US Men’s Soccer v. Honduras: Preview
Midfielder Michael Bradley will play the ninety first cap of his career against Honduras on Oct. 14 at 8 pm. [Sabrina Martinez | Assistant Creative Director]
On Oct. 13, the U.S. men’s national team will host Honduras at the FAU stadium in Boca Raton, Fla. as coach Jurgen Klinsmann looks to continue to prep for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
After fielding a team of youngsters — including John Brooks (21) and Luis Gil (20) — in a 1-1 draw against Ecuador on Saturday, Jurgen Klinsmann has decided to recall six established veterans.
In today’s press conference, Klinsmann voiced his concern over the complex club situation of two stars. Michael Bradley and center forward Jozy Altidore. Altidore was also present at the press conference.
“Things didn’t really go well for Michael [Bradley] at all since the World Cup,” Klinsmann said. “We purposefully didn’t call him for the game against Czech Republic, because we wanted him to do well with Toronto, but we’ll see now where he is at and how he deals with all his issues.”
“It’s very difficult for Jozy [Altidore] with his club situation,” said Klinsmann about the 24-year-old who was raised in Boca Raton. “The expectation is that he gets playing time and possibility to score goals. Obviously when he is not on the field we suffer with him. We all know what he is able to do, and when he’s not able to do that it’s just just frustrating, but he’s got to fight his through it.”
By calling all of his veterans — some, like Jermaine Jones (age 33), most likely won’t be around for the 2016 World Cup — Klinsmann showed how seriously he is taking this encounter.
The coach is surely keeping an eye on the Gold Cup tournament coming up next summer. The lineup that will be on the field when the game kicks off at 8 p.m. on Oct. 14 won’t be too different than the one that will be playing in the Gold Cup.
Klinsmann knows that there will be plenty of time to prepare for the World Cup coming up in four years time and incorporate his promising youngsters.
The Gold Cup is the overwhelming priority, and the process of readying the team starts tomorrow against a dangerous Honduras team.
Rodolphe Ganthier is a University Press Sports writer. Follow him on Twitter @Rodolphe22
