Tweet
United States coach Jürgen Klinsmann turned to the players he trusted to see him through a manageable pair of games against Antigua and Barbuda and Guatemala over the next week and secure a place in the Hexagonal.
In-form striker Jozy Altidore was widely expected to feature among them. In a shock, he will not.
Altidore may currently sit atop the Eredivisie scoring charts with eight goals in six games, but his current club prowess did not earn him a berth in the 24-man squad Klinsmann released on Monday afternoon.
“I communicated with Jozy that I was not happy about his latest performances with us,” Klinsmann said today in a conference call with the media. “Maybe, over the last 14 months, I think Jozy can do much, much better.
The reason why he's not coming in is mainly about the performances in Jamaica and at home, also in training. There were also certain things that went on during the May and June camp. So we decided to bring in Eddie Johnson and Alan Gordon to show how much they've improved. They're both doing really, really well in MLS right now. And that's the reason.”
In-form striker Jozy Altidore was widely expected to feature among them. In a shock, he will not.
Altidore may currently sit atop the Eredivisie scoring charts with eight goals in six games, but his current club prowess did not earn him a berth in the 24-man squad Klinsmann released on Monday afternoon.
“I communicated with Jozy that I was not happy about his latest performances with us,” Klinsmann said today in a conference call with the media. “Maybe, over the last 14 months, I think Jozy can do much, much better.
The reason why he's not coming in is mainly about the performances in Jamaica and at home, also in training. There were also certain things that went on during the May and June camp. So we decided to bring in Eddie Johnson and Alan Gordon to show how much they've improved. They're both doing really, really well in MLS right now. And that's the reason.”