BRADLEY MAKES CASE FOR JOB.

Byline: RICK GREEN

With every U.S. goal, every U.S. game and, most crucially, every U.S. win, the pressure is mounting on Sunil Gulati.

The president of U.S. Soccer might soon have no choice but to hire coach Bob Bradley on a permanent basis, especially if the U.S. beats Guatemala on Wednesday in Frisco, Texas (6p.m., ESPN2).

Sunday's 3-1 win over Ecuador means Bradley is 3-0 in his first three national team games, something none of his predecessors accomplished.

If Bradley makes it 4-0 in convincing fashion, many more fans will jump on the bandwagon being driven by former U.S. coach Bruce Arena and former national team striker Eric Wynalda, now commentators for ESPN. And Bradley could rid himself of that interim tag before the week is out.

Gulati isn't the type to cave easily, but he has had decisions essentially made for him in the past, such as when Juergen Klinsmann pulled out of contract negotiations. With the January games closing in, Gulati admitted he had little choice but to turn to Bradley.

The Guatemala game is the last on the U.S. schedule for the next two months.

After that, next up is China on June 2, a game that comes just four days before the start of the Gold Cup and a little more than twoweeks before Copa America begins.

Gulati knows he has to make a decision before then.

He said when Bradley was hired that a final decision on a permanent coach would come when the European season ends, something that generally occurs in May.

That would give Bradley's replacement a maximum of just four weeks -- and likely much less time than that -- to prepare for the year's two biggest competitions.

If there are any snags in contract negotiations, Bradley could again become Gulati's default option.

Of course, it's difficult to pass over a coach who could soon have a 4-0 record.

True enough, the victories have come in what are essentially meaningless friendlies.

But with Bradley in charge the U.S. has beaten a European team (Denmark), its regional archrival (Mexico) and a South American team (Ecuador) that made it to the last 16 of the World Cup.

Assuming the U.S. emerges victorious from the Guatemala game -- and it has never lost at home to the Central American nation that Sunday could only manage a draw with lowly Barbados -- Bradley will have achieved a quartet of wins over varied opposition.

The U.S. has yet to play a complete game in its trio of wins this year, despite scoring eightgoals and conceding only two, but that's to be expected as Bradley blends in young players and changes his lineup to get a look at prospects.

The rationale for hiring an experienced coach on the international level remains unchanged even with the wins.

We're not going to find out in four friendlies, or perhaps even the two international competitions in June, whether the U.S. can shed the tactical naivete it displayed most recently at last year's World Cup.

So in a sense, Bradley can't win even as he does so with the U.S.

But neither can Gulati, especially if Bradley runs his record to 4-0.

Just as the coach's stock is rising, some winners and losers are emerging on the field even after just three games of the Bradley era. ...

Among them:

Landon Donovan: Awarded the captain's armband Sunday, the Galaxy star responded by taking over the game and scoring a hattrick. That made it five goals in the last three games for Donovan, emphatically snapping an 18-game goal-less drought.

Eddie Johnson: One of only three players (Donovan and defender Jimmy Conrad are the others) to appear in every U.S. game so far this year. But Bradley pulled the ineffective striker at halftime Sunday, his confidence apparently in shreds.

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Photo:

Interim U.S. coach Bob Bradley, right, looks on during a Jan. 20 exhibition game against Denmark at Home Depot Center.

Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images