The current USMNT has received quite the backing from a leading soccer figure in the form of Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp, of course, is one of the most iconic managers in modern soccer history, and his words therefore carry weight.
The German is out in the US working on German television as a pundit, 20 years after he entered the general public consciousness by performing a similar role at the 2006 World Cup.
Klopp has been impressed by the US as a World Cup host and he has now been full of praise for Mauricio Pochettino’s team.
Klopp says USMNT is best in America’s history
Speaking to ESPN, the former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund coach declared this version of the USMNT as the best team the United States have ever had.
“It is the best team USA has ever had. It is,” said Klopp.
“You look where the players play. Look, the boys, you have a striker who plays in France, played in England, blah, blah, blah. You have a winger who plays everywhere in Pulisic. The last line [defenders], plays or played in the Premier League, midfield plays or played in the Premier League or in Italy — you never had a team like that. So that’s number one. And a sensational coach with Maurício. Yeah, you have a good team.
“The pressure will, I don’t want to jinx it, but the pressure will grow. So it’s great right now in all this kind of thing. USA, really good. Canada, good. Mexico, good. They’re all very important for the tournament.”
It’s certainly difficult to disagree when looking at the sheer quality in the squad. Indeed, they will be expected to reach the round of 16 at the very least when they play Bosnia and Herzegovina in San Francisco on Thursday in the round of 32.
Still, they will have some way to go to break new ground in the World Cup for the US.
The 1930 team reached the semi-finals and finished third, although the format of the competition was clearly very different back then.
In 2002, what many deemed as a ‘golden generation’ reached the quarter-finals in South Korea before losing to beaten finalists Germany.
The USMNT have certainly captured the imagination during this year’s World Cup.
Not much was expected of them heading into the tournament but big wins over Paraguay and Australia have excited the nation.
While they did lose to Turkey in their final group stage game, that came after Pochettino benched several key players for that clash because his team had already won Group D.
If they beat Bosnia in their first knockout game on Thursday, the excitement is set to continue.
Read more:
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