Landon Donovan Is Right: Jurgen Klinsmann Must Beat Mexico or Face Consequences

Landon Donovan is right: If Jurgen Klinsmann can't win this one, he needs to go.

Donovan, a retired United States international, recently suggested that the current men's national team head coach should be fired if the U.S. can't beat Mexico on Saturday in a one-game playoff to determine CONCACAF's representative at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Speaking to ESPN FC, Donovan said: 

"

Around the world, if a player plays poorly and a player has a bad string of results, they get dropped from the team. Jurgen said many times he wants our players to feel pressure—so if they lose a game, they can't go to the grocery store the next day. If they lose a game, they are getting hammered in the press. 

Well, the same holds true for the coach, and so we had a very poor summer with bad results in the Gold Cup. The last game against Brazil was probably the worst game I've seen them play under Jurgen. The reality is that now, anywhere else in the world, if this coach had those results, and they lose this game against Mexico, they'd be fired.

I think if Jurgen wants to hold all the players to that standard, then he has to be held to that standard too.

"

Donovan did not quite say so explicitly, but his implication was clear: If the U.S. loses to Mexico on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, Klinsmann should lose his job.

And he's right, of course.

The U.S. failed at the 2015 Gold Cup, crashing out in the semifinals against Jamaica. The Reggae Boyz played well in the tournament, but based on the talent available to both countries, the U.S. should have won the game. In fact, based on talent, the U.S. should have reached the final comfortably.

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Some of Klinsmann's decisions directly hurt the U.S. in the Gold Cup, however, especially his insistence on pairing John Brooks and Ventura Alvarado in central defense. The two simply weren't ready for the responsibility, and Klinsmann seemed to be the only one who couldn't see it.

After the Gold Cup, the U.S. looked dire in a 4-1 loss to Brazil in a September friendly. That result and performance suggested that, if anything, the Americans are moving in the wrong direction.

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That said, Klinsmann and his team have a chance to turn around their fortunes this Saturday. With a victory over Mexico, the U.S. would qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup. Klinsmann has said explicitly that this represents one of the program's main goals.

“Our goal is to win this competition and qualify for the Confederations Cup in Russia in 2017," Klinsmann said during preparations for the Gold Cup this past summer, via Brian Lewis of the New York Post. "That’s the simple message to all of the players."

The Gold Cup was a failure, but Saturday offers a shot at redemption. On the flip side, another failure would be especially damaging to the U.S. program's attempts to grow. 

In 2011, after the U.S. lost the Gold Cup final to Mexico, head coach Bob Bradley lost his job. Four years later, the U.S. Soccer Federation ought to hold Klinsmann to the same standard. Bradley's failure meant the U.S. would not qualify for the Confederations Cup. Losing to Mexico on Saturday would mean the same thing for Klinsmann.

And yet, as Brian Straus has pointed out at Sports Illustrated, Klinsmann does not necessarily face the same scrutiny as his predecessor—or that he imposes on his players:

"

It’s worth noting that Klinsmann works inside a comfort zone he denies his players and which certainly doesn’t exist for peers around the world. He’s under very little pressure and has the long-term, public backing of U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati, win or lose.

Klinsmann is here on a long-term mandate, and he issued public warnings this week that defeat at the Rose Bowl could spark an overhaul.

"

Except that any overhaul likely won't include Klinsmann himself. Klinsmann is under contract until 2018 and, as Straus noted, has the backing of Gulati, who is a longtime admirer.

If Klinsmann wins, none of this matters. The German World Cup winner will have accomplished his goal of qualifying for the Confederations Cup, albeit by the back door, and the U.S. will once again be heading in a positive direction.

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As of now, however, the team is heading in the wrong direction, having failed notably at the Gold Cup before playing poorly against Brazil. After four years on the job, Klinsmann has largely accomplished the same things as his predecessor, leading the U.S. to the knockout stage of the World Cup, winning one Gold Cup and failing to win another (Bradley actually failed to win two).

U.S. Soccer brought in Klinsmann to transform the program. To this point, he hasn't done enough. Although any such a transformation will be a long process, the signs currently point the wrong way.

Saturday should be a decisive day for Klinsmann, whether he wins or, especially, loses. 

Follow @MiguelCominguez