Amid the rare cornucopia of must-watch Father’s Day sports action was the first World Cup qualifying match for the USA. Michael Bradley and Tobey Maguire Clint Dempsey were most instrumental in the 8-0 victory. The tireless Tyler Duffy recaps the match after the jump.

After the sweet potpourri of Turkey-Czech Republic, ESPN 2 brought us the stale, languishing fart that was U.S.A. – Barbados. Bradley’s boys displayed the appropriate amount of deference for an outmatched opponent, fielding a full strength squad and bombing forward with the glee of small children well past the 80th minute. Particularly classy was Big Game Lando’s gamesmanship, scoring on a quickly-taken free kick with a 3-0 lead in the second half. USA! USA!

There were two interesting facets to this match. One was Barbados’ uniforms, which looked like one-size-fits-all, neon gym clothes. Could Nike hook them up as some sort of charity write-off? The other tidbit was Lando’s farmers tan. You would think someone who passes on top-level soccer to live the sweet life at his California beach house could at least muster a decent tan.

Looking long-term, this match answered few pressing questions for the U.S. The backup goalkeeping is still fine. The defending remains quite competent. The forwards still display little of the flash that their shoes would suggest. Michael Bradley looked better, but it would be hard not to against this opposition. His midfield partnership with U-20 battery mate Freddy Adu will be crucial to U.S. chances in 2010.