The United States Men's National Soccer Team is up against it over the course of the next week and a half. They've got a ton of fixtures coming down the road which will help determine if they qualify for both the World Cup and the Olympics.
It would seem like the more important match is the one to qualify for the Olympics. The U.S. took third place in the CONCACAF qualifier for the Olympics in Rio, and as a result, it has to play a home-and-home series with Colombia.
This match really is problematic for Jurgen Klinsmann. There isn't a ton of pressure on him to get the Yanks into the Olympic tournament, knowing that most of the top teams in the world don't really take this seriously. That said, the Americans will be favored to win this home-and-home series as long as they sent a solid U-23 team, and falling short would be looked upon as another great disappointment for a team which needs anything positive going for it.
There are two real keys here for Klinsmann. He knows that he has to send three veterans with his U-23 team to Colombia for Friday night's fixture, but he also knows that these two matches against Guatemala in World Cup qualifying could ultimately decide if the Americans are headed to the fifth and final round of qualifying, commonly referred to as "The Hex."
That U-23 team is going to surely be talented. Jordan Morris, Bobby Wood, Wil Trapp, DeAndre Yedlin and John Brooks are all eligible to head to Colombia, though there's a question whether Yedlin and Brooks will be used with the senior squad in Guatemala.
As far as the senior squad goes, it'll have its hands full over the course of the next week and a half. There are two matches against Guatemala on tap, the first of which comes in Guatemala City on Friday night. The Americans have only won once against Guatemala on the road in five tries, and here in World Cup qualifying, you know that the atmosphere is going to be raucous.
The Guatemalans are already dubbing this as one of their biggest sporting events in their history, and it's certainly the biggest event of the year.
Earlier this season, both of these teams played a pair of World Cup qualifiers. The Guatemalans were beaten by Trinidad & Tobago at home, and that's why this match is so darn important for them. The United States has basically held serve at this point, as it has a win at home against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines along with a draw on the road against Trinidad & Tobago. There are only four more matches left in qualifying in this group, and anything less than four points from the two duels could end up setting up some nervy clashes against T&T and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the last round of qualifying efforts.
The big problem for Klinsmann is that he won't get a chance to bring his Americans together until just a few days before this first match against Guatemala. Virtually all of the Guatemalan players have been together for a full week already, and that could cause some problems.
Klinsmann knows that he has to get positive results here, and if he doesn't secure at least one win in these two matches, he's probably on his way out the door. Sunil Gulati has been very patient with Klinsmann as the Americans have faltered of late. They only have one win in their last five matches and two in their last eight dating back to the semifinals of the Gold Cup when they were beaten 2-1 by Jamaica in stunning fashion at the Georgia Dome. The only wins have come against Peru and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Klinsmann knows these two matches against Guatemala are going to end up being incredibly important and significantly more challenging.
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