The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) has been on a downhill slope since the end of the World Cup after a strong effort against Belgium fell short after a 2-1 loss

during extra time. Since that match, the USMNT has only won one game, which was a 1-0 win in Prague against the Czech Republic. Since then, the USMNT has managed draws against Ecuador and Honduras, and lost to Colombia, Ireland, and Chile. As a result, many fans and critics have pinned the poor results on manager Jurgen Klinsmann.

The results can’t be pinned on Klinsmann, as he has been blamed, but on the inexperience of those put on the pitch. Klinsmann is using these friendlies not only as a warm up to the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, but to see which of the young players has what it takes to be put on the 2018 FIFA World Cup team. Only about half of players from the 2014 World Cup roster have been used in these games, those being Jermaine Jones, Mikkel Diskerud, John Anthony Brooks, Julian Green, Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore, Nick Rimando, Brad Guzan, Timmy Chandler, Alejandro Bedoya, DaMarcus Beasley, Kyle Beckerman, DeAndre Yedlin, Chris Wondolowski, and Clint Dempsey, and not all of these players have been playing in the same game.

The games have shown the bright future for the USMNT, by showcasing Joe Gyau, Bobby Wood, Sean Johnson, Brek Shea, Jordan Morris, Greg Garza, Lee Nguyen, Alfredo Morales, Rubio Rubin, Emerson Hyndman, and so on. Most of the players on this list are under the age of 25, so the experience of playing against the top talents will be good for their development and preparing them for the top tournaments.

So, blaming Klinsmann for the poor performances is ridiculous. He is only preparing the next wave of talent for the USMNT for the next level of the game. Also, don’t be surprised if you see some players from the upcoming U20 World Cup team making their senior team debuts in some of the upcoming friendlies against against Panama, Denmark, Switzerland, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Germany.