The German coach had many faults but he leaves the game in America in a much better place after his time in chargeThe end came on Monday, in a terse press release from US Soccer, with a couple of nice quotes tacked on. Jürgen Klinsmann, the manager hired to great acclaim in 2011, was out of a job. Two bad losses – to Mexico and Costa Rica – in World Cup qualifying proved too much for USSF President Sunil Gulati to stomach. It is thought that the LA Galaxy coach, Bruce Arena, will return to the job he held from 1998-2006. Related: Jürgen Klinsmann out as US soccer coach, Arena favored as successor Related: What options does Jürgen Klinsmann have?...
After two defeats, the US are struggling in World Cup qualifying and Jürgen Klinsmann is an isolated figure. At least Christian Pulisic looks goodFor much of his first World Cup cycle, Jürgen Klinsmann’s glass half-full approach seemed like a calming signal. But as his second cycle has stumbled from setback to mini-revival to bigger setback, his unwillingness to take responsibility looks to have made him an increasingly isolated figure. Related: USA slump to 4-0 defeat in Costa Rica as pressure builds on Jürgen Klinsmann Continue reading...
The US are already lagging behind their rivals in World Cup qualifying. Their defenders in particular will need to improve at a venue where they are winlessIf there was any consolation for USA after the 2-1 defeat to Mexico on Friday night ended the 15-year sequence of 2-0 wins in Columbus, it might have been that no record lasts forever. And as the team move on to their next World Cup qualifier in San Jose on Tuesday night, they could really do with doing what no US team has ever done in 10 games — win in Costa Rica.To anyone who finds that 0-8-2 record in Costa Rica puzzling, given that the US beat Costa Rica 4-0 in the Copa...
Even without the background of Donald Trump as president-elect, Friday night’s World Cup qualifier will be played between two teams in transitionWell, that escalated quickly. The preamble to last year’s USA v Mexico clash, for the right to represent Concacaf at the Confederations Cup, seems impossibly quaint at this moment. To pick out a couple of random phenomena, Fox Soccer were forced on the defensive for a video montage that seemed to make light of Donald Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric, while on the Mexican side it was possible to walk through the Rose Bowl parking lots before the game, and see Trump piñatas dotted among the portable BBQs. But it still all seemed like so much carnival posturing on both sides.The...
With the two adversaries preparing to meet, we look at half-a-dozen of the rivalry’s best moments, from the very first Dos A Cero to an upset at the AztecaThe game that kicked it all off. Back in 1934 you had to play a one-off game to qualify for the still-new World Cup, and Mexico and the United States were among the 32 nations sending teams. Mexico expected to win over a loose group of amateurs and semi-pros; the fact that they did not has never been forgotten south of the border. The result sent the USA to a meeting with Italy (they were hammered 7-1 by the eventual champs); and sent Mexico home to lick their wounds. Related: The Joy...