LONDON – If Jurgen Klinsmann was feeling any frustration at his side allowing Colombia to come from a goal down and claim a 2-1 victory in Friday night’s international friendly, he did a pretty decent job of hiding it.
“The tempo of the game, the intensity of it, was exactly what we were looking for,” the US national team head coach said after the game at Craven Cottage. “We had our chances to put the game away; overall a tie would maybe have been the right result. They had the upper hand at the end, but I saw some really good individual performances that were fun to watch.”
What hasn’t been fun has been the Yanks’ frustrating habit of losing or settling for a draw after surrendering a goal after the 85th minute, which happened for the third straight game on Friday. As impressive as Colombia were – their fans reacted to Teofilo Guiterrez’s winning goal with relief as much as celebration – there was a result to be had for the Yanks against one of the world’s most in-form, formidable teams.
So, can Klinsmann point to a single reason behind such costly lapses?
“I don’t know if you can resolve that in a 90-minute training session,” he said. “What would you do, wait until the last five minutes? Maybe we just shouldn’t tell Ireland. … It comes down to many reasons.”
Pressed on what those reasons might be, Klinsmann pointed to the summer’s excursions at the World Cup in Brazil.
“Many players are struggling to get back into shape after the World Cup, especially the European players,” he said. “It takes a lot out of you. The World Cup is a huge deal; it’s a two-month, high-intensity camp that you go through. It’s understandable. And that’s why we concede a goal two minutes from the end, against Honduras and again tonight.”
Perhaps the small, but vocal pockets of US fans drifting away in the cold London night air can console themselves with the thought that their coach is determined to teach his defenders the art of playing to feet, even when it’s backs-to-the-wall time.
“You can solve things by saying hit the ball long, but that’s not how we want to play, that’s not how you learn,” he said. “You play it out from the back. I want our center backs to be more and more confident playing it in that style, to keep it on the ground.”
