While he watched the Mexican players receive their championship medals and the Concacaf Gold Cup trophy on Sunday, U.S. striker Brian Ching was already looking forward to the World Cup qualifier on Aug. 12 between the two clubs. "It's not going to be hard to carry over those emotions," Ching said. "Standing on the field there, watching them accept the trophy, it's pretty much etched in the back of my mind for a long, long time to come. I'm not going to need any more motivation than that."

While Mexico used five players in the Gold Cup who are expected to play on Aug. 12, the U.S. team used only one - Ching. "If they think the next game is going to be like this, they have another coming," Ching said. Ching suggested that other players from the "A" team will use the Gold Cup result as motivation. "I'm sure if they were watching that game, I'm sure they were (ticked) off," he said. "Hopefully it lights a fire under them because I know it's going to light a fire under me. Hopefully I'm there on Aug. 12."

The game comes two weeks from Wednesday - at Estadio Azteca, where the USA has never won. To Coach Bob Bradley, Aug. 12 will be a clean slate. "We'll be ready," he said. "It's 90 minutes and it starts over." The USA sits in second place in the final round of Concacaf qualifying for South Africa 2010. The Mexicans are in fourth place. The top three teams get automatic berths to the World Cup, while the fourth-place team will take on the fifth-place team from South America for a spot.

 

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