Nov 14, 2016 by Alex Baker
The era of “dos a cero” was brought to a close on Friday night, as the United States men’s national team lost 2-1 to Mexico at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus had until now been something of a stronghold for the U.S. who had won the previous four matches there against Mexico by a scoreline of 2-0, or dos a cero.
U.S.A. coach Jurgen Klinsmann has since come under heavy criticism for Friday night’s loss. The German tactician, who has been in charge of the USMNT since 2011, got creative with his lineup, sending his team out in a 3-5-2, as opposed to the 4-4-2 most were expecting.
While the formation gave the Yanks more bodies in midfield to better transition from attack to defense and clog the... Read More
Nov 11, 2016 by Alex Baker
The United States men’s national team resumes its World Cup qualifying campaign with a meeting with Mexico in Columbus, Ohio Friday. Columbus has typically proved a happy hunting ground for the U.S. with the Yanks having won four consecutive meetings with El Tri at Mapfre Stadium by a scoreline of “dos a cero,” or 2-0.
But Jurgen Klinsmann’s team will have its hands full this time as it lines up against a stacked Mexico squad. His counterpart Juan Carlos Osorio has pulled out all the stops, calling up a high-powered squad led by the likes of Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, Giovani Dos Santos, and in-form striker Carlos Vela.
Klinsmann too has called up just about the strongest squad available to him including teenage Borussia Dortmund sensation Christian Pulisic, Toronto FC duo... Read More
Oct 09, 2016 by Alex Baker
Jurgen Klinsmann has introduced major rotations for the United States men’s national team’s upcoming friendly with New Zealand on Tuesday. Six starters and a total of nine players who were in the squad for Friday’s 2-0 win over Cuba have been allowed to return to their club teams.
A group of the team’s European-based players formed the core of the departing group with John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), Bobby Wood (Hamburg), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Ethan Horvath (Molde) all rejoining their European teams.
Julian Green (Bayern Munich) and Perry Kitchen (Heart of Midlothian) have remained with the squad. Major League Soccer’s Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes) and Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders) have also left to rejoin their teams.
Klinsmann has called up... Read More
Oct 06, 2016 by Alex Baker
On Friday, the United States men’s national team will face Cuba on the island nation’s home soil for the first time since 1947. The match is part of the USMNT’s warm-up for its crunch time World Cup qualifier against Mexico next month.
For the match against Cuba and for next week’s clash with New Zealand, U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann has called up the kind of mixture of veterans and up-and-comers we’ve grown accustomed to seeing over the past 12 months or so.
The U.S. pool is definitely in a state of transition with veterans like Jermaine Jones, Clint Dempsey, Brad Guzan and Tim Howard all left out of the team this time around. Dempsey remains sidelined by a medical issue and Jones is still working his way back from a... Read More
Oct 03, 2016 by Alex Baker
Fans of U.S. soccer have been through all of this before so there’s understandably a bit of caution tempering the excitement around Christian Pulisic. After all, Pulisic, an attacking midfielder for Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, is the latest in a long line of American teenagers who’ve been anointed as “the next, great hope” of U.S. soccer.
But there are some fundamental differences between the Hershey, Pennsylvania native who turned 18 last month and the likes of Freddy Adu, Juan Agudelo, Julian Green and others who’ve found themselves the focal point of American soccer hype.
For starters, Pulisic developed under the radar for the most part. Unlike Adu, who was dubbed the “next Pele” before he’d even signed a professional contract, Pulisic was a relative unknown to U.S. soccer watchers until... Read More
Aug 31, 2016 by Alex Baker
The United States Men’s National Team will be back in action Friday as Jurgen Klinsmann’s side faces St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the fourth round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
Due to a combination of injuries and other factors, Klinsmann is using the clash with the small Caribbean nation –- which on paper should be a walkover -– to try out some different players in his squad.
Clint Dempsey and Gyasi Zardes are both injured and will miss Friday’s game as well as Tuesday’s clash with Trinidad and Tobago. Meanwhile, Michael Bradley is suspended for Friday’s game and Jermaine Jones hasn’t played since July due to injury. Jon Brooks has been left out of the team so he can get his Bundesliga campaign with Hertha Berlin underway.
Brooks’... Read More
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