Quite a ride for McBride on national team

Long after Brian McBride retires from international and professional soccer, his name will forever be linked to several trivia questions.

Not only was he the first player selected in the inaugural Major League Soccer draft in 1996, but he's the only American to score a goal in two different World Cups. He's also the best target forward this country has ever produced.

Over a decade after debuting with the U.S. National Team in 1993, McBride is still a central figure with the National Team. Not much has changed during that time, either.

He was a goal scorer as a kid, he was a goal scorer in college, he was a goal scorer the first time he slipped on a U.S. jersey, and he's still a goal scorer.

"I don't think his role has changed considerably," said U.S. coach Bruce Arena. "He's a little bit older, but a player who plays many years younger than he is. He's very conditioned and has a great approach to training every day."

That's the reason why the 32-year-old striker is likely to start in this Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica at Rice-Eccles Stadium. This is the fourth of 10 matches this year as the U.S. tries to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Arena doesn't believe qualifying is a time for lineup experimentation, which is why he traditionally puts his most capable 11 players on the field. In the past decade, that starting 11 has usually included McBride.

He's donned the U.S. National Team jersey 82 times during his international career, scoring 26 goals along the way. Perhaps none is more famous than his diving header against Portugal in the 2002 World Cup.

McBride's performance throughout those five matches in South Korea was a big reason the United States surprised everyone by advancing to the quarterfinals, before narrowly losing to Germany 1-0.

In addition to increasing the rest of the world's awareness about American soccer, McBride believes the success in 2002 was a huge boost to the U.S. National Team's confidence.

"The only thing it's really done for us is help with our confidence," said McBride. "We went through periods in 2002 qualifying where it was difficult, so everyone understands that. It probably helps with qualifying this summer as well."

Make no mistake, this current qualification will be his last.