U.S. Soccer president expects Klinsmann to coach the rest of World Cup Qualifying
The seat may be a little warm, but it looks like Klinsmann isn't going anywhere
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1 min read
U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati expects Jurgen Klinsmann to continue as the USMNT coach through the end of qualifying, according to ESPNFC.
Klinsmann's squad was stunned at home by Mexico on Friday to start the hex round of qualifying, and it was the first loss at home for the U.S. in WCQ since 2001.
Gulati didn't say anything that made it seem like Klinsmann would be on the hot seat, and just one loss to Mexico is hardly enough for it to really even be warm, especially after a fine display this past summer in the Copa America.
Gulati said it has been 27 years since a USMNT coach started World Cup Qualifying and didn't finish.
"We've never changed coaches in the [middle of the final round]. No one has started the process and not finished it since 1989 and I expect that to be the case here," he said.
Now, even if the team loses to Costa Rica on Tuesday, there are still eight more games to try and qualify for Russia 2018. The only way I would expect Klinsmann to be canned is if the U.S. failed to win in their first, say, six games or something and a dramatic change was needed. But it's really too early to even talk about that, because this team is one of the more talented in the region and is still expected to qualify.
Gulati is backing the coach. Are you?
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