US Men Ready for Trinidad

The US Mens National Soccer team looks to take a stranglehold on their group and virtually assure themselves of advancement to the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for World Cup 2010.  After two solid road wins in Gautemala and Cuba the US sit atop the group on 6 points.  Trinidad sits just behind on 4 while Cuba and Guatemala have 1 each.  A win in Chicago would put the Americans well clear as the top two will advance.

All has not been perfect in the two road wins however.  Consistency has been a problem, with performance levels tending to rise and fall within a matter of minutes. Maurice Edu played some excellent balls out of midfield on Saturday, but also had some dreadful turnovers in bad spots. Brian Ching was the beneficiary of one of Edu's passes in the first half, one that put him in the clear behind the Cuban defense, yet a poor first touch killed the threat. Then again, the Hawaiian did have a strong game with his back to goal.

The hope of course is that having some home cooking, not to mention some smooth playing surfaces and a reliable lighting system, will raise the Americans' game the requisite few percentage points needed to get the goals flowing.

"The last two qualifiers we've played it's been rainy and muddy, and the conditions of the field on [Wednesday] are going to be a lot better. "I think the passing will be better and the speed of play will be quicker. When the game is played quick, and we do those type of things, we open up teams more.  I think we're moving in the right direction, and the goals will eventually come," said midfielder Clint Dempsey, who scored the only goal against Cuba. "The goals are there, and that's not something we're really worried about as a team. I think people will see more goals in this Trinidad game. I'm really looking forward to getting forward and having more of an attacking presence."

Follow the game on ESPN2 tonite at 8:00 eastern.