US men gather before World Cup qualifying push

US soccer players began training camp work on Sunday for the final two North American qualifying matches for the 2010 South Africa World Cup, pivotal matches at Honduras and at home against Costa Rica.

The Americans lead the six-team CONCACAF qualifying table with 16 points after five wins and a draw in eight starts with Mexico on 15, Honduras on 13 and Costa Rica on 12 points.

US players will face Honduras, 8-0 in home qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup, on Saturday at San Pedro Sula and face Costa Rica at Washington, site of the most US triumphs, on October 14 in the qualifying finale.

Three North American squads will advance to South Africa while the fourth will face the fifth-place team from South American qualifying in a two-leg playoff to decide another spot in next year’s global football showdown.

One US victory would secure a sixth consecutive berth for the Americans at the World Cup but the three points figure to be hard earned.

“These are hugely important games for us,” US coach Bob Bradley said. “We have been preparing this group for the last three years to be ready for these situations and we are confident in our ability to get the results we need to achieve our goal of qualifying for South Africa.”

The 22-man US roster includes forwards Landon Donovan of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Jozy Altidore of Hull, goalkeeper Tim Howard of Everton, midfielder Clint Dempsey of Fulham and defender Oguchi Onyewu of AC Milan.