LA Galaxy and U.S. Soccer legend Landon Donovan says U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann should be out of a job if the United States lose this Saturday's CONCACAF Cup match against Mexico.
It has been an up-and-down year for Klinsmann's USMNT who famously defeated European powers Netherlands and Germany, but also finished fourth in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Americans' performance in the Gold Cup as well as their recent 4-1 shellacking at the hands of Brazil, has led to criticism of Klinsmann and his role with the team.
Speaking with ESPN FC, Donovan stated that Klinsmann must be held accountable if the USMNT does not qualify for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia with a win on Saturday at the sold-out Rose Bowl.
"Around the world, if a player plays poorly and a player has a bad string of results, they get dropped from the team," he told ESPN FC. "Jurgen said many times he wants our players to feel pressure -- so if they lose a game they can't go to the grocery store the next day. If they lose a game, they are getting hammered in the press.
"Well, the same holds true for the coach, and so we had a very poor summer with bad results in the Gold Cup. The last game against Brazil was probably the worst game I've seen them play under Jurgen.
"The reality is that now, anywhere else in the world, if this coach had those results, and they lose this game against Mexico, they'd be fired.
"I think if Jurgen wants to hold all the players to that standard, then he has to be held to that standard too."
Donovan was controversially omitted from the U.S. roster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil by Klinsmann more than a year ago. The now-retired soccer star finished his international career with 57 goals in 157 appearances for the United States.
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