By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Nov 15, 2016) US Soccer Players - If you find yourself surprised by the USMNT’s performance in Costa Rica on Tuesday night, you haven’t been paying attention. This USMNT--the USMNT that fell behind to Mexico thanks to a disastrous opening half and saw it’s unbeaten run against El Tri in Columbus come to an end as a result and then laid a massive egg in San Jose . . .
Is there an appropriate 4-0 reaction?
The USMNT is in some trouble in the Hexagonal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. It's not a disaster scenario losing both games in November. US Soccer president Sunil Gulati stressed that point to members of the media in Costa Rica last night, and he's right. Turning around November, 2016 isn't a monumental task for this team. That it's even a discussion is the problem. It doesn't take much . . .
Klinsmann vs Osorio
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Nov 9, 2016) US Soccer Players - In most ways that matter, the USMNT vs Mexico qualifier on Friday night in Columbus, Ohio represents a fresh start for the two teams. A showdown between the two biggest teams in CONCACAF is a strange way to start the final march towards World Cup qualification. It also means shedding the baggage of everything that came before. Or . . .
Playing positions in the Hex
The USMNT moves closer to their opening Hexagonal round date with Mexico. Whether or not this is a must win game that sets the tone for the rest of World Cup qualifying is open to debate. The CONCACAF safety net ended up saving Mexico last time around, an oddity that isn't likely to repeat. Mexico has its issues, but so does every other team in the region. For the USMNT, part of what's in play . . .
USMNT roster for November 2016 Qualifiers
USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann called in 26 players for the November 2016 World Cup qualifiers. The USMNT opens the Hexagonal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying against Mexico in Columbus on Friday (7:45pm ET - Fox Sports 1). The November international window concludes at Costa Rica on Nov 15 (9pm ET - beIN Sport). CONCACAF advances the top three finishers in the Hex directly to the 2018 . . .
Klinsmann, USMNT mull the shape of things in Columbus
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 13, 2016) US Soccer Players - You could call it the yin and yang of American soccer tactics. Or theory vs praxis. Or perhaps you find "Jekyl and Hyde" a more apt tag. 4-4-2 vs 4-3-3. In broad terms, it's a recurring fault line in our game. The hard-wired default handed down to us by our British colonizers vs the more intellectually appealing triangles of . . .
Bob Bradley, Jurgen Klinsmann, and the USMNT job
It's game day for the USMNT, and we start with head coach Jurgen Klinsmann's inability to let something go. His predecessor Bob Bradley decided to point out that he believed Klinsmann was openly positioning himself to take the USMNT job back in 2010. In Bradley's version, Klinsmann did this while working as a pundit during that World Cup. It's hard to argue with Bradley's version of events, since . . .
Preview: USMNT vs New Zealand
It's the second October friendly for the USMNT, this time at home against New Zealand in Washington DC (8pm ET - ESPN). RFK Stadium is a familiar location for the USMNT, with a good chance to finish out the international window with back-to-back wins. It's also an opportunity for players to test coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who previewed this window with a focus on opportunities in games that . . .
A new group of USMNT players prepares for New Zealand
We start the week with the second of the October friendlies a day away. The USMNT is back in action on Tuesday, playing New Zealand at RFK Stadium (8pm ET - ESPN). An announced crowd of 40,287 showed up at Nashville's LP Field to watch Mexico beat New Zealand 2-1 on Saturday night. The Galaxy's Gio dos Santos wore the captain's armband for a game that probably won't revamp El Tri's World Cup . . .
USMNT roster changes for New Zealand friendly
USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced substantial changes to his roster for Tuesday's international friendly against New Zealand. Klinsmann released several of his Europe-based players back to their clubs along with Jordan Morris and Chris Wondolowski. In their place, he called in seven players for the game at RFK Stadium (8pm ET - ESPN). "These friendly games are about getting our group ready . . .
