A late goal has once again proved the undoing of Jürgen Klinsmann’s US side, who depart Zürich with no answer to their end of games troubles. At least this time it wasn’t a fatal blow.
Klinsmann is using the year between World and Gold cups to rebuild his side, though his two major changes for this clash against Switzerland, ranked 12th in the world, were both forced on him. Fabian Johnson was a late omission due to “illness”, replaced by fellow Ger-merican Alfredo Morales. Aron Johansson’s toe infection allowed young LA Galaxy attacker Gyasi Zardes to be pushed forward, opening space in the midfield for Danny Williams to get his first start in over two years. In defense, Greg Garza made way for Brek Shea.
Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic took the break from Euro 2016 qualifiers to experiment with his squad, turning over more than his half his team from the weekend’s rout of Estonia. Haris Seferovic and Granit Xhaka, two of that game’s three scorers, were rested. No such chances were taken with Xherdan Shaqiri, the man with all three assists that night, and the man known in these parts as the ‘power dwarf’ ran the show for the home side right from the start.
It took until the 40th minute for him to give US keeper Nick Rimando his first real scare, however. Shaqiri moved to the left and caught Tim Chandler out of position, ran the ball to the byline then sent it across goal and past Admir Mehmedi.
In truth, the visitors could have – probably should have – been two up by that stage, with Zardes and fill-in captain Michael Bradley both wasting good opportunities in front of goal. It was the story of the night for Bradley, whose decision-making let him down time and time again.
Klinsmann’s side’s best passage of play came in the run up to break. Composed and patient, they at last looked comfortable bringing the ball into the Swiss half and, more importantly, keeping it there. After a good dozen passes, in which they moved it back and forth, left and right, Morales was brought down outside the box by a frustrated Swiss defense.
With what would the be the last kick of the opening half, Shea sent the ball straight into the net of Switzerland’s second-choice keeper, Roman Bürki.
The US has had no trouble dominating the first halves of late, then throwing it away after the break, particularly in the shadows of full time. It was to play out to the script again tonight.
Petkovic made mass changes at the break, while Klinsmann gave back-up goalkeeper William Yarbrough his first minutes for the national side. He got far more of a workout than Rimando, while Zardes and Bradley both had opportunities at the other end.
That all changed on 68 minutes, when a Jozy Altidore tackle earned the big man a yellow. His dissent then him another. Or was it a straight red? Hard to tell in the blur of expletives coming out of his mouth. There aren’t enough asterisks to publish what he said here.
The second half began in a livelier and more adventurous fashion, but it was one-way traffic after the sending off and the inevitable late goal came right on the 80th minute. Hertha Berlin’s Valentin Stocker, one of Switzerland’s many half-time changes, made the most of the US side’s failure to deal with a corner. It was Switzerland’s second corner in a minute and their sixth of the night, which is six times as many as the visitors conjured.
Both teams were knocked out in the round of 16 in Brazil, and a crowd of barely 16,000 turned up for the quarter-final that could have been.
Euro qualification pits the Swiss against Lithuania and Slovenia next, before they try to land a blow on a rampant England in September.
Klinsmann turns up the heat on this group significantly ahead of the Gold Cup. They host Mexico in a few weeks, then return to these parts in May for friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands.
If Denmark and Switzerland was meant to be an entree to bigger challenges, he returns to California with plenty to think about.
