Jurgen Klinsmann Faces Crossroads as USA Prepare for Hex Showdown vs. Mexico

If Jurgen Klinsmann has ever felt under any real pressure of losing his job as U.S. men's national team manager, it most likely came around the time of the country's last clash with rivals Mexico. El Tri left the Rose Bowl last October not just with a 3-2 win over the timid hosts but with a place in the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Klinsmann found himself the centre of an existential postmortem.

The German had been the subject of much criticism for quite some time, of course. Indeed, Klinsmann has been painted as fighting for his job ever since the 2014 World Cup. Whether U.S. Soccer has truly considered his position is another matter, but on the basis of public perception alone, Klinsmann wouldn't exactly pass an appraisal with flying colours.

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Now, however, he has the chance to at least address the USA's stagnation as the 2018 World Cup comes into sight. Of course, they have to get there first, and six points from their upcoming fixtures against Mexico on Friday and Costa Rica on Tuesday would go some way to delivering that. But there is much more to the clash with El Tri. There always is.

Friday's match in Columbus, Ohio, marks the start of the Hex—the final stage of World Cup qualification in CONCACAF—and Klinsmann must begin to settle on a starting lineup, a squad and an identity in preparation for the competition itself in two years' time. The room for experimentation is starting to narrow. It must start to come together from this point on.

This game, along with next week's away trip to Costa Rica, will give an indication of where the USA are right now in terms of their current level. With Klinsmann, there is always a sense that a crisis is only two games away, and in these two games, the German is faced with enough of a challenge for that to be a distinct possibility. This will be a yardstick for the USA.

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"Obviously, the Mexico clash is a six-pointer to start the Hexagonal right away," Klinsmann said ahead of the match, per U.S. Soccer. "We badly want to continue the tradition of beating them in Columbus." Indeed, Mexico will arrive at MAPFRE Stadium with a sense of familiar trepidation, having lost there four times before.

It's the venue where the Dos A Cero rivalry has its roots, with all four USA wins over Mexico there ending with a scoreline of 2-0 to the hosts. Klinsmann would most certainly take another result like that on Friday, but they mustn't get caught up in the prospect of delivering another 2-0 win to keep the run going. That is for fans to brag over. For the U.S. national team, three points is the only thing they need, regardless of how it comes.

The feeling that this USA side is in something of a transition persists, though. Stalwarts like Clint Dempsey (who is currently sidelined with a heart problem) and Tim Howard are well into the twilight of their careers, with Landon Donovan—the vanguard of his star-spangled generation—out of the national team picture. These figures have still to find their natural heirs. This Friday's match against Mexico could be a watershed moment in the careers of a few.

There were no real surprises in Klinsmann's preliminary 26-man squad for the qualification fixtures, which will be trimmed down to 23 by the time of the fixtures themselves. Teenage Tottenham Hotspur defender Cameron Carter-Vickers has been called up, though, and could be in line to make his international debut at some point over the two games. Jermaine Jones and Aron Johannsson have also returned to the fold following long absences due to injury.

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"Having 26 players coming in gives us many different options for both games," Klinsmann said, per U.S. Soccer. "It allows us to evaluate certain players, like a Jermaine Jones, to see how far he has come along fitness wise. Bringing in the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Lynden Gooch and Caleb Stanko proves that the younger players are pushing through."

Indeed, there is a generation of young players pushing their way into the national team, but whether this is the time to blood them is debatable. This is a fundamental issue with the format of World Cup qualification in CONCACAF. With so many different stages and phases, it's difficult for managers to experiment and introduce new squad members for fear of suffering a dip in form and therefore failing to qualify for the next stage.

Klinsmann needs experience against Mexico, which is why Geoff Cameron's absence will hit so hard. The USA will face El Tri with a number of centre-backs to choose from, with Carter-Vickers, Steve Birnbaum, Omar Gonzalez and Michael Orozco all called up, but none have the experience, ability or presence to replace the Stoke City defender in the lineup.

For as long as Klinsmann has been USA manager, technical and cultural development has been the grand priority. "We have to look for better players," U.S. Soccer technical advisor Berti Vogts once summed up in an interview with Doug McIntyre of ESPN FC. "We have to give the team a little bit more quality."

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The former Germany national team boss was appointed on the basis that he would progress the U.S. as a footballing country, and yet in recent times, there is a consensus that they have in fact regressed in that respect. It's for this reason that every game under Klinsmann is treated as much more than just a result and three points. It is the subject of extreme analysis.

There can be no doubting Klinsmann's commitment to his job as USA coach. More than once he has been presented with a convenient jumping-off point, having been linked with numerous Premier League posts and even the England job. Yet he has never wavered on his faith in what he is doing stateside.

Others have, though.

The Hex represents something of a fresh start, with all six teams—Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago and USA—starting again on zero points in the battle for the three automatic qualification spots (the fourth-placed team will face an interconfederation playoff). That fresh start will be what Klinsmann and the USA make of it.

There is scope for the pendulum to swing either way, and Friday's clash with Mexico will provide the first suggestion of which way it is going.