Juergen stays upbeat

German remains certain US will qualify for 2018 World Cup

BERLIN: United States coach Juergen Klinsmann remains “1,000% sure” his side will qualify for the 2018 World Cup despite a 4-0 rout at Costa Rica last week.

He even has the support of President Barack Obama, the coach told a gala dinner in Berlin.

Klinsmann said he was disappointed “and even angry” that his team had lost their first two World Cup qualifiers in the space of five days, having let in a late goal against the run of play to lose 2-1 at home to Mexico.

But he added that the team had played well at times during 2016 and would bounce back and win at least 15 points from the 24 available in the next eight qualifying games, which should enable the US to qualify from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf ) region.

The top three of the six teams go through, with the fourth-placed country going into a playoff against a team from Asia.

The US and Trinidad and Tobago are both pointless after two games.

“It’s important to put this in the right perspective,” he said.

“We lost the two opening games and played the two best teams right away. We have eight more games to get the points needed to qualify. We’ve always reacted strongly when things were nerve-wracking.

“This team is always capable of reacting. We’ll correct this with the two games in March (against Honduras and Panama) and we’ll take one game at a time from there to get our points. I’m 1,000% sure we’ll qualify.”

Klinsmann said he was aware of the criticism in the media and calls for his dismissal after five years in the job, but he will not jettison his plan to patiently develop a team that would peak at the right time at Russia 2018.

“When things go slightly wrong, there are some people who come out and are ready to chop your head off,” he said.

“In the long run, that’s going to make the development of the team difficult. It’s important to stay calm and be patient.

“There are definitely issues to be addressed but there is no reason to exaggerate them or panic,” he added.

“I’ve been doing this for 35 years and there are always many reasons why certain things happen, both positively and negatively.

“It’s important to have the end result in mind. And the big picture is the overall development of the team in the four-year cycle between two World Cups.

“You have to be ready to take some setbacks during that phase.”

Klinsmann quoted President Obama telling him at a three-hour brainstorming meeting that also included a Nobel Prize winner, leading scientists and astronauts, that there was still a long way to go on the road to Russia.

“He said, ‘Coach, it didn’t go well in Costa Rica, but it’s only the start of the World Cup qualifying and you’ll get back on the right track’.

“He understands that it’s a long qualifying process. He also understands dynamics of soccer as a global sport and how it builds bridges.” — Reuters