The United States men's national team took a crucial point at the Azteca Stadium on Sunday evening as a Michael Bradley golazo was enough to seal a 1-1 draw and keep manager Bruce Arena's side third in 2018 World Cup CONCACAF qualifying.
The decision by Arena to start Guzan over Howard seemed a bit odd, but Arena stated he was concerned about Howard's fitness level and didn't want to be forced to make an early substitution. While DaMarcus Beasley and DeAndre Yedlin looked a little overmatched on the wings, adding Kellyn Acosta in the midfield worked about as well as possible. Left back Jorge Villafana did not dress along with No. 4 goalkeeper Ethan Horvath and midfielder Alejandro Bedoya, who did not train with the main group Saturday.
"This is critical because you meet even fewer times a year now", Arena said.
Facing group leaders Mexico in the Azteca, they made the flawless start after just five minutes when Michael Bradley had the vision to spot opposition goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa off his line, and despite being closer to the halfway line than the box, saw fit to unleash a strike that looped right into the net. As a result the players took the field comfortable and confident, which wasn't always the case under Klinsmann.
CITY (AP) - Bruce Arena has managed the tricky task of establishing a sense of calm along with urgency within the US soccer team. But Mexico might not be too bothered by this one. A completely different look for the United States saw them travel South to Mexico City and earn a much-needed point in the Hex Stage. Mexico, in its current form, can confidently be expected to win its remaining home games, just as it won the two that preceded this. So maybe it was the relaxed expectations on this US team-which struggled in its first two qualifying games before Jurgen Klinsmann was sacked, but has since begun to get things back on track-which allowed them to grab hold of last night's game from the start.
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"I tossed it around in our office with the [assistant] coaches", Arena said.
It's a goal that gets more impressive with every replay. Bruce Arena's squad will be back in action on July 1 with a friendly against Ghana before kicking off the Gold Cup later that month. Fans at the stadium were loud from both sides and Twitter continued to blow up with tension and nerves. Now we just have to keep going'.
"It is going to be very challenging right until the end", head coach Bruce Arena said, after his team secured a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Mexico on Sunday night, "But I feel good about where we are". A third Liga MX player, defender Jorge Villafaña, suffered a minor injury in his start against Trinidad and Tobago and wasn't available Sunday. "That led to a good goal for us".
But before they go up against Panama, they will play Costa Rica at home and Honduras away in September.
"Clearly 16 points, except in very, very unusual situations, will get us one of the automatic spots", Gulati said. Uncomfortable giving such strong thoughts without really being able to think them through, I gave an answer where I tried to make it clear that while I understand the need for safety, the values and ideals of our country should never be sacrificed.
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