USA vs. Grenada
CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, 2nd round, 1st leg
Sunday, June 13 in Columbus, Ohio
1 pm ET/10 am PT
TV: ESPN2 (live), Telemundo (live)
THE ROAD TO GERMANY 2006: The winner of the USA-Grenada series — 2nd leg takes place June 20 in Grenada –advances to the semifinal qualifying round with the winners of: El Salvador-Bermuda, Haiti-Jamaica and Panama-St. Luica.
The top two finishers in the semifinal round group of four (Aug. 18-Nov. 17) advance to the six-team final round (Feb 9-Oct. 12, 2005), from which the top three finishers qualify for the World Cup and the fourth-place finisher will play off with Asia's fifth-place team.
BRUCE ARENA'S SCOUTING REPORT: ''They [Grenada] play out of a 3-5-2 or a 5-3-2, however you want to look at it. They are athletic in the back, they play with a sweeper, they have good size and they have a pair of guys who are good going forward: Jason Roberts, who has experience in the English First Division and Ricky Charles, who played at USC-Spartanburg. And in the back, No. 11 Modeste is pretty good at organizing things. They're good on restarts.''
TOUGH AT HOME: The USA has a 16-1-5 win-loss-tie record in World Cup qualifying since 1988. The loss came against Honduras (2-3) in Washington, D.C. during the USA's successful run to the 2002 World Cup.
SANNEH OUT. U.S. defender Tony Sanneh suffered a right ankle sprain Tuesday afternoon in training and has been excused from camp.
DONOVAN EYES 50th CAP: If he plays on Sunday, Landon Donovan, 22 years, 98 days old, will become the youngest player to make 50 U.S. appearances. The current record is held by Chris Henderson (22 years/211 days), who is followed by Tony Meola (23/106), Claudio Reyna (23/268) and Cobi Jones (23/343).
OTHER BROADCASTS: In addition to the USA's game on Sunday at 1 pm ET, Telemundo will this weekend air CONCACAF qualifiers Guatemala vs. Surinam (Saturday, live, 12:30 pm) and Netherlands Antilles vs. Honduras (Sunday, 1-day delay, 3 pm ET).
USA Roster (for Sunday's game vs. Grenada)
Bruce Arena's roster for Sunday's game comprises 10 MLS players and eight foreign-based players.
Goalkeepers: Kasey Keller (Tottenham/ENG), Jonny Walker (MetroStars)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham/ENG), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover/GER), Bobby Convey (D.C. United), Cory Gibbs (Dallas Burn), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Eddie Pope (MetroStars), Greg Vanney (Bastia/FRA).
Midfielders: Chris Armas (Chicago Fire), DaMarcus Beasley (Chicago Fire), Landon Donovan (San Jose Earthquakes), Eddie Lewis (Preston North End/ENG), Claudio Reyna (Manchester City/ENG), Earnie Stewart (D.C. United).
Forwards: Conor Casey (Mainz/GER), Jovan Kirovski (Los Angeles Galaxy), Brian McBride (Fulham/ENG).
Grenada Roster (for Sunday's game vs. the USA)
Of the 18 players, three played in U.S. colleges — Brian Benjamin (Southern New Hampshire), Shalrie Joseph (St. John's) and Ricky Charles (USC Spartanburg) and three are imports from England — Anthony Bedeau, Byron Bubb and Jason Roberts.
Goalkeepers: Kellon Baptiste (GBSS), Desmond Noel (QPR).
Defenders: Anthony Modeste (QPR), Brian Benjamin (GBSS), Franklyn Baptiste (ESS), Kennedy Phillip (Fontenoy FC), Ricky Charles (USC Spantanburg), Eric George (Springs) Anthony Bedeau (Torquay United, England).
Midfielders: Patrick Modeste (QPR), Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution), Byron Bubb (Aylesbury United, England), Ricky Morris (Hurricanes FC), Arkenson Neckles (QPR).
Forwards: Jason Roberts (Wigan Athletic, England), Nigel Bishop (GBSS), Kithson Bain (Ball Dogs), Everetts Watts.