U.S. Men's soccer in El Salvador for World Cup qualifer Saturday night

After a week of training in Miami, Fla., the U.S. Men’s National Team is in San Salvador, El Salvador, where they will face off against the Cuscatlecos at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 28, at Estadio Cuscatlán. Bradley called 22 players into camp and they have all been gearing up in earnest for the team’s second match of the Final Round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Fans can watch the match live on ESPN2 and Telefutura, as well as follow along on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

QUICK HITS

• Of the 22 players in camp, the U.S. will dress 18 with a maximum of three substitutions.
• Four players on the U.S. roster are carrying yellow cards into Saturday’s match: Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey, Frankie Hejduk, Oguchi Onyewu. Should they receive another caution, it will result in a one match suspension.
• El Salvador has seven players in a similar predicament: Cristian Castillo, Salvador Coreas, Alexander Escobar, Miguel Montes, Alfredo Pacheco, Eliseo Quintanilla and William Romero.
• The match on March 28 will mark the 19th meeting between the United States and El Salvador. The U.S. holds a commanding 13-1-4 record, with 41 goals scored and 10 conceded.
• The United States is 4-0-2 all-time versus El Salvador in World Cup qualifying, including a 1-0-1 record in San Salvador.
• The teams drew 1-1 on June 29, 1997, in their first World Cup qualifier on Salvadoran soil, and the U.S. snatched a 2-0 win on Oct. 9, 2004.
• Four players on the U.S. roster were on the field for that victory: DaMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan, Hejduk, Eddie Johnson (1)[starters in bold]. Also on the bench that day were Tim Howard and Pablo Mastroeni. More on that historic win later.
• Donovan is the leading capwinner on the roster with 106 international appearances, and has two goals and six appearances against El Salvador.
• In addition to Donovan, three other players have scored at least once against El Salvador: Beasley (2), Brian Ching, and Johnson. There is not a single player on El Salvador’s roster that has tallied against the United States.
• In fact, the Salvadorans have not scored a goal against the U.S. since a 4-2 loss on Nov. 16, 1997, in Foxborough, Mass., a string of six matches spanning more than 11 years. The last goalscorer? Two-time MLS Cup champion and current technical advisor for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, Raul Diaz Arce.
• Ching and Dempsey finished 2008 with four goals each – all in World Cup qualifying – tied for team best. They are joined by Michael Bradley as the leading scorers for the U.S. in 2010 qualifying.
• Dempsey recorded two game-winning goals in World Cup qualifying last year – against Barbados on June 15 in Carson, Calif., and in the 1-0 win on Sept. 6 in Cuba.
• Beasley (Oct. 11 against Cuba), Carlos Bocanegra (Aug. 20 vs. Guatemala) and Bradley (Sept. 10 against T&T, Feb. 11 against Mexico) are the other players on the roster with game-winners in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying.
• Bradley and Heath Pearce tied for the team lead in 2008 with 11 starts. Pearce led the team in minutes played (945). Pearce has started eight of nine World Cup qualifiers in this cycle, the most on the team. Beasley has made eight total appearances, seven as a starter.
• All 11 players who started in the 2-0 win against Mexico are in camp, and 15 of the 18 players on the roster that day are traveling to El Salvador.
• Mastroeni returns to the fold after serving a one-match suspension due to yellow card accumulation. Mastroeni started in three of the USA’s qualifiers through the semifinal round.
• Hejduk made his first appearance against El Salvador on Aug. 30, 1996, a 3-1 win in Los Angeles.
• With his hat trick on Jan. 24 against Sweden, Sacha Kljestan became only the second player in U.S. history to score his first three goals in the same game, joining Aldo “Buff” Donelli, who tallied four goals in a 4-2 victory against Mexico on May 24, 1934, in the lone qualifying match for the 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy.
• The U.S. finished 2008 with a 9-3-2 record, including a 7-1-0 record in World Cup qualifying.
• In 2008, the U.S. set team records for most goals scored per game (2.14) and fewest goals against per game (0.57).