U.S. Cup serves as the national team’s prelude to World Cup qualification, which begins in July. Coach Bruce Arena will use the three-game tournament as basis for his final player evaluations. He explains his approach and reviews the opponents.
SOCCER AMERICA: What is your objective for U.S. Cup?
BRUCE ARENA: I’d say it’s twofold. One is to be successful and try to win it. Second is to put the final touches on preparing the team for World Cup qualifiers.
SA: What can you say about the U.S. Cup opponents as far as how they prepare you for qualifying?
BA: Well, I’m not worried about whether they’re similar to who we will play in the semifinals or not. I’m more interested in the fact that they’re good teams. The challenges of playing a good team are there and that can only help us.
SA: You’ve said you will go with two separate lineups for the first two games.
BA: Likely, but it’s not set in stone.
SA: Can you explain your reasoning there?
BA: I don’t think players can play three games in a week. There’s going to be a lot of heat and as we saw in the Gold Cup – which was not exactly the same situation because there were rosters of only 18 players – that it was a factor. And I need to look at all of these players anyway, before I make final decisions.
SA: So is this a final tryout for qualifying?
BA: A final tryout? I think there are some players whose immediate future with the national team depends on how they perform in the U.S. Cup.
SA: Are there people you are sure about at certain positions for qualifying?
BA: I think I need to watch the U.S. Cup first. Obviously I don’t need to tell you that Claudio Reyna is going to be involved in qualification whether he falls on his face or not in U.S. Cup. I think there aren’t a great number of people in that position … and for the most part this is what our roster will be.
SA: What are some of the non-personnel things you’d like to see resolved in U.S. Cup?
BA: The bottom line now is that you’re getting to a point where results are important. We’re in the business of results from here on in, so we need to put a priority on that. Whether that means defending better, attacking better, that remains to be seen.
I don’t want to make it seem like it’s that simple, but that’s the truth of it. If we go out and play great soccer and lose, that’s not going to help us come July. So we need to be focused now on winning games.
SA: Is that what happened in Russia? Did you play great soccer and lose?
BA: I wouldn’t say we played great soccer, but we played pretty well and we should have walked out of there with a tie.
Keeping the door ajar
SA: Can you explain the selection of Steve Ralston?
BA: I think we were looking for another player who could play out wide. I wanted to bring him in for Russia, but the schedule wouldn’t allow that. I do want to look at a few new faces, and this is one example of that. I don’t want to close the door on anyone who has the potential to help us.
For the most part, I’ve been pretty fair to a number of players in the last 18 months, but he’s one that’s maybe been caught a little bit at the short end.
SA: It seems that the positions most up in the air are the defenders. Is that right?
BA: Again, you’re talking about for July. Maybe, maybe not. We have to let this process play itself out. I’m not ready to make clear decisions on who our 11 are until I see three more games.
SA: What kind of matches will you be able to get between the Mexico game and the start of qualifying?
BA: There will be none.
SA: Not even closed-door matches?
BA: No. There’s no time for that. Players are all with professional clubs.
SA: Given that, wouldn’t you want to use these three games to work with the 11 that will be playing in July?
BA: I think if you followed what we’ve done over the last 18 months, I think they should be pretty comfortable with each other, however we decide to put them on the field. And maybe that is what the last game of U.S. Cup gives us.
Visitors provide valuable tests
SA: We pretty much know how Mexico plays, but can you give us any particulars on South Africa and Ireland?
BA: Well, I’ve seen Ireland play against Turkey in Euro 2000 qualifying and against Greece. It’s pretty obvious they’re a quality team. It’s a classic team from Ireland in that they play a 4-4-2 with good, solid defenders in the back, a strong team physically, good in the air and certainly a couple of exceptional players.
The goalkeeping is strong with Alan Kelly and Shea Givens. They have two very good forwards in Robbie Keane and Niall Quinn. Obviously, the loss of Roy Keane is going to hurt them in the midfield, as it would hurt any team, but they’re still pretty strong there.
This Kevin Kilbane, of Sunderland, who plays out on the left, I think is a very good player. And they have a bunch of other players who are all pretty similar.
You know what you’re going to get out of them. They’re hard workers, they’ve got quality at every position and they’re going to be a handful for us. They’re the type of team that I think gives us trouble, so it’ll be interesting to see how we deal with their strengths.
South Africa is a whole different team. Obviously, a team with a lot of quickness, that from what I can see, has had a big turnover in the back. Two of the backs they had in their back three for the African Nations Cup have retired from international soccer, I believe.
I understand they’ve gone to a 4-4-2 and it’s likely they’ll have some young players in the back. Shaun Bartlett, of course, is their all-time leading goalscorer. They have a couple of midfielders who are good, skillful, quick players.
They like to play, if given time, through the midfield. But I’ve seen a fair amount of direct balls to Bartlett as well. Again, another good challenge for us.
SA: Do you know what your formations will be?
BA: Not yet.
SA: Do you have a preference?
BA: It depends on your players. For example, I’d feel very comfortable playing with three in the back if Eddie Pope was available. With him not being available, I don’t think we’re as good with three backs.
by Soccer America associate editor Will Kuhns