Altidore scores twice, US advances with 4-0 win over T&T

Except in this case it’s not.

Having returned to the MNT after missing out on this summer’s Copa America Centenario, one possibility to replace Besler at center back is Omar Gonzalez.

The top two teams from the group both advance and the Americans are all but guaranteed to be in that top two.

From a marketing standpoint, it wasn’t the most convenient timing for the United States men’s soccer team to draw its typical big crowd numbers at EverBank Field.

In the midfield, Christian Pulisic will likely start again on the bench, leaving room for Fabian Johnson and Klinsmann favorite Ale Bedoya to start on the wings.

But the Americans also have their sight set on claiming first place in their group, which they would do with a win on Tuesday.

On top of that, the US would have to play at Mexico in June, which is historically the second hottest month in Mexico City.

After falling 2-0 to a Jurgen Klinsmann-led Germany side at the opening match of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the USA exacted some revenge the following February as German-based players Jovan Kirovski, Tony Sanneh and Claudio Reyna all scored first-half goals to earn an emphatic 3-0 victory against Die Mannschaft.

It’s not as if finishing first in Group C is a complete waste.

Other than a smaller crowd, there wasn’t much for the US team to not like about the final match in the Group C preliminary round, which the Americans won with 13 points in six matches. “And when moments are there to give them the minutes or the start, it’s not an issue”. It would also mean a visit to likely Group B winners Costa Rica on Matchday 2 of the final round.

“Obviously we are aware of this and we will be working on it as we head into this match.” Hart added that he expects to make changes to the team for todays encounter. Toss in it spreading their toughest matches out throughout the year-long Hex so they don’t have any harrowing back-to-backs and you have a much kinder schedule.

U.S. is now the main contender for the output, given the tournament motivation, I think the United States will make every effort in order to win the match. It was the ideal way for coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s team to head into the Hex against their biggest rival. Everyone always wants to finish in first place, too. To translate that, Klinsmann considers this a must win game (which he should since he knows how fast the media and fans will turn on him if the United States were to get anything but a win against a team like Trinidad & Tobago). Because they will have. And in two years’ time, their youngsters are only going to get better.

Gulati points out that Columbus, Ohio has been the site of three consecutive wins over Mexico, and there’s “some superstition” factored into that city being a favorite to host the opening game in the next qualifying stage against Mexico on November 11. But it’s been really exciting and I’m really happy with how it’s gone so far.