Cameron was told by Arena, even before the national team convened in October for the two games, that he would not be starting against Panama or Trinidad and Tobago because of concerns about his fitness. But Cameron said he couldn’t understand that reasoning, especially after he logged a full 90 minutes in Stoke’s victory over Southampton on Sept. 30 before reporting to the United States camp.

Needing only a draw in Trinidad to secure a spot in Russia, Arena opted for the same attack-heavy formation that had delivered a 4-0 home win over Panama days earlier and kept Cameron, his most experienced and athletic central defender, on the bench against the speedy hosts.

As every American fan knows now, those tactics backfired. A rough night for Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler in central defense and an eventual 2-1 defeat, combined with unexpected victories for Panama and Honduras, consigned the Americans to an embarrassing fifth-place finish out of six teams in the region — leaving Arena with just three wins in eight qualifiers after having replaced Klinsmann in November 2016.

“Listen: I hold my hand up — I didn’t play well against Costa Rica,” Cameron said of a 2-0 loss in a qualifier on Sept. 1, in which his poor performance alongside Tim Ream dropped both out of favor for the October games. “I made a mistake; their second goal was my fault. But it was the 88th minute and we were down, 1-nil. I tried to do something to help the team and I got caught out.

“But I would have more respect for a coach to say: ‘You know what, Geoff? I don’t fancy you today. I think this is a better lineup.’ I’d say: ‘O.K., no problem, you told me the truth.’ But if you tell me I’m not fit enough, that’s like an insult to me as a professional.”

In response, Arena said in a telephone interview: “Could Geoff have been in the starting lineup that day? Yes. But the problem with Geoff throughout 2017, at club and national team level, was inconsistency and some injuries.