QUICK HITS
Eighteen players are eligible to dress for both the U.S. and Trinidad & Tobago, and must wear 1-18 for jersey numbers.
Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Frankie Hejduk, Tim Howard and Oguchi Onyewu are each carrying a caution into this match. Any player accumulating two cautions in the semifinal round will be suspended for the next FIFA World Cup qualifier.
T&T defender Avery John is suspended after picking up his second yellow card in the last game against Guatemala. Cornell Glen and Denis Lawrence are carrying cautions into Wednesday’s match.
Steve Cherundolo is eligible to play after serving a one-match suspension for receiving two yellow cards in the USA’s 1-0 win on Aug. 20 against Guatemala.
The U.S. is making its debut appearance at Toyota Park in Bridgeview. The team has 3-3-2 lifetime record in Chicago, including a 2-1 victory against Mexico that earned the United States the 2007 Gold Cup title.
The U.S. has an undefeated record in qualifying against Trinidad & Tobago, holding an 8-0-2 record. The two countries last met during qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, with the U.S. winning both matches.
The first meeting was the opening match of the final round, and the U.S. got goals from Eddie Johnson and Eddie Lewis pacing the visitors to a 2-1 victory in Port of Spain, Trinidad. In the second match, Brian McBride tallied the lone goal in the second minute for a 1-0 victory in East Hartford, Conn.
DaMarcus Beasley made his first-ever appearance in a World Cup qualifier in the USA’s last match of the 2002 qualifying tournament against Trinidad. Beasley only survived 45 minutes of the 0-0 draw on Nov. 11, 2001, at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, as a he received a concussion at the midway point of the first half and had to be replaced after the break.
Five players on the roster appeared in the USA’s last meeting against T&T, a 2-1 win on July 9, 2007, in group play of the 2007 Gold Cup: Bradley, Brian Ching (1), Ricardo Clark, Landon Donovan, Johnson (1) [starters in bold].
The U.S. boasts a 10-2-6 all-time record against Caribbean nations during World Cup qualifying, with a 29-1-5 overall record at home against teams from the Caribbean.
Howard, whose crucial save in the 88th minute preserved the USA’s win in Cuba, now boasts an impressive four clean sheets in five all-time FIFA World Cup qualifying appearances.
The U.S. has posted a 6-2-2 record in 2008, which includes four straight victories in FIFA World Cup qualifying, a road win against Poland and a 0-0 draw against No. 1-ranked Argentina. Overall, the U.S. has scored 18 goals while surrendering only five.
With his game-winning goal against Guatemala on Aug. 20, Carlos Bocanegra recorded his 10th career international goal for the United States and his second in FIFA World Cup qualifying.
Bocanegra is second on the USA’s all-time scoring list for defenders, now chasing the mark set by Marcelo Balboa (13).
Bradley leads the U.S. in 2008 in minutes played (737), having started nine games of the ten games this season (also a team high). Four players have appeared in eight games this season: Dempsey, Lewis, Onyewu and Heath Pearce.
Donovan leads the team in FIFA World Cup qualifying caps (23), and is tied with Eddie Johnson for most goals in qualifying [8]. Johnson has produced a remarkable strike rate, with eight goals in eight qualifying appearances. Johnson became the first player in U.S. history to score three goals as a substitute when he recorded a hat trick in the 6-0 semifinal round qualifying victory against Panama on Oct. 13, 2004, at RFK Stadium.
Johnson and Donovan are tied for third on the USA’s all-time goalscoring list in FIFA World Cup qualifying. Brian McBride is the USA’s all-time leading goalscorer in FIFA World Cup Qualifying with 10 goals scored over three FIFA World Cup cycles (1998, 2002, 2006).
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Michael Orozco is the only uncapped player on the roster. The other 19 players have at least one cap to their credit. Orozco and defender Marvell Wynne are the only players on the roster who have not appeared in a FIFA World Cup qualifying game.
Leagues from eight different countries are represented on the U.S. roster: Belgium, Denmark, England (4), France, Germany (3), Mexico, Scotland (2) and the United States (7).
The U.S. collected a 12-2-4 record in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, outscoring their opponents 35-11 while collecting 11 shutouts. The U.S. finished undefeated at home during the qualifying campaign, going 8-0-1, with all eight victories coming by shutout.
