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U.S. going Fourth with Gold Cup opener

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Photo by ISIphotos.com


BY DYLAN BUTLER

SEATTLE — Brad Evans has seen his share of special moments at Qwest Field, but hearing the national anthem on the Fourth of July while wearing the U.S. National Team jersey will no doubt be a highlight of his young career.

"It's going to be pretty emotional, for sure," the Seattle Sounders FC standout said. "You just have to soak it in because it's all going to go by in a snap of a finger. Soak it in the best you can and hopefully put out a good performance and get a good result."

That's just what the U.S. is looking to do against Grenada in its first post-Confederations Cup match tonight (9pm, Fox Soccer Channel). The team's magical run to the Confederations Cup final has raised awareness and piqued interest in the team and sport here. Now the United States is looking to build on that performance.

"We really want to continue our success so we can continue to get better as a national team," Charlie Davies said. "It's important that we take the Gold Cup very seriously and hopefully go with that mentality game by game, take care of business so we, by the end, have a fulfillment of achievement."

While U.S. National Team coach Bob Bradley called up seven players from the Confederations Cup roster after CONCACAF allowed them to extend their roster from 23 to 30, none of those players are here in Seattle. But Brian Ching is and the Houston Dynamo forward is anxious to get back into the national team fold after missing the Confederations Cup due to injury.

"That was really disappointing when it first happened and the realization that I wasn't going to go, but as soon as I got over that, I was the No. 1 fan for the guys," Ching said. "You can't say enough about how they stuck together and believed in themselves."

Will you be watching the U.S. take on Grenada? Who should be in Bradley's starting XI? Share your thoughts.

Comments

  1. “I wonder how Jermaine Jones and Edgar Castillo feel when they hear the national anthem at games…

    Posted by: barber | July 04, 2009 at 11:17 AM”

    __________

    Probably like Owen Hargreaves, ( Canadian born and German taught, never lived a day in England), feels like when they play the English anthem.

    Reply
  2. ————Robles———–
    -‘Dolo-Conrad–Marshall-Heaps-
    ——Beckerman—Pause——-
    –Cronin—————Evans–
    ——Quaranta—————-
    —————-Cooper——–

    This would be plenty to dominate Grenada. Plus, it would save players like Ching/Holden/Davies/Adu/Parkhurst for the Honduras match.

    Reply
  3. I have a feeling Evans gets a start at d-mid in his home stadium.

    Hoping to see Robles as I’ve never seen him play and he is from a small town in AZ I used to live in(Sierra Vista).

    Reply
  4. ———————Perkins———————–

    Cherundelo——Marshall—–Parkhurst——Pearce—–

    ———————Beckerman——————-

    ———————Holden——————–

    ————-Quaranta——-Adu————–

    ————–Davies———Cooper—————-

    Reply
  5. Why doesn’t Bradley play Altidore. He get’s no playing time in Spain and would greatly benefit from playing time in the Gold Cup?

    Reply
  6. I’m with Joe as well but I would switch out Conrad for Goodson and Pause for Beckerman. Robles and Guzan are our future behind Howard.

    I second you Anthony. Santino has been playing like a man possesed. I want to see him get some time. I think he has a good chance of surprising some people.

    Reply
  7. I like the line up Joe Clark has posted. Let’s see what Robles is made of. After not getting any time at the Confederations Cup this could be his golden opportunity to secure the #3 goalie spot.

    Reply
  8. Brad Evans?

    Okay, I live in Japan, and I do my best, but I don’t know everyone…

    Brad Evans? Who? On the US national team?

    Reply
  9. ———————Robles————————-

    Cherundelo——Conrad—–Parkhurst——Pearce——-

    ——————— Pause————————-

    ——–Holden————————Rogers——–

    ———————Adu————————–

    ————–Davies———Ching—————–

    Reply
  10. the game is on fox soccer at 9. I’ll be watching it in its entirety. I’m really interested to see some of these guys play in an atmosphere outside of MLS. Caught the jamaica canada game last night and i will never understand how Jamaica isn’t a better team than they are. Played some great soccer last night

    Reply
  11. Thanks EA. I had a feeling I might be picking from an imaginary pool!

    Perkins

    Dolo/Conrad/Parkhurst/Pearce

    Beckerman

    Rogers Adu Holden

    Ching / Davies

    Reply
  12. Steve,

    Nice lineup, but I believe Busch is staying with the Fire unless called upon, and I don’t believe that Clark, Feilhaber and Bornstein are with the team in Seattle.

    Reply
  13. GK: Perkins
    LB: Heaps
    CB: Conrad
    CB: Parkhurst
    RB: Cherundolo
    DM: PAUSE
    RM: Quaranta
    LM: Holden
    CAM: ADU
    ST: Ching
    ST: Davies

    Reply
  14. Well, it would be nice for Evans to get the start in front of his home fans in his home stadium, but I think we all know Freddy is the man for this tournament.

    Reply

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