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USMNT tired of ‘underdog story’ after winning Copa America group

Photo by Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports
Photo by Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports

When the final whistle blew on what turned out to be a 1-0 win over Paraguay, the U.S. Men’s National Team bench charged onto the field. It was a display of joy and relief all in one; an expression of a hurdle cleared en route to the ultimate goal.

In truth, Saturday never felt like just a group stage game. With what was on the line, the USMNT knew Saturday’s clash against Paraguay was more than just an opening round finale. It was do-or-die, and anything less than a win would open the door for Copa America elimination.

That ultimate goal remains in the distance, even with a statement win. But on Saturday, down a man against a relentless Paraguay team, the USMNT rushed the field with a feeling of mission accomplished.

“I’m just thrilled for the team because they really deserved the win tonight,” head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. “We held on basically with a man down for pretty much the whole second half, and we even created chances to score a second one. This is a huge statement to teams in South America or whoever watches it on TV because this team has a fantastic spirit, they have character.

“What I really love from these guys is that they want to get better. They want to get better. They improve, they listen. You run them through certain scenarios. You run them through certain systems, shapes. You kind of make them understand that their learning curve is just starting. Those that are older, they stay hungry and are committed, like a Jermaine Jones or a Clint. That’s just fantastic to see. As a coach, you want to see your players enjoy that process, and I think right now they’re really enjoying it.”

Despite the end result, Saturday’s effort was not entirely a performance to enjoy. It was gritty, it was difficult, and, at times, it was ugly.

Down a man and protecting a one goal lead, the USMNT did what it needed to do. When it came time to kill the game, the U.S. took every opportunity to do so. Against a threatening Paraguay side, the U.S. was forced to grind their way just one game after putting forth one of their most free-flowing performances.

The slow grind towards the knockout stages began, in earnest, early in the second half. Just 59 seconds after putting his name in the referee’s book, DeAndre Yedlin got himself sent off, sputtering any momentum the USMNT had generated with Clint Dempsey’s first half opener.

“The first reaction is inexperience. He got emotional,” Klinsmann said of Yedlin’s dismissal. “He got a card. Emotionally, he makes the first tackle because he has to make the recovery run. I was not sure about the first one. I thought the first one he played the ball, but seeing it real quick, it was a foul. You can give that yellow. Then he just lost his head for a second. This is why you are young. You have to give him that benefit of the doubt. He will learn out of that mistake.”

“The character they show, the determination, the heart. They battled through that 35 minutes a man down,” added Dempsey, who was sacrificed for Michael Orozco following Yedlin’s dismissal. “Now it’s about once you advance out of the group what are you gonna do so hopefully we keep pushing.”

The USMNT remains a ways from their end goal. Before the tournament, Klinsmann targeted the competition’s semifinals and, with it, a monumental knockout stage win. Brazil, Ecuador or Peru will be awaiting them in Seattle, presenting an opportunity to make a statement.

For Klinsmann, there is work to be done, but Saturday’s match was what the USMNT head coach sees as another positive step towards claiming a place in the region’s elite.

“What we’d love to see is that they become more confident and courageous to take the game to big teams,” Klinsmann said. “We’re not playing just counter football, that we go and really push it up… This is the process that we want to kind of have the game play evenly. The whole old story is the underdog story, and I can’t hear that story anymore.

“I want to see them risk things. Let’s go for it. If you’re not going for it, sooner or later, they’ll break you down because they have the class players that give you one or two. It’s taking the game. That’s the learning curve. The knockout stage is very mental driven. It’s absolutely a mental game. When you step on the field and see certain jersey, it’s sniffing at each other and saying I’m ready for you. It’s the moment and this is what they need to believe in. Whoever is on the other side, I’m ready for you. This is what you would love to see. It’s easy to say, but it’s a mental learning curve that the coming game, we hopefully, improve now on.”

Comments

  1. Maybe I’m alone in this feeling but, if Klinsmann wants to get away from the “underdog” moniker, then his teams need to perform better at the Gold Cup. Losing the way they did to Jamaica and then to Panama (3rd place game), not to mention their performances in group play – all against lesser competition I might add.

    If you can’t consistently perform better than that against those teams, how can your team not be deemed an underdog against Colombia and Paraguay, even Costa Rica at the start of this tournament.

    If your team acts like the top dog at EVERY single opportunity, then you can throw away the labels and mentalities.

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    • I hear ya and I don’t disagree, but this is an article on us advancing to the round of 8, against a very tough group, including two WCup group winners……when Brazil, the superpower, who is taking inconsistency to new levels, got knocked out.

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      • I understand. There’s no reason to believe we aren’t capable of anything within this tournament.

        I just wanted to point out that the “underdog” thing isn’t just some American cultural phenomenon to be overcome. He and his team have created a perception about themselves by just not showing up to games and getting outplayed by lower tier teams. If he wants to be considered among the favorites, then he has to win the lower quality games every time.

        I took issue with a small part of the article.

        We’ve played very well overall this tournament. We have a very good shot at getting to another final IMO. I’ve got a good feeling about this team. Good talent. Good depth. Very good mentality.

  2. I like this post. There is a lot more to become a better “soccer nation” than results from our full team, although ultimately that is the number one criteria. Sadly, until the suits get out of the way and leave player development up to the coaches, we are not going to make the kind of progress that we are capable of making. I believe, as do others who post here, that we can be doing better.
    On an observation of Paraguay, they were a horrifically inept finishing team. The 3 v 1 where Brooks make an amazing play was amateur. A 2 v 1 should always be pulled off by making a pass that puts the defender out of the play. That is Soccer 101 and used to be taught in the ‘F’ license. A 3 v 1 not finished?
    The Germans could have scored on that play blindfolded.
    Regardless, a great effort by the US

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    • Brooks baited the poor pass by trailing. The attacker was making the right play right up to the moment he went to pass (Brooks appeared to be beaten and the pass would have taken the keeper out of the play), and that’s when Brooks made up the ground and broke up the movement with a lunge. It was A+ defending.

      Absolutely you expect to finish that play every time. A better player sees Brooks’ ploy and cuts back on the dribble to catch him in an overpursuit or lifts the ball for a more risky center, but there are still a dozen things that can ruin the play from that point. Every great defensive play is also an offensive mistake, just like every great offensive play is also a defensive mistake.

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  3. While I’m glad we won and showed the determination and grit that has long been a part of the USMNT. However, there is still a lot of improvement needed. Yes the refereeing was bad….but Yedlin & Wood both need to learn to control their emotions better. Yedlin was ejected for his stupidity…but Wood could have been Red Carded for his lashing out. The team still concedes possession much too easily….turning the ball over through poor passing and/or over hit dead balls. When you’re down a player this is particularly detrimental. Additionally we are still too reliant on Jones & Dempsey. Yes they are 2 of our most experienced players but JK’s continuation of playing them consistently 90 minutes every game will ware on them at their ages. Both should have been substituted during the 2nd game around the 60 minute mark in order to preserve them for the 3rd game and for the knockout rounds.

    Overall I’m happy for the team and they deserved the wins….but if we’re going to take the next steps as a soccer nation we need to do better. Till then we will continue to be the “Underdogs” in these types of tournaments.

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  4. I was in Philly for the game, the stadium was rocking pretty much the whole game and I enjoyed every minute of it! Brooks and Cameron are really starting to find a rhythm and we’re dominating yesterday while the rest of the team put in a real gritty shift.

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    • Definitely, but I also have to give props to the Philly crowd. They were going bonkers in the second half, when the guys needed that extra energy the most. Kudos.

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      • Agreed. One of those matches where the atmosphere appeared to have a direct (positive) impact on the proceedings.

  5. Team is growing. A good game for some of the young upstarts to see- gritty, get it done tournament play. Yedlin…… lost his shiiiiite, commmmmpleeeetely idiotic, naive… but…… I do like the fire. Just need to channel it through some seasoned savvy, knowing how and when to take your shots. I get the feeling it won’t repeat itself- he does seem to learn. This will be one more thing to draw from. Let’s hope his boys cover, pick him up and he gets a shot at redemption in the semis!

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  6. It was good to see when it came time to make our Last Stand At The Alamo we could still do it, though. Everybody worked their butts off, Guzan stood on his head like an American keeper invariably ends up having to do…it’s like, hey, that seems awfully familiar, and not in a good way. The only good news is that we actually had 10 guys on the field instead of 11 when things started reverting.

    Yedlin. Dude. What WAS that, anyhow? Best guess is there’s going to be some fellas GRUMPY with him, today.

    Hey, whatever. We’re on to Seattle. Which will not fill our next opponent with joy, if they know anything about playing in the Clink.

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    • It helps when you have a physically dominant center back who is seizing the moment and winning literally every challenge he is involved in. Brooks, wow, and him and Cameron are working very well together, as many predicted.

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  7. Jones looked spent at the end of last night. With short rest and cross country travel, might be good to see Nagbe in the starting 11?

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    • No way. Jones is argueably our best player who has real big game experience.He has become too integral to the team strategy. Unless he picked up an injury, he is our starter for the rest of the tournament.

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  8. I am not from this country and I am more tired of how indifferent this country is to Copa America and the absence of ambience that comes along with it….Not only is it clear after comparing and watching the eurocup opening ceremony, and besides the hooliganism, everything about the Eurocup organization, the ambience you see on the streets you can’t help but envy it. I don’t think this country deserves a world cup…Why??? it’s so boring, the ambience does not exist really. you walk on 5th avenue in NYC or sunset blvd and you can’t even tell there is a world cup…that was brought to my attention by south american newspapers covering the copa…they feel like there is nothing going on outside of the stadiums.. and truth is I see it for myself. Then you see the copa itself how awful the opening ceremony is , it resembles the street fair shows that go on during summer in NYC so boring and on top of that you can’t even match the national hymn of Uruguay and play the Chilean instead because this country is so arrogant and don’t even consider doing research about the countries you are hosting, you think everyone is the same down in south America, you are a ignorant and uneducated country that does not deserve the world cup or the sport of Soccer…. I am so hurt that the Centenary celebration for our beloved copa america has been given to this country. there I said it

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    • I can’t really argue with your sentiments. To a certain extent, you are preaching to the choir here. SBI fans are among the passionate and want the game to grow. We jealously witness the passion in the rest of the world and want to replicate that here. Moving a hundred year old tournament out of the core region as a money grab must feel like a slap in the face. I do hope the high level of competition helps increase the fan base here and intensity here but that is admittedly a slow process. Enjoy the games as best you can and convince one baseball fan to join you

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      • I’ve got nothing for this guy.

        His beloved Copa America has barely featured Messi, Alexis has looked like garbage, James has been more of a drama queen than a star, Neymar skipped out, and Uruguay mailed it in. If this is the way it always is then he loves getting cheated out of a rigorous competition and he is so xenophobic that his ideas are tainted .

        The future is in a world where all of the Americas form a big market tournament that always includes USA and Mexico and the rest of CONCACAF. Including these teams makes the tournament compete with the Euros. Otherwise the tournament is half baked and a little empty.

      • I traveled from Texas to Philly for the game. Starting the day before, the streets were flooded with USA fans. Paraguay fans also showed up in force.

        Atmosphere is here and ready to grow. It’s shocking how much it has grown in 20 years. The game was incredible and the stadium had rabid, fun USA fans everywhere.

    • yeah… but also the terrible planning and concern about not even playing the tournament earlier this year had a negative effect. I mean, I held off buying tix because of that… also, tickets were waaaay overpriced for certain games… you can’t charge the same for peru v. haiti as you do for US v. MX or Argentina v. Chile… So overall, I get your concern… but the world cup is a different animal entirely, especially considering that the US sends the most fans of any country to the world cup… plus the stadiums are bigger… and the planning is better…

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    • I can understand this feeling but on the other hand this Copa America’s total attendance has already passed last years in Chile, and it closing in on the 2011 one held in Argentina. I do think they should of had some of the lesser match ups in MLS stadiums to create a better environment. Yes mistakes were made but hopefully this are corrected and the energy grows as we reach the knock out matches.

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    • In my city, no one, save our local AO chapter, really even knows about it. They’ve since read newspapers saying the US won its group, but there’s no chatter about it around the water cooler or in the parks and streets. Even the rec players I knock around with sort of dismiss it in order to talk about the NBA finals or Stanley Cup.

      I’ve got families in my immediate area from Argentina to Mexico and even they are sort of “meh” about it. The passion is just not there in the national psyche, though it is there among the supporters in the more dense areas. Seek out the gathering places and you’ll find hundreds maybe thousands of people who are excited and trying to grow the sport.

      The general consensus is currently that it’s an exhibition tournament, which it officially is as it comes only one year after the traditional Copa America, but the Copa PanAmerica or whatever we end up calling it might in a generation or two become a storied tournament. Right now it’s an experiment and a marketing gimmick, but tune in to the pregame in Seattle or make the trip if you can afford it and you’ll see as much passion as you’ll find anywhere in the world.

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    • Where you here for the ’94 World Cup? Because I felt like it was exciting. Very exciting. By far the largest attended and biggest World Cup exciting. Opposite of small stadiums not sold out that you see in other countries exciting.

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  9. This is why I didn’t get upset after the loss to Colombia. Had that game been third we could have come into it sitting on top of the group:
    Us-6
    Colombia-3
    Costa Rica- 3
    Paraguay -0

    We played the same lineup 3 times and got the expected results we needed to keep moving.

    Overall, great round. Third overall time we’ve gotten 6 points in a major tourney (not named WC). I wanna say the first time we won our group in a major tourney (not named WC).

    We have come a long way from bunker n counter style. Showing real signs of improvement. Back line looking solid.
    Let’s go USA!!!

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    • Colombia would have had 6 pts, not 3. They only benched their first 11 last night because they got cocky after they were assured of advancing. In your alternate universe, Colombia starts James and Cuadrado against Costa Rica. Poor example.

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      • Not a poor example, because you can only use what you know has happened. Costa Rica might have still won 3-2 even with Colombia’s first team. We don’t know. Would you have expected Uruguay to lose to Venezuela?

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