Jurgen Klinsmann sacked by USA a week after heavy Costa Rica defeat By JAMES DUTTON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 20:32 GMT, 21 November 2016 | UPDATED: 20:32 GMT, 21 November 2016
Jurgen Klinsmann has been sacked by the USA after five years in charge of the men's national team. The German has paid the price for the USA's dreadful start to qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.The Americans suffered their worst qualifying defeat in 36 years when they were thrashed 4-0 away in Costa Rica last Tuesday. That reverse in San Jose followed a 2-1 home defeat by Mexico, leaving the US bottom of the six-team CONCACAF Round 5 qualifying group.
Only the top three teams - currently Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama - can qualify for the World Cup, with the fourth placed team advancing to the intercontinental play-off.
In a statement, US Soccer President Sunil Gulati announced: 'Today we made the difficult decision of parting ways with Jurgen Klinsmann, our head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team and Technical Director.
We want to thank Jurgen for his hard work and commitment during these last five years. He took pride in having the responsibility of steering the program, and there were considerable achievements along the way.
'Many are aware of the historic victories, including leading us out of the Group of Death to the Round of 16 in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but there were also lesser publicized efforts behind the scenes.
'He challenged everyone in the U.S. Soccer community to think about things in new ways, and thanks to his efforts we have grown as an organization and expect there will be benefits from his work for years to come.
'While we remain confident that we have quality players to help us advance to Russia 2018, the form and growth of the team up to this point left us convinced that we need to go in a different direction.
'With the next qualifying match in late March, we have several months to refocus the group and determine the best way forward to ensure a successful journey to qualify for our eighth-consecutive World Cup.
'There has never been a greater time for soccer in this country, and with the support and efforts of the millions of fans, sponsors, media and friends, we look forward to continued progress in the game we all love.'
Gulati will conduct a media teleconference call on Tuesday.
Klinsmann replaced Swansea boss Bob Bradley in July 2011 and led the team to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup title and the second round of the 2014 World Cup, where the Americans lost to Belgium in extra time.
But they were knocked out in last year's Gold Cup semifinals and lost to Mexico in a play-off to reach the Confederations Cup next year.
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