Friday night, things didn’t go as well as had been hoped.
A trip to “The Office,” officially known as National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, spelled a 2-1 loss for the U.S. Men’s National Team. With three games played in Group A, the United States is not only behind Jamaica in points, but tied with Guatemala (in 2nd place only because they’ve played 2 matches on the road to Guatemala’s 1).
A lot has been said about the US tactics – from using three defensive midfielders who didn’t connect well with the attacking players, to possibly leaving captain Carlos Bocanegra on the bench when other leaders were injured (like Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley), to even the hesitation Klinsmann showed in making changes to try to get back to level with Jamaica. While the US team was without some key players, it still seems like a shock result.
A quick recap – after Clint Dempsey cleaned up a rebound in the first minute of the match, two separate free kicks doomed the US to defeat. The second came in the 62nd minute, as Luton Shelton bent a perfect ball to Tim Howard’s right in off the post. It took nearly 10 minutes for Klinsmann to react with a change, bringing on Terrence Boyd and Brek Shea. He also was forced to leave Dempsey on for the full 90 minutes – after Dempsey hasn’t played a competitive match in weeks.
So here’s your chance to have your say. The team has incurred two polar opposite results, from the historic first win at Estadio Azteca in August, to a frustrating loss in Kingston. Is this as big of a deal as some have made it out to be? What does this say for the US chances for making the Brazil World Cup, and Klinsmann’s as a coach for the National Team? Feel free to comment below and let us know your thoughts.
