The U.S. National Team must be giddy. Who could have imagined, after their scare in the first phase of qualifying, that the U.S. would be halfway through the final stage with a 4-0-1 record and a spot in Japan/South Korea probably only one victory away.

Props are in order for Bruce Arena and the U.S. players for all they've accomplished. But now is not the time for giddiness. Because no matter how you qualify, be it in six games or 10, all that anyone's going to remember come next summer is how you do in the Cup.

Now, I'm not saying it's fair. You can look up my past opinions on the so-called "low point in U.S. Soccer" at France '98. Basically, I wrote that anyone who thinks the low point in U.S. Soccer history came during a World Cup obviously wasn't paying attention between the years 1950 and 1990. I know how hard it is for anyone, not just the U.S., to get good results in World Cup games -- but it is how teams are remembered. So ...

I issue the following challenge to Arena and the U.S. team. Don't coast the rest of the way. You only get so many opportunities to play matches that will really prepare you for Japan and South Korea. July 1st in Mexico City will be one chance. September 5th in Costa Rica will be another. You probably won't need to win or even tie these matches, but you should use them as World Cup preparation more than World Cup qualification. These matches, against quality opposition in tough surroundings, will give you the opportunity to test your team on a battle field similar to what they'll see next summer.

Don't coast.

In Tight Space

· Ante Razov and Jovan Kirovski were an active and dangerous strike pair Wednesday night. Now, wouldn't it be a shame if both players signed with European clubs where they cannot crack the starting lineup? Perhaps that's an unfair assessment of Razov, who showed a lot of guts, going to the rough and tumble Spanish Second Division last year, but the time has come for Kirovski to play first-team soccer. His current club, Sporting Lisbon, would like to move his contract (he reportedly makes around $500,000 per year) but it is unclear whether Kirovski would accept less money to facilitate a transfer. While he's got some nice marquee club names on his resume (Manchester United Reserves, Borusssia Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon), Kirovski's only real first-team action came in the Bundesliga 2 for Fortuna Koln.

· David Regis is reportedly interested in making the move to MLS, and several clubs, including Kansas City and Dallas, are very interested. Problem is, MLS does not consider Regis a maximum salary player and that's what it would take to get him into the league.

· MetroStars coach Octavio Zambrano says his club has given MLS "a list" of possible marquee player replacements for Clint Mathis, but MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis says, "They have asked about a few players, but there is no list." Gazidis has made it pretty clear that there is no chance of securing a "Mathis Clone" (or a player like Kirovski, Claudio Reyna or Joe-Max Moore) on a short-term contract, so what are the MetroStars' options? Well, not a lot, really. They could try to discover a player. But if that player is foreign, that would also mean the Metros would have to move one of their three Colombian players, Adolfo Valencia, Alex Comas or Pedro Alvarez. Could the Metros release one of the Colombians and replace him with a marquee player? Well, that's something the league isn't sure how to address. Because MLS doesn't do one-year contracts (unless they are super cheap) the question then would become, "What happens to that player next season, when Mathis returns?" Does he go into the draft? Basically, the league says you can't give a team a long-term allocation to solve a short-term problem. (I'm sure I'll have to rewrite this entry next week to try to make sense of it, so I beg for your patience).

· Tampa GM Bill Manning admits his team's locker room chemistry is in shambles. "There's a division among the players and something has to be done to fix it," Manning said. "We're just at a critical point where we have to make a decision. Do we turn the page and begin rebuilding for next season, or do we see if we can climb to eighth place and get into the playoffs?" Basically, Manning knows he has to move one of his big stars -- Carlos Valderrama or Mamadou Diallo -- but isn't sure whether he needs to move both.

The Colorado Rapids broadcast team told a funny Chris Carrieri anecdote during Wednesday night's broadcast. As I wrote last week, Carrieri has rubbed a few people in MLS the wrong way with his Brian Bosworth act, so a few of his new teammates in Colorado have taken it upon themselves to humble the young man -- albeit in a nice way. On Wednesday, Rapids midfielder Imad Baba disguised his voice as a Boston Globe reporter and called Carrieri on the phone, and spent the next 20 minutes conducting an exclusive interview for a major feature. The interview ended with Baba walking into Carrieri's room, cell phone in hand, still asking questions. To his credit, Carrieri has vowed to tone down his act, and he got a goal and an assist Wednesday night to boot.

Pub Talk

If the U.S. wants to develop truly great soccer players in the next 50 years, what do we have to do? Invest in better coaching? Create more camps? Give more instruction?

No, no and no.

Really, what we need to do is turn back the clock to the days when kids went to a playground, picked teams and played. Where the best kids got picked first by their peers and the worst kids got picked last, or not at all. I don't think the U.S. is ever going to create players with a feel for the game until kids start playing more pickup soccer.

This, my friends, is what you call a pipe dream. Kids don't play in this era unless there are uniforms, trophies and banquets involved. But, I do have an idea.

Instead of organizing autograph sessions and public appearances for its players, instead of marketing exclusive camps, MLS should assign players to supervise playgrounds for pickup soccer. Basically, tell communities, "We'll bring the balls and the cones and the pinnies. We'll make sure there are no fights and that the kids are safe. And that's it.

The rest is up to the kids. They pick the teams. Your son/daughter's feelings might get hurt when the kids decide he or she has got to play in the "slow" game. Maybe they won't want to come back next week. Too bad.

Roll the balls out and let them play. And maybe in a half century, we'll have something to show for it.

One More Thing

For those craving an '80s reference: "Well, I like art, I work in a gas station, my best friend is a tomboy. These things don't fly too well in the American High School."

E-mail me if you know the flick. (One more clue: "I have never seen a girl wearing boys' underpants before.")

Jeff Bradley is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail jeff.bradley@espnmag.com.