U.S. Likes Bottom Line

The best thing Bruce Arena did on Monday was to stick around after his United States team had defeated Cuba, 1-0, and watch Mexico and Guatemala show a Rose Bowl crowd of 31,244 how soccer should be played.

Judging by the way his team performed, the U.S. coach needs every lesson he can get.

True, the U.S. victory, on a 22nd-minute penalty-kick goal by forward Brian McBride, clinched first place for the Americans in their CONCACAF Gold Cup group and means they will play either El Salvador or Guatemala in the tournament’s quarterfinals on Sunday.

But as far as providing fans any hope that the U.S. will do better in this summer’s World Cup than it did in France ‘98--where it finished 32nd and last--the game failed to deliver. The U.S. performance was uninspired and the match was tedious.

Afterward, Arena, who is defensive even at the best of times, was unusually guarded in his comments.

Asked why the U.S., ranked 24th among the world’s soccer nations, looked so slow and unimaginative against a country ranked 75th, he pointed out that the team has beaten South Korea (2-1 on Saturday) and Cuba in the 12-nation tournament.

“We’ve won two games,� he said. “[World Cup-bound] Ecuador lost [2-0 to Haiti in Miami on Sunday]. What rank is Haiti? Why worry about those things? We’ve won two games, and that’s the mission--to advance here.

“We’ve played 17 out of 18 players on our roster, so it was good evaluation. So to answer your question, I’m not displeased. Could we play better? Yes.�

It’s difficult to believe the U.S. could play worse. Fortunately, the World Cup roster doesn’t have to be finalized until May.

“What we’re looking for in this tournament is to narrow down our pool of players as we get closer to May,� Arena said. “It’s been helpful. I’m obviously not going to be critical of any players, but I’m able to evaluate from these two games where some of our players stand.�

Standing is just what most of them were doing for the game against Cuba.

Movement on and off the ball--especially when compared to the rousing Mexico-Guatemala encounter that followed--was painfully slow. Even when the U.S. managed to create scoring chances, it squandered them by shooting high or wide.

Nonetheless, Arena said he saw positives.

“I think a couple of people continue to solidify where they stand on the team,� he said. “I think McBride has had two decent games. He played well today. I thought [Chris] Armas has played well. I think [DaMarcus] Beasley and [Landon] Donovan have done quite well. I think Cobi Jones had a good performance in these two games.

“We need to find a better partner up front for McBride. We need to get a little bit better in our defense. Obviously, [goalkeeper Kasey] Keller’s solid. I thought today [Richie] Williams played very well in his 30 minutes or so.�

Considering how his team struggled to overcome lowly Cuba, Arena was asked how he expects to handle three-time world champion Italy in February and three-time world champion Germany in March.

“We might not be playing them with these same players,� he replied. “We anticipate improving our roster considerably for the matches in Europe.�

The goal came after Beasley, the liveliest of the American players, was charged off the ball by defender Mario Rodriguez. Referee Jose Pineda of Honduras awarded a penalty kick and McBride scored with ease.

“What we have to remember with the U.S. team right now is that it’s only two weeks into training and it’s taking players who have been off for a month, so they’re trying to get them fit and they’re trying to get them ready to play,� Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid said. “That’s a difficult task for Bruce or for any coach.

“The U.S. has gotten two wins. I don’t think it’s been artistic. I think Bruce would agree with that, but still it shows a resilience that we’ve been able to win games when maybe we haven’t played our best soccer.�

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Gold Cup

(text of infobox not included)