'I like our chances'

Arena hopes to cap run with Gold Cup crown

Midfielder DaMarcus Beasley has been impressive during the U.S. team's march to the Gold Cup final. Stephen Dunn/ Getty Images

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- U.S. coach Bruce Arena figures that since the Americans made it to the CONCACAF Gold Cup championship game, they might as well win it for the first time since 1991.

Arena, missing most of his top European-based players in Europe, has experimented during the tournament, taking a look at some younger players and shuffling his lineup.

To his surprise, the Americans have won all four of their matches to advance to Saturday's title game at the Rose Bowl against Costa Rica.

"Since we're in the final, I think it is very important to win it," Arena said. "We probably didn't think we'd end up here, given the fact we came in with a relatively new group of players. But they've gotten better every game, so I like our chances."

Unlike Arena, Costa Rica coach Alexandre Guimaraes has fielded most of his regular national team players.

"We are in the position we wanted to be because we brought our first team knowing the importance of this tournament," Guimaraes said. "Nevertheless, we started out with some difficulties in this tournament. But I have liked the attitude of the players because we've overcome some misfortune and now have the strength to go forward."

Costa Rica advanced to the championship game by beating South Korea, invited to the tournament as a guest, 3-1 in the semifinals. Although they won their group earlier, the Costa Ricans were not very impressive. They beat Martinique 2-0, tied Trinidad and Tobago 1-1, then needed an overtime goal to down Haiti 2-1.

The United States made it to the final by beating defending champion Canada 4-2 on penalty kicks following 120 scoreless minutes. Goalkeeper Kasey Keller stopped two shots during the penalty kicks.

The Americans earlier beat South Korea 2-1 on DaMarcus Beasley's goal in injury time after Landon Donovan -- like Beasley just 19 -- had scored the first goal. The United States also beat Cuba 1-0 and El Salvador 4-0, with Brian McBride scoring three times and Clint Mathis making his first appearance since tearing a knee ligament last spring.

Both the United States and Costa Rica are headed for this summer's World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

Costa Rica finished first in the regional World Cup qualifying, with the United States second. The teams split their games during qualifying, with each winning at home.

Costa Rica's leading player is Manchester City's Paulo Wanchope, who scored twice in the semifinal win over South Korea.

McBride has been the most productive U.S. scorer, with four goals in the tournament.

The Americans are 1-2 in Gold Cup finals, with the victory coming against Honduras on penalty kicks in the inaugural tournament.

Among the Americans playing in Europe and unavailable for the Gold Cup are Claudio Reyna, the national team captain, and Earnie Stewart, the Americans' leading scorer during World Cup qualifying.

According to Arena the starting lineup will be Keller in goal, Carlos Bocanegra, Jeff Agoos, Pablo Mastroeni and Frankie Hejduk in defense, a midfield of Eddie Lewis, Cobi Jones, Chris Armas and Donovan with Josh Wolff and McBride as the forwards.

 

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