HAMBURG, Germany — For Brian Ching, it's been a painful start to his first World Cup.

Ching collided heads with teammate Oguchi Onyewu during practice earlier this week.

Of all the players, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Ching certainly picked the wrong guy to run into. Onyewu is 6 feet 4 and weighs 210 pounds.

Ching needed 13 stitches to close a gash above his right eye.

"I'm fine," Ching said yesterday. "I practiced. I'll practice tomorrow, too."

With the United States prepared to kick off its first World Cup game tomorrow in Gelsenkirchen, a little head wound isn't about to stop Ching.

U.S. coach Bruce Arena won't announce the starting lineup until an hour before game time, but even if Ching doesn't get the start, he's already having the time of his life. This is the World Cup, after all.

"It's been exciting," Ching, 28, said. "Everything has been first class so far. I think the U.S. Soccer Federation has done a great job of having everything taken care of, so you don't have to worry about anything but soccer on the field. I've been having a good time. It's pretty much the highlight of my career right now. I'm just enjoying every minute of it right now."

That includes the time he gets to spend away from soccer. The U.S. team hotel is smack dab in the middle of the Hamburg shopping district and fans from every part of the world have been turned the city into a huge party.

"It seems like a huge melting pot," Ching said. "Just walking down the street you see different people and different nationalities. I really like that. It's kind of like Hawai'i."

Ching, whose hometown is Hale'iwa, is the first Hawaiian-born player to make the U.S. national team. That means he could be the first person from Hawai'i to wear the red, white and blue in a World Cup game.

Ching is proud of what he's accomplished; that wouldn't change, even if he didn't appear in a game.

"It's an honor for me," said the Kamehameha Schools graduate. "I just hope that people can use me as an example that they can go as far as they want in whatever sport they choose as long as they put their mind to it and work hard."

Ching has some more work to do before tomorrow's game. Among his pregame activities is buying a Snickers bar, which he eats before the game begins. But he doesn't have one.

Alas, he's in Germany. Do they even sell Snickers bars in a country known for its own chocolate?

"I don't know," Ching said. "I'm going to have to check on that. If not, I may have to change to another candy bar."