Wednesday night certainly didn’t look like Paul Arriola’s first start in nearly 10 months. After a long road to recovery from a torn ACL, the forward picked up right where he left off with the U.S. Men’s National Team. As the most experienced player on an exceptionally youthful December roster, Arriola helped lead the charge on the front line in executing an aggressive high press and relentless attack from his spot on the right wing.
In the 17th minute, his efforts resulted in the game’s opening goal, a breakthrough that would spark a five-goal outburst in the span of just 10 minutes and lead to a 6-0 victory against El Salvador in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
“It's always an honor (to play for the National Team).” Arriola said. “I'm continually saying that, especially now after the tough year that I had with injury, but tonight was special. We were able to really set the tone early, and for me that was a big key. The goal was just the icing on the cake. Everything else was more important than the goal itself. Just to be able to come back and play when at the beginning of the camp I'm thinking, ‘I don't know if I'll be used, I'm here to continue my process through the end of rehab,’ but I was able to put in a good performance tonight.”
Arriola has served as a key figure on the National Team under head coach Gregg Berhalter. In February, the D.C. United attacker drew the penalty that resulted in the USA’s 1-0 win against Costa Rica. This time around, he helped ignite the USA’s first-half offensive eruption.
While Berhalter feared that Arriola would miss a number of significant matches for the USMNT in 2020, delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the forward’s tireless work ethic ensured that he made a major impact in both of his opportunities with the National Team.
“I've been a part of this group for a few years now. We really ask a lot of each other and the staff asks a lot of us,” Arriola said. “All we can do is go out there and try and execute our plan and really win a game. For me, all I can do is show up to each camp just like everybody else and try and perform to our highest ability.”
With 33 international appearances to his credit, Arriola entered the December training camp as the team’s most-capped player. His experience stood out even more in a Starting XI that featured six players who represented the USMNT for just the first or second time. Of the six goals and six assists on the evening, eight came from those six players.
