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Sitting out Arena, four players to miss Costa Rica match
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Suspended U.S. soccer coach Bruce Arena is not supposed to have any communication with his staff or team during Wednesday night's pivotal second-round World Cup qualifying match against Costa Rica. But as of Tuesday afternoon, Arena and acting coach Dave Sarachan were still talking as if Arena would be actively involved in the game. "If I have some issues that Dave needs to know about, he'll hear about them," Arena said. "In this day and age, with the information technology, there's ways to pass information," Sarachan said. Asked how they would communicate, Arena said, "It'll get there. Believe me, it's not rocket science." Sarachan said he was uncertain on the rules regarding Arena's participation. He hinted Arena wouldn't have any problem staying in touch. But Arena's participation in any manner appears to skirt the rules of the FIFA, the sport's sanctioning organization.
U.S. Soccer, a member of FIFA and the ruling body of American soccer, was planning a meeting with game officials later Tuesday to clarify what Arena is permitted to do. "Our official statement is, once we get to the stadium Bruce will not be allowed to be in contact with the team on the sideline or in the locker room," said Jim Moorhouse, director of communications for U.S. Soccer. "Our understanding is there can be no electronic contact or hand signals." Sarachan ruled out a plane pulling a banner over the stadium. "Cue cards, maybe," he said with a laugh. Arena received a three-game suspension because of his actions the last time the United States met Costa Rica. He confronted officials and criticized their calls to the media after Herman Medford's penalty kick in stoppage time gave Costa Rica a 2-1 victory on July 23 in San Jose, Costa Rica. His suspension would run through the first match of the final qualifying stage next year. A capacity -- and highly partisan -- U.S. crowd is expected at Crew Stadium for the rematch. "We play home games certain places like L.A., where crowds might be anti-U.S. -- which is not a lot of fun," forward Ante Razov said. "But we're going to have a very pro-American crowd out here and that definitely helps, especially in the latter stages of the game." Temporary grandstands have been added to the stadium, adding 1,170 seats to push total capacity to 23,725. Officials are hoping to break the stadium record of 24,741 set May 15, 1999, in the facility's debut. To add to the home-country advantage, U.S. fans have been encouraged to wear red to support the team. "I think we're going to see a lot more red and feel a lot more support than we have in the previous games at home," Sarachan said. The Americans tied Guatemala 1-1 and lost to Costa Rica, both on foreign soil in July in the first two qualifying matches. Back in the States, the U.S. team beat Barbados 7-0 and Guatemala 1-0. Now the Americans need a victory to clinch a spot in the final qualifying stage. Should they lose, they would have to win at Barbados on Nov. 8 to advance. "The motivation here is to get into the next round," Arena said. "Obviously, if you can do it earlier, you're happier. You don't want to stretch it out another four or five weeks and deal with the issues in Barbados." Costa Rica leads the four-nation group with a 3-1 mark. Two teams move on. Arena won't be the only member of the American team sidelined. Midfielder Earnie Stewart has two yellow cards in semifinal qualifying and will miss the match, as will captain Claudio Reyna, who was suspended for arguing a penalty call against defender Gregg Berthaler in the first Costa Rica match. Midfielder Eddie Lewis was issued a red card in the 65th minute in the match against Guatemala on Sept. 3 in Washington, D.C. Brian McBride, a local favorite with the MLS's Crew, will likely miss the game because of a blood clot in his arm. He scored the winner against Guatemala. "I feel the group we put on the field is a good group. Could it be a better group? Yes, arguably," Arena said. "But we'll have guys on the field that can win."
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