The U.S. Men's National Team has just finished a thrilling 3-match series of friendlies with three of the world's top ranked teams - ENGLAND, SPAIN, and ARGENTINA. The last of those was most impressive for USA fans and the team themselves; over 78,000 packed Giants Stadium during a heatwave for one of the biggest crowds ever there...for anything...
Even better, the mostly-USA partisan crowd saw their team play their best of the three in that match, which was against the world's number one ranked team, although the end result was a 0-0 draw.
This was only last Sunday, and now we are upon a Father's Day World Cup qualifier at the Home Depot Center. While the opponent is not the most threatening by a long-shot, Barbados is still a team we must conquer in the 2 leg series to move on.
The U.S. men only met Barbados before in World Cup qualifying, and only once. In 2000 preparations for the 2002 World Cup, USA won the series 7-0 and 4-0. So, while the expectations are that a similar outcome looms again this time, the thrill comes from knowing that this commences a quest which we all hope lands us in our 6th consecutive men's World Cup finals tournament - in South Africa.
On U.S. TV live nationally in both English and Spanish today
2 pm local PDT (5 pm EDT) on ESPN 2 and Galavision
(US Soccer.com's Match Tracker available as an online alternative)
Here are some Sunday appetizers to get you ready for our launch to 2010 ! from US Soccer,
Read the official USMNT Match Preview here
Review Bob Bradley's roster and read his comments here
PICS - View Saturday training pics at the HDC courtesy the team blog
VIDEOS - "It Starts Here" TV spot (1:55 min.) All "Studio 90" exclusive US Soccer news features
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