U.S. Faces Costa Rica Minus Key Personnel
The coach will be in the stands, relaying instructions either by cellular telephone, written messages or perhaps simply shouting, which he does so well.
Several key players will be nowhere to be found, having been either banned from taking part or injured.
And the sold-out stadium will be filled with fans expecting a victory.
That’s the situation tonight when the United States plays Costa Rica in Columbus, Ohio, in a key World Cup 2002 qualifying match.
Coach Bruce Arena has been relegated to a back-seat role after receiving a three-match ban from FIFA for his expletive-filled postgame tirade aimed at Jamaican referee Peter Prendergast after the U.S. team’s 2-1 loss at Costa Rica on July 23.
Assistant Dave Sarachan will be in charge, at least nominally.
“Dave will be fine,” Arena told the Washington Post. “We’ve got everything taken care of. I’ll still be responsible for the team and any [player] changes. It’s a different situation, but we’ll manage.”
Also missing will be playmaker Claudio Reyna, who received a two-game ban from FIFA for his protests July 23. Midfielders Earnie Stewart (two yellow cards) and Eddie Lewis (red card against Guatemala on Sept. 3), are each suspended for one game.
The U.S. also will be without striker Brian McBride, who is being treated for a blood clot under his right arm. Midfielder Tab Ramos is questionable because of a groin injury.
As of Tuesday, Arena had not announced his roster for the game, which will be televised live at 5 p.m. PDT by both ESPN and Telemundo.
“I’m not discussing our lineup,” Arena told USA Today.
He did, however, call two newcomers into camp--forward Josh Wolff, fresh off the U.S. Olympic team, and midfielder Diego Gutierrez, both of the Chicago Fire.
Since the Fire plays the Kansas City Wizards on Sunday in Major League Soccer’s championship game at Washington, the moves did not sit particularly well with Chicago Coach Bob Bradley, who already had lost forward Ante Razov and midfielder Chris Armas to the U.S. team.
“‘Bruce wasn’t going to look at Diego until after the first round, but with injuries and suspensions, he had to dig deeper,” Bradley told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Josh had a terrific Olympics, and Diego’s form of late has been particularly good. . . . It’ll be another crazy week, but we’ve handled things like this all year.”
If the U.S. (2-1-1, seven points) wins tonight, it will clinch a place in next year’s final six-nation qualifying round, where it will be joined by Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and either Costa Rica (3-1, nine points) or Guatemala (2-2-1, seven points).
If the game ends in a tie, three countries--Costa Rica, Guatemala and the U.S.--will remain in contention for two berths, but with the American team in a better position since it plays its last game on the road at already-eliminated Barbados (1-4, three points) on Nov. 15 and has a far better goal differential (plus seven compared to plus two) than Guatemala.
If the U.S. loses, Costa Rica will secure a place in the final six and the U.S. will have to beat Barbados to assure itself a place because a tie or a loss in Barbados would leave Guatemala in a position to overtake it in Guatemala’s final game at home to Costa Rica on Nov. 15.
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World Cup 2002 Group E Standings
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Country W L T GF GA Pts Costa Rica 3 1 0 8 4 9 United States 2 1 1 10 3 7 Guatemala 2 2 1 7 5 7 Barbados 1 4 0 3 16 3
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