NEW YORK -- Bruce Arena knows the job of U.S. soccer coach has changed since his last game a decade ago.Were going to have a lot of pressure on us, he said Wednesday during an interview at the offices of The Associated Press. Were not only expected to qualify for the World Cup, were also expected to be successful in group play and to get into the round of 16 and then hopefully the quarterfinals.Arena took over from Jurgen Klinsmann last week following losses at home to Mexico and at Costa Rica in the opening two games of the final round of World Cup qualifying. The Americans plan a pair of exhibitions in January, and qualifying resumes at home against Honduras on March 24 followed by a match at Panama four days later.Theyve got to be convinced the way were going to play is the right way, and theyve got to be convinced to play for each other. The bottom line is we have to be a better team than weve been in the first two games of this competition. So the concept of team and putting that ahead of everything else is going to be critical, Arena said. I think youll see changes -- I think changes everywhere, not radical, but our mentality will be different, our approach will be different and, hopefully, the results will be different.Arena spoke before heading to Toronto for the second leg of a Major League Soccer conference semifinal against Montreal. He then goes to Europe to speak with German-based American players.Today with professional athletes, maybe a majority of the job is preparing them mentally to play, he said. We know they have the skills and the physical qualities to be successful. Weve just got to deal sometimes with the 6-to-8 inches between the ears to get them headed in the right direction.As Arena watched the 4-0 defeat at Costa Rica on Nov. 15 on television, he was alarmed.I thought they were in a difficult situation, and there would be some thinking about making a change, he recalled.Six days later, he was asked to take the job he held from 1998-2006.Arena led the U.S. to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals, then was fired four years later after a first-round elimination.Our fan base is way ahead of what it was when I started in `98 and ended in 2006, he said. And now, with the obvious emergence of social media, its 24 hours a day. So were going to have a lot of pressure on us, and thats all part of it. Thats what we sign up for. So we look forward to the challenge.Because three of the six teams qualify from the hexagonal, as the final round of the North and Central American and Caribbean region is known, the U.S. can rebound quickly.We want from the opening whistle to be a team that gets after it and plays hard for 90 minutes, he said. The first camp will be difficult in March when we have the entire team together. But we have enough experience as coaches to understand the qualities of our players, how to organize and teach them and get them feeling comfortable by the time they kick off against Honduras.Arena has spent the past eight years coaching the LA Galaxy. During his first term with the U.S., he said American players didnt get sufficient respect around the world. That, he said, has improved.The American player is generally a good player. What we lack is the real elite player that some of the other countries have, he said. But we have a good, solid base of players, and Im confident they can play against anyone in the world.Arena is excited about the age of the current player pool. Aside from goalkeepers Tim Howard (37) and Brad Guzan (32), the only regulars older than 30 are defender Geoff Cameron (31), midfielder Jermaine Jones (35) and forward Clint Dempsey (33).Theres a lot of players entering their prime, which in our sport is about 28, 29 years old, Arena said. Were not too old and were not too young. So there shouldnt be any excuses. We have enough experience and enough quality to be successful in qualifying.Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Nike NBA Jerseys China . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. https://www.nbachinajerseys.us/ .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. Clearance NBA Jerseys . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. NBA Jerseys Outlet .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey.SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium -- Nico Rosberg claimed a much-needed race win as he emerged victorious in a chaotic Belgian Grand Prix which had a Safety Car and a red flag period.Pole-sitter Rosberg led from start to finish, looking untouchable for the majority of the race as drama unfolded all around him, most notably in a hectic opening six laps. The win slashes Lewis Hamiltons championship lead to nine points, with the world champion driving from the back row of the grid to the final spot on the podium in a weekend which has been all about damage limitation since incurring a huge grid penalty for engine changes.The race also involved a terrifying crash for Renaults Kevin Magnussen on the exit of Eau Rouge on lap six. The Danish driver limped away from the scene of the accident before going to hospital for checks.?Rosbergs life was made a lot easier when the next three men on the grid, Max Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, went three-wide into Turn 1 and made contact, dropping each man out of contention. Daniel Ricciardo emerged as Rosbergs closest challenger and turned in a solid drive to second, splitting the Mercedes drivers.Nico Hulkenberg drove a great race to fourth, agonisingly short of a first career podium which may well have materialised had he not stopped for tyres just before the race was red flagged. Force Indias Sergio Perez finished fifth to move Force India above Williams in the constructors standings.Chaos in the opening lapsThe chaos started at La Source, when Max Verstappen got bogged down off the line and was jumped by both Ferraris behind him. Verstappen switched to the inside of Kimi Raikkonen for Turn 1, who was then squeezed by Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel -- who would not have seen Verstappen on the inside. Vettel hit Raikkonen, spinning around in the process, before Raikkonen and Verstappen made contact.On the run down the hill, Verstappens front wing came loose, while Raikkonens car sprayed sparks from the rear for the rest of the lap -- all three men pitted at the end of the lap. The floor of Raikkonens car appeared to catch fire at the rear during his stop, delaying him significantly in the pit lane.Further back in the field on the crazy first lap, Pascal Wehrlein speared into the back of Jenson Button at Les Combes, waving his hand angrily in the direction of the McLaren driver. Wehrlein appeared to have more drive around the outside and was trying to undercut the McLaren driver on exit of the corner. Both men retired from the race.?On lap two, Carlos Sainzs right rear exploded on the Kemmel Straight. The Toro Rosso driver kept his car going but ended up spinning on the exit of Les Combes, before retiring further down the road with his rear wing hanging vertically off his car.After a brief Virtual Safety Car period, the drama continued, with Magnussen spinning violently at the top of the hill at Eau Rouge and colliding heavily into the barriers. The Renault driver limped away from the incident. After four laps behind a Safety Car, the race was red flagged so marshals could repair the damaged wall.ddddddddddddThe rest of the raceAfter Rosberg perfectly managed the restart and his next stint, the real interest was the battle developing for the podium behind him. The red flag had come at a perfect time for Fernando Alonso and Hamilton, who had both started on the medium tyre and were sat fourth and fifth, with many other drivers pitting immediately after Magnussens crash and the deployment of the Safety Car.Hamilton quickly cleared Alonso and Hulkenberg but was soon complaining about his tyres sliding a lot, prompting a pit stop on lap 22 for a set of tyres. Hamilton had a used set of the more favourable medium tyre which Mercedes opted against taking at that stop, guaranteeing he would have to stop again and meaning a podium was by no means a certainty at mid-distance.That stint lasted just 11 laps, with Hamilton pitting again on lap 33 for the used mediums. He emerged in fourth ahead of Perez and quickly dispatched Hulkenberg, though Ricciardo was too far down the road for the championship leader to harbour ambitions of finishing second.Away from the battle for the podium, Verstappen and Raikkonens battle continued in the second stint, with the Dutch teenager forcing the 2007 world champion wide at Les Combes. That prompted a series of explitive-laden radio tirades from Raikkonen, who complained Verstappens only interest is hitting me off the circuit.There was also nearly a collision in the pit lane between Hulkenberg and Alonso on lap 24. With Alonso nearly released into the path of the Force India, the two men exited side-by-side with Hulkenberg marginally ahead on the outside. Alonso grazed Hulkenbergs car with his tyre and the Force India driver did well to keep the car out of the wall, keeping position and staying inside the white line on exit. Hulkenberg turned in a great drive to fourth but will be wondering what might have been, as he had been on Rosbergs tail with fresher tyres when the red flags dropped on lap 11.Perez and Vettel rounded off the top six, with Alonsos strong drive fading in the final period of the race as he settled for sixth ahead of Bottas, Raikkonen and Massa. Verstappens erratic afternoon, which later saw him force Vettel off the road at Les Combes, finished out of the points in 11th. Haas driver Esteban Gutierrezs wait for points goes on as he finished 12th, though he finished one place ahead of teammate Romain Grosjean. The Haas pair had been running in the top six after the drama at the start of the race.?Daniil Kvyat toiled to 14th, with the Toro Rossos 2015 power unit brutally exposed on the long first sector despite sitting in the top ten in the early stages. Jolyon Palmer finished 15th for Renault, ahead of Manor debutant Esteban Ocon, who finished ahead of 17th-place Felipe Nasr. ' ' '
