U.S. Soccer named Dave Sarachan to coach the men’s national team in an exhibition game against Portugal in November, the team’s first match since its humiliating elimination from qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

The appointment is only for the Portugal match, U.S. Soccer said, making Sarachan more of a one-game caretaker than an interim coach.

The choice of Sarachan, 63, to replace Bruce Arena, who resigned after a loss to Trinidad and Tobago cost the Americans a trip to Russia, seems to be one of expediency. The game against Portugal in Leiria on Nov. 14 is the only match currently on the United States team’s calendar, and Sarachan, who had been an assistant coach for the national team, and the rest of Arena’s assistants are under contract through the end of the year.

Sarachan spent decades as an assistant coach under Arena at the University of Virginia, in Major League Soccer and during Arena’s two stints leading the national team. His appointment signals that other candidates who had expressed interest in the national team job — notably Tab Ramos, the former American midfielder who coaches the under-20 national team — were unwilling to accept the position with such a tenuous commitment from the federation.