Klinsmann’s job on the line after heavy loss

Calls for Juergen Klinsmann to be sacked were mounting as the worst defeat of his five-year reign left the United States facing an uphill battle to qualify for the World Cup.

A brutal 4-0 mauling by Costa Rica on Tuesday in San Jose, just four days after a shattering 2-1 loss to Mexico in Columbus on Friday, has left the US rooted to the bottom of Concacaf’s six-team final qualifying group.

It is the first time in history that the US have lost their opening two qualifying games, and the first time since 2001 that they have lost backto-back fixtures during the qualifiers.

“This is the defeat that hurts the most in my five years here, there’s no doubt about it,” Klinsmann said.

The heaviest US qualifying shutout was a 6-0 loss to Mexico in 1957.

For now, Klinsmann’s employers United States Soccer are keeping their own counsel on the coach’s future.

“We won’t make any decisions right after games,” US Soccer chief Sunil Gulati said.

But for Klinsmann’s sizeable legion of critics amongst the ranks of pundits and US-based press, the defeat was final confirmation that the German’s time is up.

Tuesday’s loss was the latest in a series of setbacks that have dogged Klinsmann’s reign in the two years since his team returned from the 2014 World Cup as heroes after reaching the second round.

A failure to win the 2015 Gold Cup on home soil, when his team were eliminated in the semi-finals, was followed by defeat to Mexico in a playoff to determine Concacaf’s representatives at the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.

Although Klinsmann’s men enjoyed a respectable Copa America campaign in June, the gloss was taken off their run to the semi-finals when they were soundly beaten 4-0 by Argentina.

Despite the uncertainty, Klinsmann’s job may ultimately be saved by the lack of obvious replacements. — AFP