Jurgen Klinsmann Faces Crossroads as USA Prepare for Hex Showdown vs. Mexico

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: November 9, 2016

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If Jurgen Klinsmann has ever felt under any real pressure of losing his job as U.S. men's national team manager, it most likely came around the time of the country's last clash with rivals Mexico. El Tri left the Rose Bowl last October not just with a 3-2 win over the timid hosts but with a place in the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Klinsmann found himself the centre of an existential postmortem.

The German had been the subject of much criticism for quite some time, of course. Indeed, Klinsmann has been painted as fighting for his job ever since the 2014 World Cup. Whether U.S. Soccer has truly considered his position is another matter, but on the basis of public perception alone, Klinsmann wouldn't exactly pass an appraisal with flying colours.



Now, however, he has the chance to at least address the USA's stagnation as the 2018 World Cup comes into sight. Of course, they have to get there first, and six points from their upcoming fixtures against Mexico on Friday and Costa Rica on Tuesday would go some way to delivering that. But there is much more to the clash with El Tri. There always is.

Friday's match in Columbus, Ohio, marks the start of the Hex—the final stage of World Cup qualification in CONCACAF—and Klinsmann must begin to settle on a starting lineup, a squad and an identity in preparation for the competition itself in two years' time. The room for experimentation is starting to narrow. It must start to come together from this point on.

This game, along with next week's away trip to Costa Rica, will give an indication of where the USA are right now in terms of their current level. With Klinsmann, there is always a sense that a crisis is only two games away, and in these two games, the German is faced with enough of a challenge for that to be a distinct possibility. This will be a yardstick for the USA.



"Obviously, the Mexico clash is a six-pointer to s...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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