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No, Bruce Arena has not been fired, but many fans on Twitter are making sure their feelings are made known. The United States somehow managed to get eliminated from World Cup qualifying for the first time in decades.
Jürgen Klinsmann was fired at the end of 2016 after the USMNT program looked stuck in neutral. Klinsmann as manager felt like living with a roommate who was constantly rearranging the furniture. Klinsmann constantly shuffled players in and out of lineups, offering little in the way of stability.
U.S. Soccer chose to go back in time by hiring Arena. He was the manager of the national team from 2002 to 2006. The team immediately hit the ground running at the beginning of 2017.
It looked like the team was on a roll, but started hitting a rut during summer qualifying matches. Firing Arena would be the second firing by the U.S. in less than a year. That said, it is hard to imagine the program moving forward under the same manager that failed to get the team to the World Cup despite playing in a mediocre CONCACAF group.
“I think it’s disappointing,” Arena said in his post-game presser. “It’s a blemish for us. We should not be staying home for this World Cup, and I take the responsibility for that.”
One possible scenario would be for Arena to resign as manager, but there has been no indication so far that this is in play.
There is a simple question in all the dismay. The U.S. faced the worst team in the CONCACAF group. One that had only managed to win one qualifying match. The USMNT would have advanced with either a win or draw. How can the United States afford to not make a change?
Here was Twitter’s reaction to the USA’s lackluster performance.
