Bruce Arena has options at goalkeeper for World Cup qualifiers

One of the key positions that the U.S. will need to iron out ahead of the March World Cup qualifiers is in goal.

Tim Howard is recovering from an injury. Brad Guzan is now with Middlesbrough, but not receiving consistent playing time. Nick Rimando had a great showing in the January training camp and friendlies.

“Brad Guzan is a very experienced goalkeeper, and as we saw in the case of Nick Rimando in January camp that experience means a lot,” Arena said on a conference call last week. “Because they’re not getting games on a consistent basis doesn’t mean you can rule him out. I think Brad has shown enough that he’s still a strong candidate to be our number one goalkeeper.

“In the case of Tim Howard, he’s moving along pretty well. I believe he’s 12 weeks out of surgery and the expectation for him was that his full recovery would be between 12 and 16 weeks, so he’s on schedule to hopefully start the first week of the M.L.S. season. Having said that, it could be off a couple weeks and perhaps he won’t be a candidate for March. Right now, he’s still in the picture and that’s a positive as well.”

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