CARSON, Calif. - The CONCACAF Gold Cup has come and gone from The Home Depot Center. Over a span of 48 hours, four Group B matches were disputed at the home of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA.
For the United States national team, two matches and some 10 days of training prior to that yielded nothing but success. Entering Tuesday's game against El Salvador in Foxborough, Mass., the U.S. is in a commanding position to win the group.
And U.S. coach Bob Bradley used nearly every resource possible to gain results. All but two players from the United States' 23-man Gold Cup roster saw action in Carson.
"We've got the ability to create some pretty good combinations in all parts of the field," Bradley said after Saturday's 2-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago. "Hopefully, it gives us not only the depth, but a little bit of flexibility in terms of the way we play."
On Thursday, the United States used World Cup veterans such as Columbus Crew right back Frankie Hejduk and former MLS Defender of the Year Carlos Bocanegra on the back line as the U.S. beat Guatemala 1-0. On Saturday, Bradley started four defenders who had appeared in a combined 10 U.S. games before, including previously uncapped New England Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst.
"You've got to play the games to get the experience," U.S. forward Taylor Twellman said. "It was good for all those guys to play a meaningful game and to kind of get the jitters out before we get deeper in the tournament."
Twellman and Revs teammate Steve Ralston were two of seven players to see action in both matches. While players did not learn of the mass changes to Saturday's starting lineup until that morning, it was not a complete shock.
"You've got to realize it's going to happen," Ralston said. "It's so hard at this level to play two games in two days. It's just physically really hard to do. We pretty much knew that it was going to be a whole new team."
One area that Bradley spoke well of was the center of the field. For the Guatemala match, Bradley used Benny Feilhaber and Michael Bradley to start while he replaced his son with Ricardo Clark for Trinidad & Tobago. The team was also missing a key ingredient in the middle of the field due to suspension.
"We're fortunate in our roster here that we've got Pablo Mastroeni who hasn't played yet who is an experienced player in this team," Bradley said. "We really can mix and match with all those guys and create some good combinations. They all do things a little differently and that's very positive in terms of giving us some different possibilities."
Mastroeni was suspended for the first two matches because of a red card he received during the 2006 World Cup. Aside from the Colorado Rapids midfielder, Chivas USA's Brad Guzan is the only other player in the U.S. squad not to have played in the tournament. Guzan, though, was allowed to remain with his club and will do so barring injury to either Tim Howard or Kasey Keller.
As the U.S. prepares for a possible group-clinching match at Gillette Stadium, the team could do so with some familiar faces. Revs trio Twellman, Parkhurst and Ralston are in the mix to play, as is former New England ace Clint Dempsey, who scored in Thursday's victory against Guatemala.
Still, playing matches in a U.S. jersey is important regardless of the setting, players said.
"We've got a big game on Tuesday to kind of keep the roll going," Twellman said. "I'll play anywhere as long as I'm in the starting lineup. I couldn't care less if that game was in Timbuktu. I don't care."
Said Ralston: "I'm proud to wear the jersey wherever it is. It's nice to go back home to see my family and all but I'm proud to wear it wherever I am."
For the U.S., winning the tournament remains the ultimate goal. But Bradley and the U.S. will not deviate from their mindset for Tuesday's match.
"Our approach is to continue to grow as a team, prepare for every game the right way, have the right mentality, challenge that group of players to do what's necessary on the field. We haven't fluctuated at all throughout the entire year in that regard," Bradley said. "Tuesday is just another opportunity. We need to make sure we do it right and move into the quarterfinals."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
