World Cup: Jürgen Klinsmann telling USA team they’ll be in final
By Mike Dyce
Earlier in June, a piece from Sam Borden in the New York Times came out about United States men’s national team head coach Jürgen Klinsmann. The notable quote we walked away from that piece with was Klinsmann’s statement that the United States would not win the World Cup.
"“We cannot win this World Cup, because we are not at that level yet,” Klinsmann told me over lunch in December. “For us, we have to play the game of our lives seven times to win the tournament.”He leaned back in his chair on the terrace at a Newport Beach restaurant, not far from where he lives in Southern California. Then he shrugged and said, “Realistically, it is not possible.”"
Maybe pessimistic on Klinsmann’s part, maybe realistic. Any athlete would probably tell you they wouldn’t play if they didn’t believe they could win though.
Well it appears that Klinsmann is changing his tune now.
“Jürgen has been nothing but positive. He’s telling us, he’s telling our families to change our flights to July 14, 15, because we’re going to be here until the very end,” United States defender Omar Gonzalez said according to Reuters, via The Guardian. “So that just speaks volumes to how positive he is, how much he believes in this team, and obviously it trickles down to all of us.
“That means that we’re all as confident as he is, and that we all believe in this team. We plan on being here a few more weeks.”
With center forward Jozy Altidore returning to the line up there certainly is a lot to be optimistic about, but it is still a tough road. First the United States would need to get past Belgium in the “Round of 16,” a team loaded with talent like Everton forward Romelu Lukaku and Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard.
Then, they’d be facing Argentina and superstar Lionel Messi in the quarterfinals if they got past Belgium. Then in the semi-finals they’d have to get past Netherlands. That is a tough road and the Americans have been inconsistent and prone to mistakes. They would’ve beaten Portugal had it not been for their own mistakes resulting in a pair of goals for Portugal.