On Friday, during his daily press conference, U.S. coach Bruce Arena provided an injury update, looked back on the great win over Portugal, looked forward to MondayÆs match with South Korea — and more:

Bruce Arena, U.S. coach

On his options if Earnie Stewart is not fit for the game against Korea: ''Our options would be Cobi Jones, Eddie Lewis, Frankie Hejduk … Joe-Max Moore.'' On whether Claudio Reyna will be fit to play a full game by Monday (against South Korea): ''We'll see over the next couple of days. He's been training with us. He hasn't tested it [his strained quadriceps] fully yet. We'll get that opportunity tomorrow.'' On how Claudio Reyna's presence might contribute to maintaining possession of the ball on Monday: ''Well, it would certainly make us better in that area. It is one of his strong suits.'' Responding to a reporter saying ''we were surprised with the lineup vs. Portugal, we thought you made a very big mistake, but when you started to play, we were very surprised'': ''Well, that's why you're over there and I'm over here. [joking] I wasn't surprised.'' On whether he is planning to make some changes in the lineup when the U.S. plays Korea and why: ''Yes, I am. Why? We have some injuries. And there are some other players that can possibly come back, so it is obvious there'll be some changes.'' On whether the weather will play a factor in the changes made to the team: ''I don't think so. Because all of our players are pretty fit for the most part. So, I don't think the weather is going to have an impact on who we decide to play.'' On what the U.S. will focus on in training in advance of the game against Korea: ''Well, certainly the majority of our training time generally focuses on our team, getting our team ready to play. We'll find some of the areas that we think we can be better at; making sure our legs are fresh for the game on Monday. And, obviously, discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the Korean team.'' On the decision to not play Clint Mathis in the game against Portugal, despite his fit condition: ''I simply selected the lineup that I thought would give us the best chance to win.'' On whether Clint Mathis can be expected to be in the lineup on Monday against Korea: ''It's possible. I mean, it's one game at a time. We haven't selected our lineup yet. The 11 I selected on Wednesday I felt gave us the best chance to win. And that's the reason for it.'' On whether he would comment on the strength and weaknesses of the Korean team: ''Well, I won't tell you the weaker points, but clearly fitness and how they can push the pace of the game, I believe, are the strengths of the Korean team.'' On whether the USA's team speed will play a role in the match on Monday against Korea: ''That will be interesting to see, whether the Koreans are a fitter, faster, quicker team than us. If they are, that's going to speak well for their team that day.'' On the team's aspirations in the match against South Korea, knowing the three points will likely put the winner into the second round: ''Well, certainly we're going to play the game against Korea to try to secure three points. Obviously, if either team is able to get three points in this game, they will advance to the second round. Well, I guess there's one possible scenario where that wouldn't happen. Certainly if one of the teams walks away with three points, it is big, and certainly we're the team that aspires to do that.'' On the difficulties of telling the older, more experienced players that they will not be part of the starting 11: ''Well, generally it takes care of itself, but I think you always owe your players respect, to talk with them, if they are troubled by it, whatever. ''We don't necessarily, in a 23-man roster, tell 11 players that you're playing and 12 that you're not. But I think that we kind of have an understanding along the way, and they understand the basis behind the decisions and I also understand that not all the players are always happy when you make those decisions. ''But certainly they need to understand that we do it in a professional manner and try to be fair to the players. If any of the players are really thrown out of whack by some of the decision-making, I try to spend a little time with them and discuss it. ''It is not the most comfortable thing, it's not the best part of the job to tell the players that they're not going to start in a game. These are all very good players, that's why they are here, so that's not the easiest part of the job.''