HAMBURG, June 5 (Reuters) - U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley wants coach Bruce Arena to cut short the 'irritating' wait before naming his opening team.
Even though the versatile PSV Eindhoven was one of the key
players in helping the United States qualify for the World Cup
finals, Beasley said he still does not know whether he will be
on the left, right, centre or even the beach.
'It's irritating not to know,' Beasley told a group of
journalists at the U.S. base in the northern port city of
Hamburg before a closed-door runout against Angola later on
Monday.
'Of course it's better to know. It helps you get your mind
set. It wouldn't matter to me if I'm on the right, the left or
the middle. But I don't even know if I'll even be playing the
first game. He hasn't made up his line-up.'
MOTIVATIONAL TOOL
Beasley stopped just short of criticising Arena, noted for
keeping his line-ups a secret until just before matches. He
agreed that keeping players on edge can also be a useful
motivational tool - even if it is nerve-wracking to him.
'That's just his thing,' Beasley said. 'That's the way he
works. He knows a player wants to know a week or two before.
Every coach is different. He does it his way. He's not going to
change his position for the World Cup.
'Maybe he knows (his line-up) already,' added Beasley, who
started in 13 of the 18 qualifiers and had four goals. 'He
hasn't told us yet. You get used to it. But I think it would be
better if we trained with our first 11 for a week or five days.'
The United States are in Group E and first play against the
Czech Republic in Gelsenkirchen on June 12. They then face Italy
on June 17 and Ghana on June 22.
Beasley, 24, is already one of the most capped U.S. players
with 58 international appearances and 12 goals.
He is one of the fastest players in the U.S. side that
enters their fifth consecutive World Cup finals.
