U.S. soccer team notebook: Defender suspended for game

PARK CITY — When the U.S. Men's Soccer Team takes the field Saturday night against El Salvador at Rio Tinto Stadium, one of its premier defenders will not be in uniform.

Oguchi Onyewu has become a mainstay as a central defender on the National Team, and unfortunately for the fans and his teammates, the 6-foot-4, 210 pounder has been forced to become only a spectator because of a yellow-card suspension.

"It will be hard to just have to watch," said Onyewu. "You want to be out there battling with the guys. I guess I will just have to cheer them on and do whatever I can from the sidelines."

Onyewu's situation is not new for the U.S. He becomes the sixth player forced to sit out of a World Cup qualifying game because of a suspension, joining Tim Howard, Steve Cherundulo, Michael Bradley, Pablo Mastroeni and Jay Heaps. Heaps is an answer to a difficult trivia question: Who is the only player to be suspended from a qualifier despite never having played in one?

While any player who continuously picks up cautions should be forced to miss action, the World Cup qualifying rules are antiquated and probably need to be revised. A yellow card picked up in any round of qualifying stays with a player through the entire process. In Onyewu's case, he received his second yellow against Mexico last month in the team's 2-1 loss, but his first was more than a year ago — against Barbados on June 15, 2008, in an 8-0 win, and in the first round of games.

"I think it is probably a little unfair," Onyewu said. "I mean, it's not like I have been getting a ton of cards. They probably need to change the rules. Maybe they could reset the cards after each round like they do at the World Cup when you make it so far. You don't want the best players not playing."

The U.S. has nine players entering Saturday's game with a yellow card.

"I don't think it changes how you play," added Onyewu. "You can't be thinking about something like that. You just go out and play your normal game, and if you get the caution, so be it."

MISSING IN ACTION: Coach Bob Bradley named 24 players to the pool for the qualifier against El Salvador, but only 23 of them were at practice Wednesday. Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey has not been at training after having oral surgery on Monday to remove his wisdom teeth. The team is monitoring his progress to see if he will be available. No player has been named as his replacement.

e-mail: mblack@desnews.com