It’s been a rough summer for the United States men’s national team and Jurgen Klinsmann. Their Gold Cup semifinal exit against Jamaica gave them their worst result in the competition since 1985. They followed it up with a loss to Panama and an absolute beating at the hands of Brazil in a friendly. On Saturday, they play their biggest game of the year -- against Mexico at the Rose Bowl for a spot in the Confederations Cup.
USA vs. Mexico, 2015 CONCACAF Cup: Time, TV schedule and team news
The USMNT faces El Tri for a spot in the Confederations Cup.
This game is necessary because of the USMNT’s failure to win the Gold Cup. Because they won the 2013 edition of the tournament, they would have qualified directly for Confederations Cup if they repeated as champions. But because Mexico won, this play-in game exists.
The Rose Bowl is the site of one of the most painful losses the US has suffered in recent years, to El Tri. The Americans jumped out to a surprise 2-0 lead, but an injury to veteran defender Steve Cherundolo weakened the US back line, and Mexico went on to win 4-2. That game was the excuse Sunil Gulati needed to fire Bob Bradley, and the Klinsmann era began.
Mexico have been through five coaches since then, and they’re about to get their sixth. After Saturday, regardless of the result, interim boss Ricardo Ferretti will go back to coaching Tigres full time and hand the reigns over to Juan Carlos Osorio, best known to Americans for a disastrous spell in charge of New York Red Bulls. In recent years, he’s had much better spells in charge of Atlético Nacional and Sao Paulo.
El Tri are without Giovani dos Santos and “Maza” Francisco Rodriguez for this game due to injuries. Rafa Marquez and Andres Guardado are slight doubts with injuries as well, but both are expected to be fit enough to play. The United States expected to have Alejandro Bedoya available, but he’s sitting out with an illness. Omar Gonzalez, John Brooks, Mix Diskerud and Aron Johannsson were the biggest names that Klinsmann left out of his team.
When they last met
The last two games between these games have been friendlies. The United States won in April, with Jordan Morris scoring his first senior international goal and Juan Agudelo adding another. Neither player is in this squad. Mexico grabbed a draw in Phoenix in April of 2014, coming from behind. Michael Bradley and Chris Wondolowski scored in the first half, but goals from Rafa Marquez and Alan Pulido secured a result for El Tri. The last competitive game between these teams was in World Cup qualifying, when the USMNT won 2-0 in Columbus.
Is Jurgen Klinsmann on the hot seat?
No, probably not. Even if his team is utterly noncompetitive in a heavy loss, he’s unlikely to lose his job. He’s under contract for three more years, and for a lot of money. Even if Gulati is growing weary about the Klinsmann experience, he’s probably not going to spend the money necessary to get rid of him unless the team is in danger of missing the World Cup.
Key matchup -- Michael Bradley vs. Andres Guardado
Each team’s driving force in midfield is a bit different from the other. Bradley is the Americans’ most ambitious passer and will try to create chances with through balls and diagonals, while Guardado is a bit more of a runner. But each is their team’s most important player, and their teams will struggle to create chances without good performances from them. They’ll be up against each other in transition phases frequently.
Match Date/Time: Sat., 9:30 p.m. ET, 6:30 p.m. local
Venue: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
TV: FOX Sports 1 (US - English), Univision Deportes (US - Spanish), TDN, Azteca (Mexico)
Online: FOX Sports Go, FOX Soccer 2 Go (US - English), Univision Deportes en vivo (US - Spanish), UnivisionTDN (Mexico)
