Gold Cup: We could have won the cup, says Klinsmann

US coach baffled after hosts finished fourth, their worst showing since 2000.

PHILADELPHIA: Jurgen Klinsmann still isn’t sure how his US team that beat the Dutch and Germans last month wound up fourth in the Gold Cup after suffering two embarrassing defeats.

But after Panama beat the Americans 3-2 on penalties late on Saturday after a 1-1 draw to take third place in the biennial North American regional football tournament, the former German star vowed his team will bounce back.

“We could have won this tournament. We didn’t,” said Klinsmann. “We will take our lessons from this, analyse it and talk to the players. This is a work in progress.”

Just four days earlier, Jamaica stunned the Americans 2-1 in a semi-final. The ‘Reggae Boyz’ had a head-to-head record of 1-13 with eight draws in prior matches against the Americans, who suffered their first home loss to a Caribbean side since falling to Haiti in 1969.

Panama completed the humiliation with their first win over the hosts and defending champions. The US’ fourth-place showing marking their second-worst in Gold Cup history after a 2000 quarter-final loss to Colombia on penalties.

“We learn from the negatives, take the positives and move on,” said American DeAndre Yedlin. “I want to stay positive. Any time you play with pressure it helps.”

Panama won with starting goalkeeper Jaime Penedo and top scorer Luis Tejada suspended after a controversial 2-1 semi-final loss to Mexico.

“It was important to get this result,” said coach Hernan Gomez’s. “There is no such thing as a moral victory. We were ready to hoist the trophy. This is a good Gold Cup for Panama. They played with a lot of skill and are playing well going into World Cup qualifying. My goal is still to take this group to the World Cup and we made some steps in that direction.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th,  2015.

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