Santa Clara, California: The United States’ 2-1 win over Jamaica in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final on Wednesday took their unbeaten streak to 14 games but coach Bruce Arena says they must not lose sight of the big picture — qualifying for next year’s World Cup finals.
The United States are unbeaten since Arena replaced Juergen Klinsmann last November, moving up to third in CONCACAF’s six-team final qualifying round where the top three sides get an automatic berth for Russia.
The fourth placed side will take on a team from the Asian confederation for another place at the finals.
“We’ve made progress but we are a long way from qualifying for a World Cup and that’s the objective for sure,” he told reporters in Northern California after the United States won their sixth Gold Cup.
Despite the upturn in their fortunes since he took over, Arena, who led the US team at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, joked that he was far from irreplaceable.
“I’m probably going to get fired tomorrow,” he said with a laugh. “Maybe tonight.” Arena’s attention now turns to selecting his squad for a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica on September 1 followed by matches against Honduras, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Arena called up goalkeeper Tim Howard, midfielder Michael Bradley and forwards Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore for the Gold Cup’s knockout stage.
He left his starting line-up unchanged between the semi-final and the final, where he opted to bring Dempsey off the bench, a role that seemed to suit the 34-year-old and gave the crowd a lift when he was brought on in the 55th minute on Wednesday.
“We’ve got to evaluate this performance in July and then we’ve got to win some games in September and October,” Arena said.
Jordan Morris scored in the 88th minute to help United States to a 2-1 win in the Gold Cup final, his 14-yard strike coming after a cross by US midfielder Gyasi Zardes ricocheted off Clint Dempsey and landed perfectly for forward Morris, who sent the ball past the diving arms of replacement Jamaican goalkeeper Dwayne Miller.
Jose Altidore had given the hosts the lead just before halftime when his perfectly judged free kick curled over the defensive wall and a diving Miller into the net.
The goal was sweet redemption for Morris, whose defensive error in the second half allowed Jamaican midfielder Vaughn Watson to tie the game 1-1 in the 50th minute.
