THE COUNTDOWN STARTS: With less than five months to go until the 2010 FIFA World Cup commences in South Africa, the United States Men’s National Team kicks off the year against fellow World Cup qualifiers Honduras on Jan. 23 in Carson, Calif. Kickoff at The Home Depot Center is set for 8 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel and Telefutura. Fans can also follow the match live via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and at www.twitter.com/ussoccer. The January camp and game has traditionally served as a staging ground for MLS players who are looking to make an impression, and this year’s opportunity has a little extra spice with the carrot of the World Cup roster dangling before their eyes.

WORLD CUP PREP: Saturday’s game is one of three games scheduled for the USA before the naming of the 2010 FIFA World Cup roster. In addition to the game against Honduras, Bob Bradley’s team will face El Salvador in Tampa on Feb. 24 before traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to meet the third-ranked Netherlands on March 3 in Amsterdam. The game against the Netherlands comes on the only FIFA match date prior to the start of preparations for the World Cup.

Check out this article my favorite soccer writer, Dan Loney, looking at the last 3 January camps prior to a World Cup

DOES JANUARY CAMP LEAD TO THE WORLD CUP? With the January camp serving as the last long audition for players trying to make the squad for South Africa, what does history tell us about the role of this opportunity? In total, 13 of the 28 players in Bruce Arena’s 2002 January camp were named in the 23-man roster for Korea/Japan. In 2006, Jimmy Conrad and nine other players from the Carson camp found their way to Germany.