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.”