Jamaica 2, USA 1: Oh Jürgen

When Klinsmann was hired the pessimists said he was all Rah-Rah and that Jogi Löw was the true brains behind the operation on that 2006 World Cup team. Löw is a no-nonsense professional who expects execution and has never failed to take the Germans to at least the semifinals of a tournament, Klinsmann’s biggest results came in games which didn’t count and he had some guy rip a phone book in half to motivate the team.

Just enough sense to be dangerous. I was hoping such a discussion, if we ever had it, would be after a group stage loss in Brazil. Not facing the prospect of needing to take 7-points out of 9 to qualify for the third round of CONCACAF qualifying.