The road to South Africa:
After hammering West Indian minnows Barbados in stage two, the USA found themselves in the same bracket as Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala and Cuba in round three.
Bradley's men won five of their six encounters in the third round, with their only defeat being a 2-1 loss at Port of Spain against the Soca Warriors.
A win over arch-rivals Mexico in their opening game, followed up by a 2-2 draw in El Salvador, got the USA off to a solid start. After a comfortable 3-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago,the stars and stripes faltered against Costa Rica in a 3-1 defeat.
Their other loss came against Mexico in the fortress-like Estadio Azteca, losing 2-1.
The USA kept their nerve to stay on track and clinch their South Africa 2010 ticket with a 3-2 win over Honduras.
Top Qualifying scorers:
6—Jozy Altidore
5—Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan & Michael Bradley
4—Brian Ching
Key Player: Carlos Bocanegra
The 31-year-old will be an integral part of Bob Bradley’s defense when the USA comes up against England, Slovenia, and Algeria in June.
Bocanegra currently plays his football in France for Rennes FC and primarily plays centre back. However, he also has the ability to play left back and defensive midfield. The former ...