Bruce Arena Resigns.
You bet you have no excuses. Bruce Arena reiterated that during his resignation announcement, Friday morning. About 60 hours have passed since the U.S. Soccer Teams' most embarrassing and devastating loss in its history. The 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago; Tuesday, dropped the Americans from third to fifth place in the hexagonal and eliminated them from the 2018 World Cup.
Arena began his second coaching stint with the national team 11 months ago after Jurgen Klinsmann was let go. The U.S. were coming off a disappointing start to the qualifying tournament; losing to Mexico and a 4-0 rout to Costa Rica; which was the final blow to Klinsmann.
Arena had the team on a run over the spring and summer, winning the Gold Cup for the third time under Arena. But the struggles returned with resumption of hexagonal play. The U.S. lost to Costa Rica again; 2-0, and followed up with a disappointing draw with Honduras. A 4-0 victory over Panama put the Americans in control of their World Cup fate. They only needed a tie with the worst team in the group; Trinidad and Tobago.
Arena departs as the winningest coach in U.S. history. During the past 11 months and his first coaching stint that ran from 1998 to 2006; he compiled a 81-32-35 record and led the U.S. to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup.
