COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Twice in four days, at progressively higher altitudes, the United States men’s national soccer team will play World Cup qualifying matches. The two games present a single conundrum.
From a pool of 26 players, a few more than usual, Coach Bruce Arena will formulate lineups for Thursday night against Trinidad and Tobago here and Sunday night in Mexico City that reflect both the punishing logistics and the urgency of the Americans’ situation.
Despite stabilizing their qualifying campaign in March by emerging with a victory and a draw from their most recent set of games, and despite a forgiving format that assures berths in the 2018 World Cup in Russia for the top three teams in the six-nation Concacaf field, the United States remains desperate for points.