COMMERCE CITY — Team USA coach Bruce Arena used the group-play portion of the Gold Cup to look at some second-team players and give them tournament experience with the national team a year before the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but he called up six of the team’s most experienced veterans for the knockout phase that begins Wednesday.
That group includes Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard, who is expected to start Wednesday night against El Salvador in Philadelphia, along with midfielder Michael Bradley and forward Clint Dempsey.
Howard told reporters in Philadelphia that it was “huge” and “priceless” for secondary players to gain the experience they received in winning Group B with a tie against Panama and wins over Martinique and Nicaragua.