US coach Bob Bradley has named a 20-man preliminary squad for their looming World Cup qualifier against Mexico. "We are excited about the challenge and the opportunity," said Bradley, who guided the U.S. to a second-place finish in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

"Mexico is a very good team, and we are all aware of their great success playing in Mexico City. Every game in qualifying is important, and this is a chance to gain further ground in the group. Our team continually tries to raise the bar, and certainly the chance to win for the first time in Mexico is a welcome opportunity."

US squad:

Goalkeepers:Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton)

Defenders:Carlos Bocanegra (Stade Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

Midfielders:Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca)

Strikers:Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Charlie Davies (Sochaux), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)