USA-Costa Rica (1-0): ArenaÆs Postgame Quotes

HereÆs what Coach Bruce Arena had to say after the USA beat Costa Rica, 1-0, to secure the full nine points after its first three Hexagonal games. ON THE VICTORY: “We are obviously happy with the three points. We did a good job defensively and had a lot of numbers behind the ball. They were tough to break down, and we talked at halftime about how we had to jump on any kind of chance we got. In the second half we created a number of good opportunities, and hung in there and did a good job to not get countered. And we did a good job with Wanchope on a lot of set pieces and crosses into the box. We got an outstanding performance from everybody. ON THE TEAM’S IMPRESSIVE START TO QUALIFYING: “You can see the difference in our team this year, from last year, we were in a number of these games in July and didn’t fare well. I think that shows the growth and improvement of this team, and we are very pleased. At the same time we know that nine points doesn’t get us to South Korea or Japan for 2002. So we are going to try and keep our heads about us and obviously try and win our next game on the road in Jamaica and at home against Trinidad & Tobago in New England. There is still a long way to go, and we are not going to relax until we are mathematically qualified.” “The big picture is that we are still not qualified for the World Cup, but I don’t think we could have laid out a better picture than the one we have with nine points after three games. I still think that the game in Honduras is still going to go down as a critical game for us. We only have nine points, we still need to about 15 points to qualify. We are not going to relax. We have at least two victories we have to get before we book out tickets to South Korea and Japan.” “It’s nice to have a little cushion right now, because we may need it.” ON ALMOST SUBBING ANTE RAZOV IN WOLFF BEFORE WOLFF’S GOAL: “When they see that Ante is about to report in, they know they have to do something right, and we are happy with that.” ON WOLFF’S NEAR MISS IN THE FIRST HALF: “That was a good chance we created, and I thought Jose did well with the ball Claudio played him.” ON KEEPER KASEY KELLER: “Kasey was very good. His positioning was very excellent, even on the last header that [Paulo] Wanchope got, where he did a great job of moving across his line and cutting off the angle. I thought he did a good job with a couple of quick punts to get us into the attack. His command of the goal area was outstanding. I thought he had a great game.” ON RIGHT BACK STEVE CHERUNDOLO: “Cherundolo was excellent. [Hernan] Medford played quite well and they really rely on his ability to get past players and get dangerous service into the box for Wanchope. And I think for the night, Steve did an outstanding job. We asked him at half time to get a little more forward into the attack, when the opportunity arose, and he did that as well. I think as the game went on he had a little bit more confidence and that is a kid with just three games under his belt as a National Team Player and I think he is going to get better and better.” ON WHY THE TEAM’S DEFENSIVE PLAY OVER THE LAST 10 GAMES HAS BEEN SO STELLAR: “A guy that people don’t give a lot of credit to is Jeff Agoos. He is a great leader in the back and he does a great job. He has a French speaking left back, and a native of Colombia on his right, and he is able to communicate quite well with those two guys. ôHe’s just got a lot of experience, he’s played for the national team for 10 or 12 years, and has never played in a World Cup, and I know this means a lot to him. I have a lot of confidence in him. He does a super job organizing our team and his distribution out of the back goes unnoticed as well. So, I think he has been the key. Of course, [David] Regis and [Carlos] Llamosa have played well, and with the addition of Cherundolo at right back certainly helps us.” ON THE PLAY OF FORWARDS JOSH WOLFF AND CLINT MATHIS: “A much more complete game for Josh Wolff than it was in Honduras. He hung in there and got a couple of decent chances. The ball was saved off the line in the first half, and he had a couple of chance in the second half as well, and obviously the goal. And the same with Mathis. Our two forwards did a good job creating chances for themselves and others, and I think for the most part they were pretty dangerous throughout the night.” ON THE TEAM’S GOOD FORTUNE DURING THE RUN: “We’ve talked about how you can be lucky and all, you can have a home-field advantage, but you still have to play well. If we’re lousy, we are not going to get three points. So you have to give the team credit, they have played quite well.” ON CLAUDIO REYNA: “Claudio Reyna had a good game. The way they marked up with two front runners and had a sweeper, it is really hard to get balls behind their backline in that defensive posture. I think you certainly saw one with Wolff’s attempt in the first half.”