Bruce Arena Next Quotations

We have a number of players who are forcing my hand and remaining in the picture. It is pleasing that we will have a number of choices. We need to watch over the next couple of months. It's still early. But I think a number of players tonight made a statement.

Obviously we look forward to the game on Saturday for a couple of reasons. Mexico is certainly and arguably our biggest rival in CONCACAF and that always makes for a good game. More importantly, any kind of positive result for the U.S. qualifies us for the next World Cup and that's been our objective since June of 2004.

Obviously we look forward to the game for a couple of reasons. Mexico is certainly and arguably our biggest rival in CONCACAF and that always makes for a good game. More importantly, any kind of positive result for the U.S. qualifies us for the next World Cup and that's been our objective since June of 2004. We obviously look forward to the game. We love playing in Columbus. We anticipate a great crowd, and one that's very supportive of the U.S. team. I'm confident we're going to field a strong team and play well.

I am happy that these next two games we're going to give them a chance to get on the field and show us what they can do. Our next game is vitally important for our opponent. If our guys can respond well on that game that speaks volumes for them.

He's done well. I had my concerns and I think he's a little ahead of schedule. From what we can see, his injury is behind him. It'll take a little time, but certainly over the next month or so, he should be coming into form.

Over the next month or so we'll really see the value the Gold Cup had for us. Because of injuries and suspensions, a few guys had to play a bit more than we anticipated, and that can only make our squad deeper in the long run.

Over the past week he's finally physically and psychologically recovered from his turf toe injury. That has been an obstacle for Eddie for a good six months or so, and that's completely past him. ... I think over the next couple of months Eddie should be back in full form and be a player who's challenging certainly for a spot on the World Cup roster.

I think just showing up in the next two games, we could mathematically go through.

We eagerly look forward to seeing our domestic players. We want to do the best job we can of making the roster as competitive as possible over the next six months so we can position our team to be successful in the World Cup. We view this camp and the games in January and February as critical towards our preparation for Germany.

With only one international fixture date next year, this is an excellent opportunity to get our group together as we continue to shape our team for the World Cup.

We've got a bunch of guys in Europe as well as in MLS who want these opportunities to show that they belong on our next World Cup team. So we're going to put a pretty good team on the field for the next three games.

We see in Eddie a player with great potential, and certainly the injury put him back. He acquired a reputation that people expected a lot out of him, and I'm not copping out of that. We do expect a lot of Eddie, but at the same time he's a young player and he's getting there. His best soccer is probably for the next World Cup in all honestly. He's got a bright future, and we're hopeful he's moving forward.

If he's healthy we have two months to see if he can get fit to play in a World Cup. It's not like we need to rush him back into everything. We know the kind of player he is. There's a lot of quality there and if, over the next couple of weeks, we see steady improvement he's obviously going to get pretty strong consideration for the final roster.

For the first time ever, we are going to demand players have the discipline and commitment to actually maintain fitness. We have seen a wide range of attitudes and actual physical conditions with MLS players in the past, and if that is the case next time around they're not going to be eligible to make the World Cup roster.

You can run around all you want with a fitness coach but you have to play games. Getting 90 minutes in is valuable. Hopefully that pays some dividends these next couple of games.