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The U.S. Men’s National Team are desperate to reach their eighth consecutive World Cup, and current manager Bruce Arena is seemingly trying everything to make it happen.
Arena, in his second stint as USMNT manager, who was brought back in order to ensure qualification to the 2018 World Cup in Russia after Jurgen Klinsmann appeared to be spinning his wheels, brought back another USMNT head coach alum, Bob Bradley, to help out this week, according to a report from ESPN’s Sam Borden on Wednesday:
Spotted: former #USMNT coach Bob Bradley at @ussoccer hotel. Bruce Arena invited him to help w/ team this week. All hands on deck. #USAvPAN
— Sam Borden (@SamBorden) October 4, 2017
Bradley, of course, took over as US manager after Arena was fired following the 2006 World Cup. All told, Arena and Bradley ran the USMNT from 1998-2011.
The U.S. have two games left in the Hexagonal round of CONCACAF qualifying, Friday in Orlando against Panama and Tuesday at Trinidad & Tobago. The U.S. are in 4th place right now, one point behind Panama, with just the Top 3 finishers guaranteed passage to the World Cup. The 4th place finisher will go to an intercontinental playoff against a team from the Asian Confederation, while a 5th or 6th place finish will mean no World Cup for sure.
And since Bradley, who has been hired to coach MLS expansion team Los Angeles Football Club, doesn’t have any games to coach this year for his new team, he’s got time to pitch in for the national team. Just as long as he isn’t hired away by U.S. Soccer after a year coaching a Los Angeles MLS team again...
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