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.