PHILADELPHIA — As the CONCACAF Gold Cup approached, Bruce Arena decided to crack the tournament into two parts.
The first, consisting of three U.S. national soccer team matches in a lightweight group, would spotlight almost everyone on a mostly novice, mostly MLS roster: blossoming prospects, players seeking second chances and those forgotten under the previous coaching regime.
The results were mixed: first place in Group B and some shining individual performances but defective overall work in each game.
The plan all along was to let the group sink or swim — for the most part, it ended up treading water — then reinforce the squad for the knockout stage by summoning accomplished players.