.
The 2009 Confederations Cup runners-up will first have to play against Algeria, Slovenia, and England before moving out from Group C where they’ve been casted.
So far, NOT so good… the USA played a friendly match against World Cup ticket holders Honduras in California back in January 2010; the outcome proved to be negative for the Yankees.
Firstly, they were reduced to ten men after 17 minutes. Then they fell to three Honduras goals before Clarence Goodson pulled a goal back as a consolation with 20 minutes of normal time remaining.
United States soccer fans might doubt the potential of their national team as the country prepares for the 2010 World Cup.
But for manager Bob Bradley, the goal is to give the opportunity to less capped lads so as to have a wider range of players to chose from before FIFA’s biggest tournament kicks off this summer.
Speaking after the United States of America’s 3-1 loss to Honduras, Coach Bob Bradley made his point:
"The starting point for the game in January is always assessing players,
"Seeing them in a good game, a tough game, gives you the opportunity to find out what guys are all about. It gives you an indication as to where they might fit in as you move things forward.
“So we take a lot from it,” Bradley concluded.
Considering the coach’s ideas and thoughts, we understand that the USA should record a much better result - if not a win - against El Salvador when the two sides meet Wednesday.
Understandably, the pressure will be on the USA to make positive effects – not only because of their home advantage but also because of what lies ahead of them: participation to the 2010 World Cup.
Are they ready to defeat El Salvador as they prepare for South Africa 2010?
El Salvador – salvaging a bit of honor will be nice
El Salvador couldn’t make it for the finals of the World Cup and their fans will remember bitterly how their 2-1 defeat against the USA caused them much pain in the qualifiers back in September 2009.
After Cristian Castillo had opened the scoring sheet, Salvadorans certainly thought that their team was on the right track.
But Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore each scored later on as the United States of America came from a goal down to win 2-1 in the end.
This defeat could be avenged on Wednesday evening.
Even if the game in Florida is just a friendly, a victory for El Salvador will bring enough honor for the visitors who will not participate in South Africa 2010.
United States squad list
Over the weekend, US national team coach Bob Bradley selected his 20-man roster. Here is the full list:
Goalkeepers:
Troy Perkins, Nick Rimando
Defenders:
Jonathan Bornstein, Clarence Goodson, Chad Marshall, Heath Pearce, Marvell Wynne
Midfielders:
Kyle Beckerman, Geoff Cameron, Brad Davies, Brad Evans, Eddie Gaven, Sacha Kljestan, Dax McCarthy, Chris Pontius, Robbie Rogers
Forward:
Conor Casey, Brian Ching, Jeff Cunningham, Robbie Findley
