National team remains long on hope, short on experience
The 23 players on the U.S. roster for next month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup are mostly young and lack international experience. They need little reminding of what’s at stake.
Past regional championships gave then-fringe players such as Clint Dempsey, DaMarcus Beasley and Stuart Holden the chance to showcase their skills. With many of the national team mainstays given a break for this tournament, this is the time to impress.
“I don’t think I have to make that point to them. I think they’re well aware of that,” coach Bruce Arena said Monday after the team’s first practice at Lipscomb University in Nashville. “A lot of things can happen coming out of the Gold Cup, especially when the World Cup is a year away. So this is an important tournament for the players.”
The U.S. plays Ghana in an exhibition Saturday in Hartford, Conn. It begins Gold Cup play in Nashville on July 8. World Cup qualifying resumes Sept. 1 against Costa Rica.
Thirteen players on the U.S. roster for the Gold Cup have eight or fewer international appearances. Four have been invited for the first time: Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer and midfielders Kenny Saief of the Belgian club Gent, Cristian Roldan of Seattle and Kelyn Rowe of New England. Others on the team include Stanford alum Jordan Morris of Seattle.
“It was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to see some of these players, so it’s been a good day for us,” Arena said. “They need to know me, I need to know them. And we have to piece it all together in a short period of time.”
Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Gyasi Zardes has played 31 games for the national team, but has been out of the mix for about a year.
“I’m highly motivated to showcase myself because it’s been a while,” said Zardes, who has scored seven goals for the U.S. “I’m cognizant of our goal in hand, which is to win the Gold Cup.”
Defender Eric Lichaj has played sparingly for the national team despite a decadelong career in England.
“It’s something I’m really proud of to do, to wear the crest,” Lichaj said. “It’s an opportunity for everybody that’s in the squad to stake their claim for a World Cup spot in a year’s time.”
Lichaj says he finds nothing awkward about competing with teammates all angling for the same thing — a World Cup spot.
“That’s every team that you play for,” he said. “In your club there’s always competition for a spot, and all the guys know that. So if you’re not on your A-game I don’t think you’ll be playing many games.”
NASL expansion: A North American Soccer League team will begin play in San Diego County next spring.
San Diego businessman Bob Watkins, who will serve as the team’s president, said there are plans to build a $15 million, 10,000-seat stadium in northern San Diego County.
The NASL currently has eight teams, including the San Francisco Deltas.
Crystal Palace manager: Former Netherlands defender Frank de Boer has been hired as manager of Crystal Palace, taking his first coaching job in English soccer seven months after getting fired by Inter Milan.
De Boer, who agreed to a three-year deal, led Ajax to four straight league titles during his time at the Dutch club from 2010-16 before joining Inter, where he lasted only 14 matches and 84 days.