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GREAT OPPORTUNITY

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The head coach of the US national football team, Jurgen Klinsmann, has said that the friendly match against Guatemala is a good opportunity for his players to get into the rhythm before the Gold Cup.

USA will take on Guatemala on Friday at Qualcomm Stadium and just a week after that, they will start their Gold Cup campaign against Belize.

When asked about that friendly game, Klinsmann said, “It’s a great chance for us to have some match practice before such a big tournament. Guatemala is a quality side and playing against them will be a good test for us.”

Guatemala hasn’t been able to qualify for the Gold Cup and the team has to face a lot of criticism for that. So, they might like to prove a point or two against USA.

When asked about the composition of Guatemala side, Klinsmann said, “They have got a lot of young players in their squad. They have a new leader as well and they don’t have anything to lose. So, they will just look to play attacking football and enjoy themselves.”

Klinsmann also warned his players that they shouldn’t be taking Belize lightly in their first match of the Gold Cup.

The American manager said, “Belize is not the strongest team in the world, but, they are very competitive. If you had seen them playing in the qualification, you would have found out that they don’t make things easy for the opposition.”

According to CONCACAF rules, the teams need to submit their preliminary squad one and half months before the start of the Gold Cup.

When asked about that rule, Klinsmann said, “I don’t think it’s a fair rule and I have made the CONCACAF officials aware of that. You don’t know when a certain player will get injured or will lose form. A lot can happen in one and half months.”

WORK HARD LANDON

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United States national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann has said that LA Galaxy striker Landon Donovan will have to work hard if he is to return to national team football. The 31-year-old took a sabbatical from sport without the consent of the managers involved. Even though LA Galaxy manager Bruce Arena said that he would be welcoming the striker anytime, Klinsmann has not been happy about the situation. In the absence of Donovan, the US have suffered poor results in the World Cup qualifying group. It has also left the future of Klinsmann in major doubt.

Donovan is regarded as one of the best strikers at the national team level for the US. However, Klinsmann has said that the striker will have to work hard before he can think about a recall to the national team. He has said that there are several players who have done extremely well in recent months. They deserve a call up ahead of Donovan according to Klinsmann. Donovan was at his best in recent 2-0 win for LA Galaxy over Kansas City. He scored one goal and created the other for his club team.

The player recently returned to football after several months of sabbatical. He claimed that he was tired after having played continuous football in recent years.

“There are players clearly ahead of Landon Donovan right now. We’ll see now how he will do in the next couple of weeks and months. We’ll look at the entire picture. And then make our calls. It’s not down to one game when you score one goal, ‘Now you’re back in the team,’. I’ve always said that I would observe him like we will observe all the other players over the stretch of a period of time. There is a chemistry being developed as a group … and he hasn’t been part of that development most of the time over the last two years,” said Klinsmann.