Are the Yanks Up for the Challenge at the 2014 World Cup?

While soccer is starting to gain a hold on the American sports viewing public, many still doubt whether the Yanks are indeed the real deal. So is the team worth all the cheers they are getting? Read on to find out.

The lineup

One of the biggest concerns of many American soccer enthusiasts is that the team’s current roster might not be deep enough to pursue a successful World Cup campaign. Indeed, while the team has seen action in several tournaments in the past two decades, they have yet to pull off a truly stellar performance. The current composition of the team also worries observers, as there is a lack of big names in the player listings. However, the likes of  Chris Wondolowski and  Eddie Johnson have made a significant impact on the team’s overall performance. Newcomers like Jozy Altidore have also shown great promise.

And this is where current Team USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann comes into play. The former German football star has received a large amount of attention from both fans and observers for his unorthodox way of handling team rosters. In particular, Klinsmann is known playing around with match lineups.  For instance, a lot of fans were surprised that he decided to bench popular player Landon Donovan for some games last season.

The uphill climb

However, Klinsmann’s efforts seem to be paying off, as the US soccer team is currently enjoying an unprecedented success. The team managed to pull off an impressive 9-game winning streak for a 14 wins-1 loss-1 draw card in their recent international outings. Even the draw they got with Mexico is counted a good sign, considering how difficult the opponent was.

One major concern, though, is that while the US team as a whole is doing great in its matches, the players seem to be lacking some needed international exposure.  Luckily, a lot of the players in the team are being signed up by renowned clubs in Europe, which is a great way for them to gain needed experience. Jozy Altidore has been signed up by Sunderland, while Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey is doing great in Roma and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.

What’s next?

However, even with all the recent positive development, there is still the question of what’s next for the US team. Klinsmann has said that there is still a lot of things they need to do in order to mount a really solid campaign next year in Brazil. In particular, he emphasized that the US Team’s success would lie not in the outstanding performance of a few players, but in the contribution of all members.

And as the qualifying matches are already over, the team is now set on doing practice matches for the next few months before the opening of the 2014 World Cup.