International Friendly: USA 1-4 Brazil
Let’s be honest, it was embracing to watch how badly the USMNT played or how clinical were the Brazilians. Either way in the second half, Neymar danced with the US defense and this is not normal. A lack of composure and no fighting spirit characterized this US team against Brazil. The goal the US scored saved a night which result could have been heavier in favor of the 5-time World Champions.
On the other hand Mexico tied Argentina 2-2 after leading 2-0 up to the 84th minute. Now the focus is on October 10th for the big game vs El Tri. Enough said that this kind a team performance will annihilate any US chance. There is a lot to do for coach Klinsmann. Here is what he said after the game:
U.S. MNT head coach JURGEN KLINSMANN
On the match:
“In all aspects it’s definitely a lot to take in. The players get a sense for the tempo, their speed of play, their speed of thought and execution. It was very impressive what Brazil did tonight and for us it was a huge learning curve, a huge learning moment for all the players that were on the field and experienced that. I’m not mad at anybody. It was a completely different tempo they set and we couldn’t go that tempo. I thought after halftime we got into a good moment for five minutes there and then comes this penalty. Overall, a huge compliment to Dunga and his team – it was impressive.”
On starting Alejandro Bedoya at holding midfielder and thought process on the substitution:
“Obviously playing Ale in the center there with Jermaine and Michael in front of it is a very good option. He showed that in a couple of other games after the World Cup that he could play inside. He just never caught up with the game. He was literally running after the ball and trying to get involved somehow, but he never connected. You see it and you wait a little bit and then you say maybe it’s better to make a switch there. You explain it to him and you just cross it off then.”
On how the defeat affects the team:
“I’m not concerned, but I want them to watch that game again. We’re going to cut together all sequences of all players and we’ll send it to them so they can watch it on their phones, iPads, whatever. It’s a learning moment, and I think if they understand when to adjust to a higher tempo then there is good stuff we can take out of that lesson. It’s obviously disappointing. It’s a result you don’t want, but you have to swallow that pill.”
On what needs to improve for Mexico:
“We talked about it before the game that we want to step up, we want to close them down. Their movement off the ball is so brilliant. This is the level they play week-in and week-out in their clubs. That’s what we take with us. There’s definitely a lot of sequences that we’re going to show them, and then we have an entire week to prepare for that Mexico game when we get together there in Los Angeles and we will be sharp. By that time I think a couple of players will be in a better physical shape as well. We saw with Jozy it was difficult to repeat the Friday game. It was a heavy field, and he’s just building. Jermaine is building. We have a lot of turnovers that were not necessary. When you make turnovers against Brazil, with their counter break speak, you’re going to suffer. You’re going to suffer a lot.”
On the attack:
“We don’t have Clint Dempsey at 100 percent yet and that’s why we bring in the young players, because we need to give them a run and see where they are. Obviously Jozy in four weeks from now will hopefully be fitter, much fitter than he is now. If Clint is 100 percent, it’s a different thing all together. Then you have these two up front and they’re always a threat. I mentioned before that we desperately try to grow young forwards, but it is what it is. We help them, we give them confidence, we give them a run, but they’re not there yet. It’s definitely a sign: If Clint is not coming in, you get Jordan Morris coming from Stanford and playing Brazil. The kid is doing a wonderful job, but we’ve got to be realistic here as well.”
On his lineup for the Oct. 10 match against Mexico:
“We have a clear picture about the Mexico game. We have to hope that Clint is there, Jozy is on a different level and we have to hope that Fabian Johnson is there. There’s no doubt about it that we need Fabian Johnson as a right back. We have to hope that DaMarcus Beasley is available, even if I think Tim Ream played a very, very solid game on the left flank – a huge compliment to him – but we have a couple of key players that we need to get back on board. I’m optimistic, but I’m not in their training sessions. I follow all the games and they have four weeks time now to catch up whatever they need to catch up. The message is so far positive coming out of Monchengladbach with Fabian, but you never know.”
