Costa Rica must win Wednesday's match in Washington, D.C., to guarantee a third-place finish and a ticket to the finals while the U.S. have removed the pressure by securing their spot in South Africa with Saturday's 3-2 win away to Honduras.
However, Bradley told reporters the CONCACAF group standings may affect the seeding in the draw for the 2010 finals.
"We don't know for sure whether it will affect seeding," he said. "But we believe that it could and therefore, in that regard, the game is important."
"When you look at the whole picture and you start the final round, it's the goal to finish first," said Bradley. "We take a great deal of pride in being the best team in CONCACAF.
"In particular, when you look at the final round, there are some things that show what our team is all about, like the 19 points.
"We had a result in Azteca (a 2-1 defeat by Mexico) that was frustrating to all of us. The response since then -- three wins in a row, two wins on the road -- are good indications of the commitment of our group."
"It's not really fair not to give our best effort because if we were in the reverse situation we'd be pretty angry with the other teams (otherwise)," he said. "We have a job to do -- go out there and put our best team on the field and try to win."
Davies was in stable condition after surgery and his injuries were not considered life-threatening, a team spokesman said, adding that a person in the car was killed.
NEWS: Davies hurt in deadly car crash
