With two matches under his belt in 2017, Bruce Arena discusses & updates us on key positions heading into the USMNT World Cup Qualifying games next month.
In his 2nd stint with the national team, Bruce Arena is already turning heads with his player selection, but isn’t ruling anything out when it comes to the end of March.
What seems like a lifetime ago, Arena coached the USA from 1998 to 2006. In that eight year stretch, Arena led the United States to a stunning 3-2 win against Portugal in the 2002 World Cup, a 2002 World Cup Quarterfinal showdown against Germany and 2 Gold Cup Championships. Arena holds the most wins by a U.S. coach with 75.
Its not difficult to see that Arena knows what he’s doing and going by the numbers, he feels comfortable wearing the USA crest. After Klinsmann failed to gather any points from the first two 2018 WCQ qualifiers, the U.S. needed stability and assurance. With the re-appointing of Bruce Arena comes a clash of two worlds: the German-American talent sought out by Klinsmann and the domestic U.S. players who were overlooked by the German.
The two matches against Serbia and Jamaica gave the American Outlaws a glimpse of what is to come, but still left us with some unanswered questions.
In terms of the goalkeeper situation, Tim Howard is recovering from an injury he suffered towards the end of last season. Brad Guzan is struggling for play time at Middlesbrough, but Arena is confident and believes in him,
“Because they’re not getting games on a consistent basis doesn’t mean you can rule him out. I think Brad has shown enough that he’s still a strong candidate to be our No. 1 goalkeeper.”
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Against Serbia, Arena gave us a more detailed look as to what might occur on March 24th, but offered no promises. All the big names were present in Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Jozy Altidore, and Alejandro Bedoya. But positions that have yet to be filled and seem to be haunting the U.S. with more uncertainty than the starting center backs are the left and right backs.
Against Serbia, Graham Zusi was used as a hybrid wing back, applying pressure/assistance in the attack and also recovering nicely with speed. Against Jamaica, Jorge Villafana was used instead of Greg Garza. Many USMNT faithful have been awaiting the call up of Villafana after his outstanding 2015 MLS Playoffs with the Timbers.
A name that was also mentioned from Arena was Eric Lichaj, the right back for English Championship side Nottingham Forest. Lichaj has been a staple for Forest this season, starting 28 of their 30 league games. Lichaj has played for the U.S. before and has appeared 11 time for his country. He could be a reassurance for Arena in the back having played against CONCACAF opponents before.
Arena is undefeated with the USMNT in 2017 so far and has already given several players opportunities that haven’t seen the light in quite some time. Players like Chad Marshall, Benny Feilhaber, and Dax McCarty all received call ups to the U.S. January camp and also featured in either the Serbia or Jamaica matches.
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But, the question and discussion that has to come next is where do these players and others, fit into the system? Also, moving forward, will these players feature against Honduras and/or Panama in much needed win scenarios?