On September 10th, the United States men’s national soccer team beat their arch rival Mexico 2-0 in Columbus, Ohio. This win helped the national team qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, with a little help from Honduras tying Panama as well. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann is pleased with his teams recent performances winning thirteen out of fourteen games. It is good that the team is playing well now, but they will need to play at the same level next June in Brazil to make a deep run in the World Cup.
This US team is different from the previous 2010 World Cup in a few ways. The first big difference is the coach. Jurgen Klinsmann brings a new aspect that old coach Bob Bradley never did. Klinsmann rotates his squad routinely to see which players are in the best form. Bradley used to send the exact same squad out almost every game. Jurgen likes to give some of the younger players a chance at proving themselves to the coach to earn a spot on the team. Not all of the young players are going to make the final roster, but Jurgen will pick the right players for the World Cup roster.
The second big difference is the strength of the midfield. The midfield used to be very weak, and a spot other teams would attack. Now the midfield has depth. Michael Bradley has developed to a great player since his father has left the team. He is one of the teams best players now creating scoring chances with great passes. Other players like Diskerud and Jermaine Jones have been useful forces as well. The attackers have always been strong with Dempsey, Donovan, and Altidore. They all have their own abilities to score which makes this team very dynamic.
The US team is ranked thirteenth in the world right now, but coach Jurgen Klinsmann still wants the team to “be realistic”. He knows his team is strong, but he doesn’t want their confidence to turn into cockiness. He knows that it comes down to the luck of the draw. The US won’t find out who is in their group until December. Jurgen knows that all the teams will be hyped up to play in the World Cup, but he wants his team to play smart football. The USMNT has the ability to get into the knockout round with their newly acquired youth depth. The real question is how deep can the US go in the 2014 World Cup. We will see next June when the soccer world collides in Brazil for the greatest sporting event in the world.