US criticism harsh after defeat in Guatemala

The American critics were harsh today with the United States coach, Jürgen Klinsmann, and his team following Friday's 2-0 defeat in Guatemala, in a match valid for the qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The "USA Today" newspaper warned that the United States "is in danger of seeing its dream of the 2018 World Cup turned into a nightmare", FoxSports spoke of a "new low", and "The New York Times" warned that the defeat "raises more questions about where the team is heading under Klinsmann's direction".

The North American team is now obliged to defeat Guatemala on Tuesday in Columbus, who are 65 places below in the FIFA rankings, if they want to rely on themselves again.

Trinidad and Tobago lead the qualification group with seven points ahead of Guatemala, with six, and the United States, with four. The top two advance to the final qualification phase for Russia 2018 in the Concacaf region.

Rafael Morales and Carlos Ruiz were the authors of the Guatemalan goals taking advantage of defensive errors. The American goalkeeper surprisingly was Tim Howard, despite not having played a match in two months.

"Klinsmann's team was simply outplayed, beaten, and, more worryingly, showed no ideas against a team that has never reached a World Cup and has hardly come close in the last two decades," wrote "USA Today".

The United States has been in every World Cup since 1990.

"Americans and their German coach have a precious time to find some answers as to why their visit to Guatemala turned into a miserable and horrible spectacle," the newspaper added.