September 8, 2009
THE OPTIONS
Bradley mulls central defense pairings

Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago -- Will it be Gooch and Chad in the middle and Carlos on the left flank?

Or will Gooch team with Bocanegra and have someone else, such as Jonathan Bornstein, play at left fullback?

U.S. coach Bob Bradley indicated Tuesday that those were two of his options on defense barely 24 hours before his team meets Trinidad & Tobago in a vital World Cup qualifier.

With Oguchi Onyewu returning from a yellow-card suspension, Bradley will be able to team him with either Columbus Crew defender Chad Marshall or Carlos Bocanegra. One possibility would be an Onyewu-Marshall pairing with Bocanegra on the left. Another one would be Gooch and Bocanegra in the middle and with the struggling Bornstein on the left.

"They're the two primary possibilities," Bradley said after practice at Hasely Crawford Stadium on Tuesday.

Even though he is a member of A.C. Milan, Gooch's last competitive match was in the WCQ in Mexico City Aug. 12. But Bradley said he wasn't concerned the defender's match fitness.

"If this period was longer, maybe,"he said. "But all things considered, the training that he's done, and being around last week I think will help."

Jonathan Spector is expected to start at right fullback (ESPN Classic, 7 p.m. ET).