Football
Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondent 7y

Bruce Arena: 'No reason to believe' U.S. can't qualify for World Cup

SAN DIEGO -- U.S. manager Bruce Arena says he will use Sunday's game against Serbia to help answer some important questions about his squad ahead of two critical World Cup qualifiers in March.

The U.S. just completed a three-week long training camp in Carson, California, and in addition to the Serbia match (4 p.m. ET, ESPN2/WatchESPN), the Americans will take on Jamaica five days later in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The camp opened with 31 players, but a combination of injuries and roster cuts has trimmed the roster to 23 players.

"I'm very impressed with the players," Arena said at Saturday's news conference. "They're good players. If organized correctly, pointed in the right direction, they can be successful.

"It's not going to be easy, but we have a good pool of players in MLS and there's no reason to believe that combining them with our other players abroad we can't piece together a team and qualify for the next World Cup."

The current group includes veterans like LA Galaxy midfielder Jermaine Jones, Toronto FC midfielder Michael Bradley, and Toronto striker Jozy Altidore, as well as some new faces like FC Dallas defender Walker Zimmerman and LA Galaxy midfielder Sebastian Lletget.

But with the U.S. languishing in last place in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, everything is being done with an eye toward the next two qualifying matches, at home against Honduras and away to Panama. With so much at stake, Arena will likely rely on experienced players.

"We're not blooding players in March," Arena said. "We need to kind of look at these games and consider all of these players as possibilities for our roster in March."

Arena added that three areas are foremost on his mind. He spoke of the "thinness" at the outside back positions, especially with Eintracht Frankfurt defender Timothy Chandler suspended for the Honduras match, as well as center-back, given that Stoke City defender Geoff Cameron is still working his way back from a knee injury.

For that reason, outside backs like Greg Garza, Jorge Villafana, and converted midfielder Graham Zusi figure to log heavy minutes. The center-back trio of Zimmerman, D.C. United's Steve Birnbaum, and the Seattle Sounders' Chad Marshall will all get looks.

The center of midfield is also a concern given that Jermaine Jones will be suspended for the Honduras game, meaning the likes of Sacha Kljestan and Benny Feilhaber will likely get looks.

In terms of a system, Arena has been toying with a 4-3-3 during camp, and he added that in the next two friendlies he'll be looking to lay the tactical groundwork ahead of the next two World Cup qualifiers.

"I think what you see in these next two games [in terms of system] is what you'll see in March," he said.

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