Former US coach Arena sees warning signs despite World Cup win over Australia

LOS ANGELES, June 20 : The United States may have secured their place in the World Cup knockout rounds with a 2-0 win over Australia, but former U.S. coach Bruce Arena said the performance underscored how much the team misses Christian Pulisic and raised questions about their ability to maintain intensity against stronger opposition.

Speaking on Saturday's episode of FanDuel's Coaches Corner, Arena, Bob Bradley and Gregg Berhalter praised the Americans' physicality and first-half display, while noting that Pulisic's absence as he recovers from a calf injury left them short on creativity in the final third.

"I think I'm probably going to be a little different than Bob and Gregg, but I don't think the United States played a particularly strong game," said Arena, who led the U.S. to the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals. "A good solid first half. Second half, not too good."

Arena said Pulisic's return was a major issue for the squad as the level of competition rises.

"That's a big question mark for the U.S. team, how they can get Christian back on the field because they certainly miss him in the attack and the competition is going to get better," Arena said.

ATHLETIC AMERICANS

Bradley, who coached the U.S. when they won their World Cup group in 2010, said Pulisic's absence changed the team but praised the Americans' agility and strength.

"We miss his creativity and his dribbling," Bradley said. "But we're a really athletic team and for the second game in a row, our athleticism really pushed the opponent."

Berhalter, who led the U.S. to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup, said Australia struggled with their opponents' physical approach.

"Australia are a physical team, a tough team, and they couldn't deal with what we were giving them