No regrets.
Those are Bruce Arena’s thoughts when asked by a TMZ cameraman about the US men's national team's failed bid to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
“I don’t have any regrets. I’m disappointed, but I don’t have any regrets,” Arena said when tracked down at a Los Angeles-area airport. “I, my staff and the players gave everything we had and we fell short.”
Arena said he has no rooting interest this summer — “I don’t really care to be honest with you” — and is fully confident the US can bounce back and make the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“I think we’re all disappointed we didn’t qualify for the 2018 World Cup, but I still believe there’s a good future for the sport in our country,” he said. “There’s no reason to believe we won’t be playing in Qatar in 2022.”
And leading the charge for 2022 is Christian Pulisic, the Borussia Dortmund midfielder who Arena called “a very good player with a great future.”
