When it becomes a matchup of desire, the US must take advantage.
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No one is denying that.
However, the usa will need him to be at his best if they want to do well in this tournament and you do not bench your star players after one bad game.
It’s a must-win situation. “You’ve got to get your first three points, and then you see how things will play out in the third game”.
The US national team’s group stage clash with CONCACAF rivals Costa Rica on Tuesday night in Chicago is, as Jurgen Klinsmann himself opined, a must win. “We talked the team through that game as well, and it was a lot of good stuff coming out of that game, which makes us very positive going into the next game, which is a very tough Costa Rican team that we all know, that we all respect”.
Argentina showed there is more to the team than Lionel Messi after accounting for defending champions Chile 2-1 in their Copa America Centenario opener in Santa Clara on Monday.
Neither Brazil nor Ecuador could break the deadlock as the Copa America Centenario Group B fixture ended goalless in Pasadena.
Costa Rica have beaten U.S. twice in their past two meetings, with the former claiming a 1-0 win in a friendly in October a year ago. “We certainly understand that”.
Three days of reviewing Friday’s defeat seems to have brought a new and honest perspective to the Americans, who, despite their 54-percent possession advantage against the world’s third-ranked team, never really had the Colombians concerned about not pocketing all three points to lead Group A. “But the performance was a good performance”.
Defender Geoff Cameron stuck to that tune as well on Monday. “We have 24 hours to go before the game to make a decision”.
Some will still be hoping for a shock sighting of Nagbe’s name on the starting team sheet ahead of Tuesday’s game after he came on for the Jermaine Jones in the 66th minute against Colombia. “That’s not saying they dominated us or crushed us”. But Klinsmann and the Americans face being the first team eliminated from a tournament the U.S.is hosting for the first time. “There’s no question about that”.
Veteran midfielder Michael Bradley said he believes the USA players realize what is on the line Tuesday.
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When asked what playmaker Darlington Nagbe needs to do to get more minutes, Klinsmann said: “He has to learn how to find solutions dealing with far tighter space than he is used to…” “But the reality is that we never know exactly what to expect in terms of the makeup of the crowd”.
