Bruce Arena was supposed to be a calming presence for the USMNT following the dismissal in November 2016 of Jurgen Klinsmann, whose final act as manager of the national team was to lead them to two losses in their first two matches of World Cup qualifying, leaving them with a big hill to climb in the Hex.
But while Arena has the U.S. on the brink of World Cup qualification with two matches to go in the group, things are anything but comfortable. The U.S. are fourth in the standings, a point behind third-place Panama, who they play Friday night in Orlando in a match that will go a long way to deciding who qualifies automatically for Russia 2018 and who goes to the playoff round.