"If (Brian) Ching does great in the World Cup, then everybody says, 'Hey, good decision.' If he doesn't, then everybody can say, 'Oh, you probably should have taken Taylor (Twellman).'"

— Matt Reis, New England Revolution teammate of Twellman, who was bypassed in favor of Ching for the final forward spot on U.S. World Cup team.

Brian Ching has heard the second-guessing and the doubts.

And how could he not?

His selection to the U.S. World Cup team at forward might have been the biggest surprise of the 23 selections announced by manager Bruce Arena last month. It was something of an upset coming at the expense of Taylor Twellman, who was Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Player and leading scorer just six months earlier.

So Ching knows that while he earned his berth, Hawai'i's first U.S. World Cup selection did not come without hint of controversy.

You suspect, through his tone and history, that this does not bother the Hale'iwa native in the least. For someone who has spent most of his 20 years on the pitch proving one thing or another either to himself or everybody else, what is one more trial by fire?

"I think I put a lot of pressure on myself to prove things all the time," the 28-year-old said and his career suggests he has succeeded much more often than not.

That this biggest test unfolds in the planet's most-watched sporting event beginning Monday against the Czech Republic somehow seems only fitting for the Kamehameha Schools graduate, who has gotten this far precisely because he relishes such challenges.

Convention says that so much of what Ching has already accomplished was a long shot to begin with. For not only has he come from Hawai'i, hardly a teeming hotbed of the sport, but he wasn't the product of a series of elite clubs, either.

More remarkable, perhaps, is that soccer was never his first love or even sole interest. He grew up wanting to be a professional surfer, and, until high school, juggled several sports.

All of which separated him early on from Twellman, whose father and uncle both played in the old North American Soccer League.

"Yeah, I do feel like I have a little bit to prove," Ching said. "But it isn't so much something that I have to prove as much as something I want to prove. Anytime I go on the field I feel like I want to make a difference in the game."

Indeed, while making the U.S. squad is a crowning achievement and something he hardly dared dream about until a few months ago, Ching maintains that there is more to be accomplished than showing up and experiencing the moment. "As wonderful as it is to be on the world stage, you want to do something when you finally get there.

"If I go out and do something (big) on the field, it will be like, 'yeah I did it and it feels good,' " Ching said. "But I feel like I already deserve to be here. I've done a lot to work and improve to get this far and I'm not finished yet."

Not by a long shot for this even longer shot.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.