A wonderful 4-0 victory over Panama back on October 6 sees the United States Men’s National Team climb to 27 in the latest FIFA World Rankings, leaving Ukraine, Turkey and Iran in their torrential wake. The U.S. could’ve made further strides with a win against Trinidad and Tobago, but the Soca Warriors used the shock 2-1 victory to their own advantage, climbing up 16 places to 83.
And so the grand inquisition begins. Bruce Arena has stepped down as manager of the USMNT, and federation president Sunil Gulati has revealed that a short-term manager will be appointed in the “next 7-10 days” without making clear his own position with the 2018 election looming.
Sunil Gulati, president of U.S. Soccer, just oversaw the most catastrophic defeat in U.S. Men’s National Team history, with the coaches he hired failing to get the U.S. to the 2018 World Cup. But Gulati was defiant Friday, saying he would not resign and made no indication he would not seek reelection in February.
Bruce Arena’s second stint in charge of the USMNT officially ended on Friday with the coach’s formal resignation from his position.
U.S. Soccer Federation announced a conference call for Friday morning with U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati addressing the media after the recent World Cup qualifiers. It would surprise no one if Gulati announces Bruce Arena is no longer the coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team — it would probably be a bigger surprise if he didn’t. The question then is, who will be the next USMNT coach?
The USMNT is obviously hurting along with the rest of us right now. As such, the players’ social media accounts have pretty much gone quiet since Tuesday. After the debacle in Trinidad and Tobago, Bruce Arena, Michael Bradley, Tim Howard and Omar Gonzalez all addressed the media and answered questions. You can watch the first three in the video above and Gonzalez in the video below.
The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup is coming! Not quickly, but more so in the way that time inevitably passes and eventually reaches a certain date, this date being over 600 days away. Barring an invitation to the 2019 Copa America, the Gold Cup will serve as the USMNT’s first competitive match after the Trinidad and Tobago disaster. What will the USMNT roster look like come then?
Tuesday was a nightmare for U.S. soccer, but soccer does not stop because the U.S. won’t be in the World Cup next summer in Russia. In fact, the U.S. is competing at a World Cup right now — the U-17 World Cup in India — and the team is doing quite well.