Bradley: Hex Draw "Took Some People By Surprise"

By Noah Davis 

In a conference call earlier today, United States Men's National Team coach Bob Bradley and U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati discussed the draw for both the 2009 Confederations Cup and the final round of World Cup qualifying.

In typical close to the vest fashion, Bradley didn't offer many details on what he thought of the Hexagonal draw. "We play every team twice," he joked, before adding, "We begin and end at home, so I guess that's nice." 

The Americans open with a match against archrival Mexico on February 11. "The draw for the next round took some people by surprise with us hosting Mexico in the first game," Bradley noted.

The location of the game hasn't been finalized, but Gulati offered some hints about what the U.S. will look for in a venue. "It's very likely to be a place where the temperature will be a little bit lower," the president said.  

Bradley has requested that the five home games do not take place on an artificial surface nor on fields that only have natural grass laid in for a few days. Gulati mentioned some possible venues including Columbus, Salt Lake, Nashville, Chicago, Cleveland (where they had "great turnout"), D.C., and a couple of options in the Bay Area. "We might consider a game in Houston," Gulati said, adding "it's unlikely that we'll be playing in Florida." The first of the decisions will be made sometime after Thanksgiving.

Bradley briefly discussed the team's first opponent in the final round, touching upon the difficulty El Tri had qualifying for the Hexagonal. "I think Mexico certainly has a good team," the coach said. "Their previous round changed early on with the hurricane and they ended up playing their first three games at home. We see that playing road games will always be difficult." 

The U.S. was drawn into Group B of the Confederations Cup along with Brazil, Italy, and Egypt. "Playing the past two World Cup champions in our first two matches sets a tone of a great challenge but also great excitement for our players," Bradley said. The Gold Cup will also take place during 2009, but since both events are on the FIFA calendar, clubs cannot deny the release of a player.  

The coach also briefly talked about the team's 2-0 victory over Guatemala on Wednesday night. In the first half, "our execution in the final part of the field, the timing of our moves, could have been better," he said but was pleased with the results in the second half. 

Bradley also noted the increasing depth of the player pool. "We continue to build the pool," he explained. "Having the opportunity late in the last round to see some actual players in qualifying was a plus." 

Noah Davis covers the United States Men's National Team for Goal.com.