U.S. begins training for 2010 FIFA World Cup; men's soccer team reports to camp

Bob Bradley, coach of the US Men's Soccer team.
(AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)

The U.S. Men's National soccer team began training camp Monday at U.S. Soccer's National Training Center at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Coach Bob Bradley invited 30 players to training camp to prepare for a friendly against Honduras on Jan. 23 in Carson. It is an opportunity for Bradley to begin evaluating many players and player combinations. 

The training camp roster includes 25 players from Major League Soccer along with five players based in Scandinavia. The group is predominately MLS players because they are readily available. While the MLS season ended in November, international leagues are still in play. Some players from the U.S. Men's National soccer team will not participate in the camp because of their involvement in international leagues. They will join the team later in the year.

The roster boasts several year-end award winners, including MLS Goalkeeper of the Year (Zach Thornton), Visa Defender of the Year (Chad Marshall), Budweiser Golden Boot Winner (Jeff Cunningham) and Gatorade Rookie of the Year (Omar Gonzalez).  Some were named as Major League Soccer's Best XI for 2009.  Of the group, 15 players have earned at least one cap in 2009 with the full team while nine will be in search of their first appearance with the full team. 

• Click on the "VIEW SLIDESHOW" link below to see photos of some of the players.

"This is the start of six months of preparations for the World Cup, and it is important that we get started off heading in the right direction," Bradley said. "We have had the chance to work with many of these players through their time with the national team, while others performed well for their clubs throughout last season and have earned this opportunity. We are continuing to evaluate the player pool as we move forwards finalizing our roster for this summer."

The friendly against Honduras will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision at 8:00 p.m. central time.  The U.S. has another exhibition scheduled for March 3 at the Netherlands, one of the top teams in the world. The U.S is trying to schedule a friendly against Mexico in February. The roster that will be used against the Netherlands in March will likely resemble the World Cup team that the U.S. will field in South Africa.

The U.S. will make their sixth straight World Cup appearance as part of Group C, with games against England on June 12, Slovenia on June 18 and against Algeria on June 23.