The US tuned up for their defense of the Gold Cup with a 4-0 friendly victory over Guatemala on Friday that left coach Juergen Klinsmann hoping for better.
“I’m kind of disappointed with a couple of things — moving off the ball, speed of play, urgency,” Klinsmann said. “Things we talked about before were not executed the way we wanted them to be executed.”
Timothy Chandler, Clint Dempsey from the penalty spot and Chris Wondolowski scored for the US — all three after Carlos Castrillo’s 19th-minute own-goal gave the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Photo: AFP
That came minutes after Jozy Altidore missed a penalty for the US and it proved to be the only goal of the first half as Guatemala, also Gold Cup-bound, saw US goalkeeper Brad Guzan deny Carlos Mejia in the 36th minute and Wilson Lalin in the 39th.
“We gave some chances away that you can’t afford on a international level, it was just too easy. We didn’t create enough,” Klinsmann said.
The US, who made it to the round-of-16 at last year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil, took control after the break.
Chandler doubled the US’ lead with a left-footed rocket from outside the penalty area in the 58th minute from a pass from DeAndre Yedlin.
Dempsey, relieved of the captain’s armband this week after an altercation with a referee in a US Open Cup match, scored from the penalty spot in the 72nd minute after captain Michael Bradley was brought down in the area when Castrillo dragged a leg over his head.
Wondolowski completed the scoring in the 86th minute after Gyasi Zardes took the ball to the byline on the left side of the penalty area, before cutting it back to Wondolowski, who fired home from close range.
Coming off two impressive friendly victories in Europe — 4-3 over the Netherlands in Amsterdam and 2-1 over world champions Germany in Cologne — the US kick off their Gold Cup defense against Honduras in suburban Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday.
“We have four days to prepare for Honduras. We expect a nasty game, and an aggressive and difficult game,” Klinsmann said. “We definitely have to step it up.”
The US, who also face Haiti and Panama in the group stage, can qualify for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia by retaining the title in the regional championship.
Guatemala are set to face Mexico, Cuba, and Trinidad and Tobago in their group-stage matches.
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