With the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup championship in the books, attention for the U.S. Men’s National Team returns to the business of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
With four more qualifiers left in the final round hexagonal, the U.S. needs only three points – one win – to assure qualification.
The first chance to secure that win comes in Costa Rica on September 3. The next home match is three days later, Sept. 6, in Columbus, Ohio, against Mexico.
U.S. national coach Jurgen Klinsmann takes his team into these final qualifying games riding a historic 12-game winning streak. It’s never happened before!
Klinsmann has some serious decisions to make in terms of player selection for the upcoming games, and eventually who makes the 23-player World Cup roster next year.
After playing a number of players in the Gold Cup who had not had starting roles in previous qualifiers, Klinsmann has an expanded player pool.
The team chemistry for the Gold Cup squad, a blend of veterans and younger players, turned out to be special.
The only post-?Gold Cup game for the U.S. might prove to be an indicator of the attitude the collective group brings to the upcoming games.
Down 2-0 after a less than inspiring half, the U.S. came out roaring in the second half to secure a 4-3 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is ranked #13 in the FIFA World Rankings.
Granted, these rankings are sometimes suspect, but the U.S. has jumped back into the Top Twenty, moving up to #19 before the 12th and most recent win.
Incidentally, that moves the U.S. up as the #1 team in the region, with Mexico being ranked #20.
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