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Reyna, Friedel undecided about futures with U.S. national team

Updated: Friday June 21, 2002 04:47 p.m. ET

USLAN, South Korea (AP) -- The loss to Germany on Friday might have been Claudio Reyna's final game with the U.S. national team.

The American captain, tired of repeated flights from Europe to World Cup qualifiers in North and Central America and the Caribbean, isn't sure he wants to commit to another four years of travel.

"It's probably something I'll decide on in the next couple of months," Reyna said after the 1-0 defeat in the World Cup quarterfinals.

Reyna will be 32 by the time of the 2006 tournament in Germany. It would be a chance to be on a World Cup roster for the fourth time. (He was on the 1994 roster but missed the tournament because of a torn hamstring).

In December, he became the most expensive American soccer player ever when Sunderland acquired his rights from Glasgow Rangers for dlrs 6.8 million. He's heading into his first full season in the English Premier League, has a 3-year-old son and his wife, Danielle, is pregnant.

Before the tournament, former U.S. coach Steve Sampson predicted Reyna would retire from the national team to cut travel and spend more time with his family.

"I just want to sit back, reflect on things and enjoy this," Reyna said.

Brad Friedel, the U.S. goalkeeper during the tournament, also isn't sure whether he'll return for another four years. He will be 35 in four years and recently signed a new contract with Blackburn Rovers of the Premier League.

"You have to look how the next couple of years play out," he said. "You never know what injuries come. You never know what new family members come."

Friedel got married last year in the middle of World Cup qualifying.

Copyright 2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 


 
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