The US Men's National Team continued its dreadful World Cup 2014 Qualfiers with a pathetic 2-1 loss to a Jamaica team that had never defeated them in qualifiers.
The US got off to a tremendous start when Clint Dempsey scored in the first minute of play. But then the US relinquished the lead in the 22nt minute when Rodolph Austin scored on a free kick that US midfielder Kyle Beckerman redirected into his own net. In the second half Luton Shelton scored a classy free kick goal to secure the win in the 62nd minute.
The question that beckons is: What is wrong with the USMNT? Here are a few reasons why they lost to Jamaica.
Kyle Beckerman
Not fair to pin it on one man, but when you commit a foul that gives the other team a free kick outside your box and then deflect said free kick into your net, you deserve to be a scapegoat. What's worse is that Beckerman was dreaful throughout the pitch as he blew coverages left and right and did little in terms of helping his team advance.
Jurgen Klinsmann
When Klinsmann was hired, the entire US soccer fanbase rejoiced. But Klinsmann has not necessarily been a godsend for the USMNT. In this match, he made some questionable moves that cost the team dearly. The US offense was anemic, but the main reason was the Klinsmann decided to go with Beckerman, Maurice Edu, and Jermain Jones- all defensive midfielders. No Michael Bradley was disastrous for the US as the three midfielders never found the flow necessary to get their forwards the ball.
Anemic Offense
Clint Dempsey was the only capable forward on the field for the US. And he scored under a minute in to score the faster goal ever in US qualifying. However, no Landon Donavan and no Michael Bradley was costly for this team. They lacked creativity on the pitch and with Klinsmann's decision to go with three defensive midfielders, he only compounded his squad's problems.
After the loss, the US drops into a second place tie with Guatemala who won their match against Antigua. The US gets a second shot at Jamaica on home turf. That match will be even more telling.
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