They're calling it Breakfast on East Capitol, Saturday's World Cup qualifier between the U.S. and Honduras at RFK Stadium, because they're going to kick off at the unheard-of time of 10 a.m.

And due to the fact that college football season is underway, that means ESPN2 has limited slots available for, oh, just the biggest soccer game played on American soil this year. But, hey, American soccer players and American soccer fans have learned to live with this sixth-class citizen stuff by now. Given the usual humidity in the District this time of year, starting in the morn might be smart anyway.

I'm sure U.S. coach Bruce Arena could not care less about the start time. He's got too much else on his mind, given that almost every attacking player with U.S. citizenship is on the shelf with an injury right now. And knowing that with three points on Saturday, the U.S. can start checking out hotels and training facilities in Japan and South Korea. And knowing, if the U.S. loses to a very strong and confident Honduras side on Saturday, he's going to play Costa Rica on Wednesday in an absolutely brutal match.

So, like I was saying, the kickoff time is not a big deal here. Getting a victory is.

And that is not going to be easy.

If the U.S. wants to keep things tight, they should be able to accomplish that as Arena has his usual defensive corps, goalkeeper Brad Friedel, defenders Steve Cherundolo, Jeff Agoos, Carlos Llamosa and David Regis and holding midfielder Chris Armas at his disposal.

It's everything in front of that group that makes you wonder just how the U.S. is going to put a ball in the net. The last time the U.S. met Honduras, they scored two goals (a 40-yard deflected shot by Earnie Stewart and a free kick by Clint Mathis) without generating a single good scoring chance in 90 minutes. To score on Saturday, there's a pretty good chance the U.S. is going to have to do better than that.

But who among the healthy is capable of creating -- or for that matter scoring -- the goal? Arena is keeping his lineup secret until after the orange juice is served on Saturday. But through thoughtful process of elimination, I'm betting that Stewart and Tony Sanneh will be playing somewhere in the midfield, and that Joe-Max Moore will be starting somewhere, either up front or just behind the forwards.

That leaves two spots open. Two very critical spots, I might add.

Word out of the U.S. camp is that, in Monday's first training session, 38-year-old Preki was outstanding. The old guy's been in great form all season for the Miami Fusion and, if you're one of these people who worries about Preki's work rate, well, come on, the guy has too much pride to give less than everything he's got if Arena puts him in the lineup. Preki's work rate should not be a concern and, given that he's been playing in Fort Lauderdale this year, I would not expect him to wilt if it's a bit sticky on Saturday.

I say, start him and play him behind Joe-Max Moore and Landon Donovan.

Yeah, that's right, Landon Donovan.

Now, in the past, specifically at the Olympics, I have not exactly been the bus driver for the Landon Wagon, but now is the time and the place to give the kid his big chance.

Here's why.

Qualifiers are usually brutal games, where tactics win out over flowing soccer. These types of games require players who, in a tangle of arms and legs, are capable of breaking free once or twice and making a deciding play. We've seen this in the past with Mathis. It's explosiveness, for one thing, but it's also guts.

Donovan is as cocky as they come. Which is to say he's as cocky as Mathis. We've all seen by now what Mathis can do in games of bits and pieces. And Donovan is capable of the same type of thing. My line of reasoning is, the U.S. needs a goal to make the rest of qualifying easier.

So, for Breakfast on East Capitol, let's not have eggs.

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