United States coach Bob Bradley has welcomed the return of striker Brian Ching to his goal-shy squad for Sunday's World Cup Qualifier against Barbados.
The Americans begin their quest to qualify for a sixth-consecutive World Cup finals in South Africa in 2010 as heavy favorites against Caribbean opposition at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
Bradley has seen his squad go scoreless in their last three games against quality competition, losing 2-0 to England at Wembley, 1-0 to Spain in Santander and on home soil in a 0-0 draw with Argentina at Giants Stadium at the weekend.
The last time the United States scored was in the 3-0 win over Poland, when all three goals were scored from set-piece play and Bradley believes the return of Ching to face Barbados can remedy the paucity of goals scored during the run of play.
"We're excited to have Brian Ching," Bradley said Thursday. "We think he's a different kind of forward for us, a player that is strong, can hold the ball for us and bring other people into play.
"He had a good game for us against Poland and we're pleased to bring him back into our team."
Bradley said he recognized the need to break free from a reliance on set-piece plays to score goals.
"The ideas are good but in some moments the execution has to improve and it's an area where we work all the time."
Describing Barbados as an athletic team with some individual flair, Bradley defended his decision to call up a full-strength squad for a game his side is expected to win comfortably.
"It's the start of World Cup qualifying and everybody understands the importance of these games," Bradley said.
"We look forward to the time that we do have together. The national team schedule is a unique one for any country and we are excited when we have a chance to work together and play important matches."
He said he was also confident his players would avoid the trap of complacency going in against Barbados.
"We're fortunate that we have some experienced players who have been through World Cup qualifying and I think that they do an excellent job of setting a good tone in terms of the importance of these games, to understand what to expect and making sure that we never take anything lightly," he said.
To that end, Bradley saw three games against world-class opposition as the ideal preparation for playing soccer minnows this weekend.
"I think it sharpens us in every way, the ability to react quickly, see plays quickly, the kind of movement that is needed on the field."
