If Charlie Davies is to make the US World Cup roster, he'll need to be healthy and in-form by May 11th to have any chance; per FIFA guidelines, that's the date that national team managers must have a preliminary 30-man roster identified*. From that list of 30 will come the 23 players that board the plane to South Africa, a group that must be named on June 1st.


So Charlie's target is pretty clear; make a return for Sochaux, get as many first team minutes as possible, and be worthy of a spot on that 30-man roster. Davies will then have three weeks to become acquainted again with the National Team setup and a full month to get ready for the opening World Cup match against England. Does he have enough time to put himself squarely in that 30 man pool?


Charlie's running, doing ball work, and could return to full first team training shortly. His resolve and commitment are amazing, and if he avoids any setbacks, he should have a chance to be ready by May. If he's not fully reintegrated with Sochaux, however, meaning actual game minutes and signs of a return to form, I do wonder if Bradley will put him on the list; naming him to the 30-man preliminary roster couldn't hurt I suppose, but would Bob really take a player to the World Cup for whom "rust" is just more than a little problem?


So as you track Charlie's progress, keep that May 11th date in mind. Though it shortens the schedule by a full month, remember the Davies would only need to show signs that he could be a full contributor come June rather than be one hundred percent. It's up to Bradley to decide if Davies is close enough to warrant inclusion on May 11th. The question becomes what criteria Bradley will use to decide if Davies should make it to the first phase, with an eye towards being in the final roster come June 1st.


If Davies is in the 30-man roster, I would peg him as a lock for the World Cup version. He's not going to get to that point, able to train with the National Team and perhaps appear in the send off friendlies, only to come up short when Bradley makes seven cuts.


*I have to note that although US Soccer sent out communication that the roster rules are 30-man list due on May 11th and final 23 on June 1st, FIFA's guidelines hosted at their site (.pdf warning) have the initial roster at 35. This either means that US Soccer got it wrong, or that FIFA has changed the rules but not updated their site. I'm going with the latter for now.