Jurgen Klinsmann’s World Cup Preparations: What’s Gone Right, Wrong for USMNT

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at Internationaled.org

Published: June 17, 2014

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On Monday night, the United States men’s national team won a dramatic victory in their World Cup opener, defeating Ghana 2-1 on the strength of an 86th-minute goal from John Anthony Brooks.

The win was another feather in the cap for U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, but the game also left fans with plenty of questions.



In Klinsmann’s tenure as coach of the USMNT, the team has beaten Italy, Mexico and Bosnia away, tied Russia and Mexico away and beat Germany at home. They topped their CONCACAF World Cup qualifying group, won the 2013 Gold Cup and, now, have finally beaten Ghana in the World Cup.

However, for each of Klinsmann’s accomplishments, there has always seemed to be an asterisk. The win over Mexico in Estadio Azteca was against their “B” squad and the win over Bosnia-Herzegovina was a comeback that came after they had pulled many of their starters. The tie against Mexico came amidst the total collapse of the Mexican national team and the draw against Russia came on a deflected shot in stoppage time.

The win over Germany was against their “C” team and the Gold Cup last summer was played primarily by back-up teams. And considering Mexico’s form during qualifying, there was no reason for the U.S. not to top the hexagonal. Finally, the win over Ghana was more than a bit lucky considering the U.S.’s poor performance overall.



The U.S.’s World Cup qualifying campaign was also fraught with ups and downs, such as the draw to Guatemala away, the stoppage-time goals required to down Jamaica and lowly Antigua and Barbuda, the need for a come-from-behind win at home over Guatemala to guarantee advancement to the final round of qualifying and losses to Honduras and Costa Rica in the hex.

Still, there are plenty of things Klinsmann does deserve credit for. He has had to deal with the challenges of an old guard of fadin...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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