Watch out for the up and coming 2010 FIFA World Cup soccer trophy to be hosted for the first time in South Africa. This 19^th tournament will take place between June 11 to July 11^th with the US opening the tournament on June 12^th against England in Rustenburg and following against Slovenia in Johhanesburg on the 18^th and wrapping it up against Algeria in Tshwane/ Pretoria on the 23^rd. However, before heading off for the World Cup in SA, the US Men’s National Team will have to face Turkey and the Czech Republic for the Send Off Series. The game against Czech Republic will be at a site yet to be determined while the tournament against Turkey will take place on May 29^th in Philadelphia. According to U.S. head coach, Bob Bradley, the Send Off Series games provides a ‘great opportunity to fine tune US plans and test against some of the better teams in Europe before the  matches in South Africa’.

As for the players who will go onto the World Cup, Coach Bradley has quite some decisions to make before announcing the twenty-three man player roster for the May tournament in South Africa. Big on Bradley’s mind at the moment is striker, Brian Ching, who displayed star quality playing against El Salvador Wednesday night (February 24) in Tampa, Florida. The four leading candidates who played vs. El Salvador included Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas) and of course, Ching (Houston Dynamo). Some of the key factors that will go into Bradley’s decision of the World Cup roster will be good form, fitness, mentality. All decisions to made in pursuit of the final FIFA world Cup soccer trophy which in all the history of the Cup only went permanently to one country, namely and, unsurprisingly, Brazil after winning the Cup three times in a row. Ironically, the Cup was stolen in 1983 and was never again recovered.

Although the US isn’t anywhere in the league of the South American teams such as Brazil, history has proven the country as a solid figure at the World Cup, qualifying for the Cup the past six times. In 1930 the US had its best showing in which the US finished Third in its first World Cup, opening the tournament with a 3-0 win over Belgium, followed by another 3-0 win over Paraguay before losing to Argentina 6-1 in the semifinals. In more recent years, the US had a great run to the Quarters in 2002 opening the tournament by shocking Portugal 3-2, finishing 1-1-1 in pool play. The run continued with a 2-0 win over Mexico in the round of 16, before a loss to Germany in the quarterfinals. Perhaps the highest point of US Soccer history was the game termed ’Miracle on Grass’ in which the U.S. beat England1-0 in the first round of the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. We cheer on the US in the May Tournament hoping to see more glorious ‘miracles in the grass’ and maybe even the earning of the most desired soccer trophies of all times.

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