Cunningham shooting for one last chance at World Cup

Jeff Cunningham says he is "living the dream."

At home, the former University of South Florida soccer All-American says he has a "beautiful wife," Jocelyn. They are parents to a healthy 15-month-old daughter, Mikayla. And career-wise, Cunningham is coming off a season in which he was Major League Soccer's scoring champion for FC Dallas.

As a result of Cunningham's scoring prowess - as well as untimely injuries to strikers in the U.S. national team pool - Coach Bob Bradley has called Cunningham into his camp to see if he can reproduce that scoring touch at the international level as the Americans make final preparations for this summer's World Cup in South Africa.

Cunningham, a native of Jamaica who grew up in Crystal River, can help his cause with a strong performance tonight at Raymond James Stadium when he and the U.S. squad take on El Salvador in an exhibition match at 7 p.m.

"It's the last chance for a lot of us," the 33-year-old Cunningham said. "As the saying goes, you're only good as your last game, so hopefully we can play well and leave a good mark for the coach to choose from."

Despite standing No. 2 in MLS history in goals scored (121) and twice winning the league's scoring title, including 2009, Cunningham has never made a U.S. World Cup roster. In fact, he has earned just 13 caps for the national team and scored his first goal wearing a U.S. uniform during an exhibition match against Denmark last December.

Yes, Cunningham has been in the discussion during the build-up phase of the previous two World Cups. But it wasn't enough for him to get a serious shot at making former U.S. coach Bruce Arena's roster.

Part of that had to do with Arena's preference for proven, consistent forwards, particularly those with overseas experience. But deserving or not, Cunningham likely has been hindered by a reputation of not always synchronizing with the players and coaching staff around him.

Cunningham says he has heard that talk, but he is confident in the type of person and player he is.

"I think I'm a pretty easy person to get along with," Cunningham said. "And if you look at every club I've been at, I've never been late for training and I've never had problems with teammates. I go to work, I keep quiet, do my job and that's it."

There's one undeniable thing about Cunningham: Wherever he goes, he nearly always finds a way to put the ball in the goal. And now that he's older, more experienced and a driven family man, maybe it's finally his time to be on the world stage. Bradley seems to have taken notice of Cunningham's focus.

"You could tell in these two camps, certain veterans that were given another opportunity took it really seriously," Bradley said. "They know how much is at stake."

Bradley says Cunningham is clearly capable of getting the ball on his own and blowing past defenders for goals. It's other aspects of playing the forward position at a world-class level - like finding spots to hold the ball in order to bring teammates into the attack - where Cunningham has improved recently.

Cunningham, meanwhile, believes he has done everything in his power to take this final shot at making the World Cup team. The rest, he says, is out of his hands.

"If it's my destiny, then it was meant to be," Cunningham said. "A few years ago, I didn't understand that as well. Now, I realize we're all on a journey. It may not always be what we had planned, but it's still a journey we're on."