USMNT: After Disheartening Loss at Honduras, It’s Not Time to Panic Yet

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: February 7, 2013

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Step off the ledge, American soccer fans. Power down the panic machine, at least for another month.

The United States national team lost 2-1 at Honduras on Wednesday in both teams' opening match in the "Hex," the six-team final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Neither Jurgen Klinsmann nor his players acquitted themselves well in San Pedro Sula, but with so many matches left and so many chances for the U.S. to qualify, it's not yet time to panic.

B/R's Dan Levy has already expertly outlined the excuses for what he calls an "inexcusable" and "lackluster" U.S. performance against Honduras. Dan's criticisms of Klinsmann, the defense and others are spot on, but a poll early in the article produced some surprising results, at least to me.

As of Thursday morning, nearly 66 percent of voters said it was time to panic. Less than 35 percent of voters disagreed. In this case, the 35 percent have it right.



Klinsmann will face tough questions after his team's performance Wednesday, and correctly so. Instead of starting the experienced Carlos Bocanegra (109 caps) in defense for a tough away qualifier, Klinsmann opted for the inexperienced Omar Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, by all accounts, represents the future of the American defense. But Bocanegra's experience might have helped calm American nerves in a high-stress environment.



Klinsmann also used all three of his allotted substitutions by the 67th minute, leaving himself powerless to adjust to a late goal by Honduras.

In Klinsmann's defense, the hot conditions left the American players gassed by the middle of the second half, but because of his personnel choices, a potential game-changer like Herculez Gomez never left the bench.

The players could and should draw criticism for their performances as well, but it's important to keep all the criticism in proper perspective. As poor as the U.S. played, and as poor ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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