Jurgen Klinsmann is confident the United States can spring a surprise over Colombia in Santa Clara on Friday when his team kicks off the Copa America Centenario determined to launch an extended run in the competition.
Two years after the USA emerged from the “Group of Death” at the 2014 World Cup, reaching the knockout rounds at the expense of Portugal and Ghana, Klinsmann’s men find themselves with another daunting first round assignment.
As well as the Colombians, the Americans face World Cup quarterfinalists Costa Rica and last year’s Copa America semifinalists Paraguay in Group A, easily the toughest group in the 16-team tournament. Naijabet
Yet Klinsmann is relishing the prospect of trying to mastermind another upset of Colombia on US soil, 22 years after the Americans’ famous win over the South Americans at the 1994 World Cup.
The former German international wants to see how his team measures up against powerful opponents in Friday’s opener at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara as he builds towards the 2018 World Cup.
“We were in the ‘Group of Death’ in Brazil and we managed to come out of it, we left Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo behind, we left Ghana behind and then we hit the wall with Belgium in extra time,” Klinsmann said.
Although the Colombians boast an array of attacking talent led by Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez and Juventus’s Juan Cuadrado, Klinsmann believes the US can exploit weaknesses in Los Cafeteros’s ranks.
“Every team has their strengths and weaknesses. We’ve learned a lot over the past couple of years about how to play big teams and how to come up with solutions against big teams, whether it’s in Europe or elsewhere,” added Klinsmann, whose side have scored friendly victories over Germany and the Netherlands in the past 12 months.
“We’ve managed to get very good results. We respect them a lot, they deserve a lot of respect but on the other side we have no fear.
“We have a team that is very hungry. We have players that can match up.”
Klinsmann hinted that Colombia’s deadly counter-attacking prowess could present opportunities for his side.
“We’ve been doing our homework. I’m a big admirer of (Colombia coach Jose) Pekerman and we know how fast they can transition from defending into attack,” he said.
“They exploit space within a couple of seconds, that’s where they’re very dangerous scoring many goals.
“But we can also see that they leave weaknesses behind so hopefully we can take advantage of that.”
Klinsmann has drawn encouragement from the recent blossoming of a crop of young players, including newly signed Hamburg winger Bobby Wood (23), Spurs’ DeAndre Yedlin and German-born defender John Brooks. Teenager Christian Pulisic is also threatening to emerge.
“It’s exciting for us to see the growth of some players over the last two years,” Klinsmann said. “Young players can only grow if you give them time to play. Young players can only grow if they can fail. If they don’t have opportunities to they will never grow.”
Klinsmann cautioned however that he would not hesitate to turn to old players if circumstances demanded it.
“This is about the best team representing our country in order to get results,” he said.
“We’re not giving away favours here. If we feel it’s necessary to bring a veteran in to get a result that guy will come in. It’s all about now. It’s about winning.”
