Excerpts from Bruce Arena's June 15 press conference in Seoul:
Bruce Arena, U.S. coach
On his thoughts on Mexico as the U.S. prepares for Monday's match: ''It should be a great game and it is a great rivalry. Mexico has been one of the great teams to date in this World Cup, so it is going to be a real difficult challenge for our team. ''We've watched them in this World Cup and they have been outstanding. They were about five minutes from having three victories in the first round. They are a team that has played quite well and it is going to be a heck of a game.'' On the USA-Mexico rivalry: ''We are bordering countries, and Mexico has always been the power in CONCACAF. In the United States there is a large Mexican-American population and we play frequently among each other, and wherever we play Mexico has the advantage in terms of the home crowd. ''So it has always been very interesting no matter where we play, whether it be in Azteca or in the United States, it is as though we are playing away. Mexico has a pretty good team, and it has been a great rivalry. And both teams always look forward to playing each other.'' On his description of the difficult environment at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City: ''It is about a 110,000 or 115,000 seats, and it is about 110,000 or 115,000 fans supporting Mexico. You usually play on a warm day, really in an environment that is polluted. You are at altitude, so you are playing in the mid-80s at 7,200 feet and the air is polluted and a 110,000 people are not supporting your team. ''It is not easy. The combination of altitude and pollution is pretty difficult with the heat. So it is tough. If I am not mistaken, Mexico has lost just one game in 30 years at Azteca. So in answering your question, that sounds like a pretty tough environment.'' On whether he is concerned about replacing two players on defense with Frankie Hejduk out with yellow cards and Jeff Agoos out with a calf injury: ''I will sleep fine. We'll find two guys that can volunteer to play in a Round of 16 game in a World Cup. I imagine we'll find two players.'' On reflecting on the surprising 3-1 Polish victory over the U.S. on Friday: ''I don't like losing games. I still have a bad taste from last night's game. But I think the effort our guys gave was actually pretty remarkable. I will say it again, 'If you spot any team in the World Cup a two-goal lead in the first four minutes, you have built yourself a real big hole. ''If you have to chase a game for 86 minutes the way we did, it is not the way to be successful. We view the game, hopefully, as a good experience and now step forward.'' On whether the U.S. feels like they 'Lucked outé by finishing second to face Mexico, and whether they avoided 'tougher opponentsé: ''Luck out? We're playing the team that won their group, and was five minutes away from beating Italy. I don't think we lucked out. We're the team that was down 2-0 in the fourth minute last night. I think everybody we play is going to be a tough opponent. ''We didn't get lucky by drawing one team or the other. We are very fortunate to be where we are, but having said that a number of teams advance with four points and we positioned ourselves to advance by the way we played in our first two games.'' On Landon Donovan's disallowed goal in the third minute: ''It is an odd play. As I looked at the video today, I was surprised that that was a foul in that game. We got whacked pretty good in that game and there weren't a whole lot of whistles being blown. That was called and they put the ball down for the free kick and it was 2-0. ''The ball went straight down to the other end and they got the goal. They talk about how a few plays make a difference, and that is a matter of 1-1 and then 20 seconds later it is 2-0. That was a big play and it could have gone either way, but we didn't get the call and we move on.'' On his comfort level with Landon Donovan: ''Very comfortable. He is very fit and he can play in a number of positions and he understands his responsibilities. There is no question that he is a great young talent. He is just going to get better. Part of the reason he has emerged as he has is because physically he has grown into a man's body. He is much stronger now and has much more experience, and that combination has made him pretty successful at this level.'' On the USA's recent penalty kick success (with Brad Friedel stopping two in this World Cup): ''We are on a roll right now on penalty kicks. We would rather give teams a penalty kick than a corner kick at this point.'' On his thoughts of being labeled an underdog or dark horse in this tournament: ''Oh we're not the favorites? We're a dark horse? That is probably fair. We are just happy to be here. We are not real concerned with the odds or where we stand in the eyes of anyone out there. We just need to get focused and concentrate on the game on Monday.'' On whether the loss against Poland diminishes the USA's success in this World Cup: ''Well, we have played three World Cup games on foreign soil, we have one win, one loss and one tie, we have scored five goals, we've beaten a team that is rated in the top five in the world, we got a point against the host country that no one else has gotten a point against. You are labeling that a failure? We're moving forward.''
