US Vs. El Salvador Preview: Finding Depth For Davies, Onyewu & Dempsey

Tonight the US Men's National Team takes on El Salvador in a friendly World Cup warm up. This match is more of a try out for many of the MLS based players hoping to book a ticket to South Africa this June, and Bob Bradley will be evaluating his players carefully to see who can fill in if needed. With most of our starters playing for clubs in Europe and unavailable for tonight's match, the MLS regulars playing tonight know they only have an outside chance of being selected for one of the coveted and career changing 23 roster spots on the World Cup squad, and should be making the most of every minute on the field.

After getting embarrassed by a determined and underestimated Honduras team last month, Bradley will be hoping he gets better circumstances to examine his callup's strengths and weaknesses. Last month it was all down hill after Jimmy Conrad drew a straight red in the opening minutes of the game leaving the remaining ten men scrambling to hang on for the rest of the game.

Bradley has a lot questions still left unanswered given the recent injuries at certain key positions. The most pressing at the moment are who could fill in for Davies, Onyewu, and Dempsey if they weren't able to get healthy or fully fit by June. There will be some interesting players to watch tonight who could give us much needed depth at these and other positions.

First, Charlie Davies may just pull off the "Miracle In Rustenburg" if the resilient striker takes the field on June 12th, but if he's not fully fit then Bradley's got some tough choices to make, which could get settled by a great performance tonight from one of the pacey strikers Robbie Findley or Jeff Cunningham who both led MLS in scoring last season.

If AC Milan defender Oguchi Onyewu can't start at centerback Bob may have to opt on taking one or both Clarence Goodson or Chad Marshall to fill in on our backline. Goodson scored in the Honduras friendly, but both have been shaky at times, not least of which was last summer's Gold Cup Finals loss to arch rival Mexico 5-0.

Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey should be back before the end of the Premiership season, but if he's not Bradley might take a gamble on young winger Robbie Rodgers or midfielder Sacha Kljestan. Both have shown promise at times, but have also failed to be consistent on the international stage.

Bradley will also be closely scrutinizing the play and form of veteran US forwards Brian Ching and Connor Casey. Bob only has a spot for one really given that Hull striker Jozy Altidore is more or less a lock. Casey seems to be better in the air and was more in favor towards the end of qualifying, but Ching's ability to hold possession and distribute accurate passes make him perhaps the more qualified target man up front along with his experience at the 2006 World Cup.

We'll also be looking to see if Jonathon Bornstein continues the poise and leadership he showed last month after Conrad's send off or if he reverts back to the shaky leftback we've seen before. Leftback has typically been one of our weakest positions and the emergence of Bornstein as a solid option would certainly be welcome news to US supporters.

With the exception of Bornstein, most of these guys know they won't start in the World Cup, but a few of the players on the field tonight could fill some critical holes in our roster and give us the much needed depth that all competitive World Cup squads need given the inevitable red card suspensions, injuries, and fatigue that occur at the World Cup.

Who will you be watching tonight? Any favorites or sleepers?