THE Italian radio reporter stretched out an arm and gingerly placed a microphone just beneath Brad Friedel's square chin, straining to get as close as possible to the U.S. goalkeeper.

This was a wise strategy. The gangling, 6-4 Friedel speaks in barely audible, measured phrases.

He has a postgame manner about him that belies the heart-stopping chaos that he is expected to manage with cool efficiency for 90 minutes or so.

Friedel is the guy you'd want in the air traffic control tower in Atlanta or Chicago, bringing you in during rush hour, in a snowstorm, with an engine down.

Later he'd be espousing the wonders of aviation.

At the heart of it, Friedel is passionate about his game and one of those rare people who can say he is doing the one thing in life he was meant to be doing.

Even after the USA's epic 2-0 victory against Mexico in its second-round game, after stopping six shots on goal and after sharing in spontaneous elation with his teammates on the field when it finally was over, Friedel now was analytical, self-assured but not exactly someone who was about to pound his chest.

In a thickly accented voice, the Italian posed his question as a statement. "You are the best goalkeeper in the World Cup, I think."

Friedel simply flashed an uncomfortable grin and replied, "Thank you, that's very kind for you to say that."

He probably has heard it before, this vain effort to draw something out, some kernel of acknowledgment that Friedel knows he's pretty close to as good as it gets.

But he is having none of it, this Ohio-born former UCLA star who has developed into a standard of excellence among professional goalkeepers in none other than the English Premier League.

"The last couple of years, I have been very, very happy with how the on-field performances have gone," said Friedel, who stars for Blackburn and, now, for the most promising U.S. World Cup qualifier the sport has seen.

Friedel's contributions to the improbable U.S. odyssey, which touches down next on Friday against unbeaten Germany, have been tangible and underlying.

The two most vivid were in moments of utter defiance when Friedel was forced to go one-on-one with penalty kickers.

He struck down South Korea's best of many good chances and did it again against Poland.

Considering that the penalty kick typically is about an 80% sure thing, Friedel is defying even larger odds than those most would have assigned to this U.S. team reaching a quarterfinal.

After being cast with fellow U.S. keeper Kasey Keller in a battle for the starting role, Friedel clearly is making coach Bruce Arena's choice appear brilliant.

Things have gone so well in front of the U.S. goal, one can only wonder if Friedel has not exceeded even his own expectations.

"I don't really sit down and think in terms like that; I am a realist," said Friedel, who is a football (not soccer) purist, partial to bygone terms, like referring to the team as "the men" in his mild, adopted British tone of voice.

The reality for this realist is that, as a goalkeeper, you are never far removed from having all of the wheels come off at once.

They certainly did against Poland when they banged two goals past Friedel within the first five minutes of the match.

Had South Korea not defeated Portugal that same night, the USA would not be flirting with the idea of becoming a "soccer nation."

"Every day is different in soccer," said Friedel, 31, who was in goal last year when the USA qualified for the World Cup against Jamaica.

"It's a very humbling game at times, and you have to keep your head screwed on straight.

"If you get carried away about some things, in a positive way or a negative way, it can really have a negative effect on your performances."

It is almost impossible for Friedel not to keep his feet on the ground, as this team is painfully sensitive to keeping the door open to a switch of goalkeepers at any time.

While Arena ranks Friedel among the top goalkeepers in the world, he points to Keller as being comparable. "I could have chosen him, and we would have had the same results."

Said injured veteran defender Jeff Agoos of Friedel: "One of the strengths of our team is goalkeeping, and you see that with Brad and with Tony (Meola) and Kasey."

Turns out there are many strengths on this team, which is why Friedel sees no complexity in the task ahead.

"We are going to pour our blood on the field against Germany," he said.

With the steely expression of a crime-fighting action figure, Friedel stands his ground in the postgame interrogation room as ably as he does in front of a goal.

After the latest win, played on a humid 82-degree afternoon in a stadium surrounded by rice fields, Friedel is challenged again.

Did he really believe this was possible?

"A lot of the veteran players, the players who play over in Europe, know that we can play with all of these players that are here in the World Cup," he said.

"A few of the players that play in the MLS, and maybe the younger players, have to go onto the field and play against a couple of them to prove it to themselves.

"Now everyone knows that they can, and from here on out whoever makes less mistakes is going to win."