Herculez, Herculez! How much is one goal worth for Gomez?

I bet Herculez Gomez is asking the same question at this moment.

Only one man truly knows how much Gomez’s goal Tuesday against Czech Republic meant in the final reckoning – U.S. manager Bob Bradley. I know you can file this under “freakin’ obvious,” but I think we can all agree that it sure didn’t hurt Gomez’s bid to secure a place on the U.S. final 23-man roster.

My best guess: his second-half header sealed the deal. I’d wager an icy cold Carta Blanca that Bradley was leaning heavily toward taking Gomez anyway. As Gomez got to the right spot and nailed the close-range header, which was arranged so nicely by Clarence Goodson’s determined work at the back post, I bet Bradley was nodding his head in affirmation, as if to say, “Yep. I knew it. We need to take this guy. He scores goals. Period.”

I’ve told this story before, but it’s worth repeating. Chad Deering missed a golden opportunity to score in a 1993 friendly late in the year against a good German side. A few months later, Deering wasn’t on Bora Milutinovic’s final World Cup roster. Milutinov told me later, “It is SO hard to score a goal in a World Cup. So, you must score goals when you have the chance. If he scored against Germany, he would probably make the team.”

One moment in time. How that might have changed Deering’s world.

So, back to Gomez, for his most meaningful moment will surely alter his days on Earth. He made the team. He already has a new deal with a move to Pachuca, but his value has instantly increased, just for going to a World Cup. His wiki page (the CV the entire world sees) has already been updated to reflect his elevated stature in the global regard. If he scores at the World Cup, he stands to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in future earnings and endorsements, green that otherwise would go elsewhere.

By the way, I really believed Brian Ching would make the team. His target play is something the U.S. now lacks on this roster. If it were me, I would have taken the Houston Dynamo man. (probably over Robbie Findley.)

That said, Ching has one goal in 12 international appearances since 2008. Ten of those matches were starts. I know Ching does a lot in the way of fighting for speculative passes, working for second balls, chasing defenders, etc. But at some point, strikers do need to strike. By comparison, Gomez has one goal in half a game since that little cup of coffee with the national team in 2007.

All of that does say something.