Arena gave him the nod last night at centerback and from all I gather, he did well. Pope was given the role of sticking to Panama's big gun, and I'm sure that was the right thing to do as they were shut out.
Pope scares me a bit in the middle, but my confidence has been building as of late. Negra out wide lacks some pace, so it just seems (to me) the right thing to do is keep him in the middle.