It will be interesting to see the lineup that U.S. coach Bob Bradley will send into battle in Honduras on Saturday. The inclusions of Jimmy Conrad and Clarence Goodson in his squad suggest to me that one -- Conrad is the slightly better option in my opinion -- will partner Oguchi Onyewu while Carlos Bocanegra reverts to left back. Meanwhile, Steve Cherundolo should start on the right ahead of Jon Spector, who has fallen out of favor at West Ham.

I expect Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark to get the nod in midfield, meaning the only remaining decision concerns who is on the right in the absence of the injured Clint Dempsey. Although Stuart Holden has impressed in cameo appearances off the bench, I expect that to be his role again, with Benny Feilhaber getting the start.

Up front, it should be Jozy Altidore and Charlie Davies, although the presences of Conor Casey, Brian Ching and Kenny Cooper on the squad make me wonder whether Bradley will opt to include a target man once again, as he has in some previous road qualifiers.

Whoever is picked to do the job, the message should be "win and you're in." A tie or even a defeat could still result in the clinching of a World Cup spot, but hopefully there will be an emphasis on the positive in San Pedro Sula. For although few will be surprised if the U.S. clinches a place in South Africa, should it do so with a victory in what is sure to be a hostile environment, the team's reputation will receive a timely boost.

Performances since the Confederations Cup have been patchy, and a big result this Saturday would provide a timely reminder that this team might be able to make some noise in the Rainbow Nation for a second consecutive year.

A thing that made me go hmmm

While we're on the subject, the finalists for the 2009 Honda Player of the Year award were announced recently, with Altidore, Donovan and Tim Howard named on a three-man short list.

I wonder how close the voting was. All three are worthy nominees, but I am sure that the likes of Dempsey, who won the Bronze Ball at the Confederations Cup, and Davies, who has had a breakout year, also were in the running. I suppose it's a good sign that we can debate who is not on the list as opposed to who is.

The other thing I wondered about came when I saw Donovan was in line for his sixth award. Does he exchange the last Honda he won for a new one, or does he just have a very large garage?

Toronto's time is now

Although the primary focus of most American eyes will be on the national team this weekend, north of the border, the attention of Toronto FC fans will be on BMO Field, where, they hope, the start of a late-season push into the playoffs will begin.

With just nine points separating the fourth spot from the 13th in MLS, many clubs retain hope of a postseason berth, especially as most will take points off each other in the coming weeks. Thus, handicapping the closing weeks is a tricky proposition, but Toronto must be considered to have a great chance, given its run-in, which is among the most straightforward in the league.

Chris Cummins' side is home to San Jose (two road wins) this weekend and to Salt Lake (one road win) seven days later before it finishes the season at New York (four total wins). Compare its remaining schedule to that of some of its rivals. For example, New England, which has Columbus home and away with Chicago at home in between.

Three wins would take TFC to 42 points, which could be enough. Having rested for two weeks after a grueling month, in which it played five out of six games on the road, Toronto has a golden opportunity to finally clinch the playoff spot so craved by its fans.

Well played, young man

Although much of the attention following San Jose's win over New York has been devoted to the theatrics of Arturo Alvarez that led to the winning penalty, the man responsible for successfully dispatching it also is worthy of a mention.

With 10 goals and two assists from 26 games played -- as the only ever-present on the San Jose squad -- Ryan Johnson has emerged as one of the few positives from a lost season for the Earthquakes. The 24-year-old has found a home after failing to make an impression in both Salt Lake City and Chicago to the extent that, were his club pushing for a playoff spot, he might even have been garnering some attention as an outside candidate for MVP. As it is, his development is one of the reasons for San Jose fans to be cheerful heading into the 2010 season.