1. There has historically been such a big gap between Chandler's form for club and country that it's not unfair to discount his club play.
2. I've always suspected that dismissive comments made by Arena and others about the commitment of dual nationals have really just been about Chandler. Just speculation. I don't buy the "don't fly him from Europe for just one game". It's a WCQ. It's important. If Arena wanted Chandler for Panama, Timmy would be there.
3. Zusi started because Yedlin, Lichaj, Cameron, and Orozco were injured. I think it's clear that Arena doesn't want to start Zusi either, but sometimes player availability forces your hand. I'm not thrilled about it either, but I find it difficult to get outraged about Arena's decision to place no trust in Chandler. I wouldn't be shocked to see Chandler get another chance at some point, but one step at a time.
4. I expect the Gold Cup roster will unfold as @67YAZ describes, with roughly the regular first XI but with mostly young-ish players on the bench instead of the Besler/Zusi/Bedoya crowd. Arena said all along that he was going to rely on boring old veterans for the March qualifiers. He didn't have a problem playing young players in 2002 and I don't think he'll have issues this cycle once he gets a little more time. I thought it was interesting that he went with Acosta and Arriola to close out a difficult game on the road; the boring old options would have been McCarty and Wondolowski.
2. I've always suspected that dismissive comments made by Arena and others about the commitment of dual nationals have really just been about Chandler. Just speculation. I don't buy the "don't fly him from Europe for just one game". It's a WCQ. It's important. If Arena wanted Chandler for Panama, Timmy would be there.
3. Zusi started because Yedlin, Lichaj, Cameron, and Orozco were injured. I think it's clear that Arena doesn't want to start Zusi either, but sometimes player availability forces your hand. I'm not thrilled about it either, but I find it difficult to get outraged about Arena's decision to place no trust in Chandler. I wouldn't be shocked to see Chandler get another chance at some point, but one step at a time.
4. I expect the Gold Cup roster will unfold as @67YAZ describes, with roughly the regular first XI but with mostly young-ish players on the bench instead of the Besler/Zusi/Bedoya crowd. Arena said all along that he was going to rely on boring old veterans for the March qualifiers. He didn't have a problem playing young players in 2002 and I don't think he'll have issues this cycle once he gets a little more time. I thought it was interesting that he went with Acosta and Arriola to close out a difficult game on the road; the boring old options would have been McCarty and Wondolowski.