Slovenia vs. USA: 10 Reasons Jurgen Klinsmann's Squad Continues to Struggle

Coming off a 1-0 defeat at the hands of France, the United States men's soccer team is struggling to find a way to win under new head coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

The reasons for their recent string of bad games are many, but the flaws can be fixed before the games become more than just friendlies.

What is hindering this team's ability to win? Read on to find out.

Learning a New System

One of the biggest reasons for the USMNT's current struggles is that the squad is still learning how to play Klinsmann's possession-based, attacking offense.

This is a team that, under Bob Bradley, largely relied on a counterattack to generate offense. However, they've recently been trying to change their attack into something resembling the offenses seen in Europe, where Klinsmann used to coach.

It will take some time before they become completely comfortable in Klinsmann's scheme, but you would like to see more improvement than they've shown so far. While it's true that these are only friendlies, Klinsmann was likely looking to see his squad pick up his scheme much more quickly than they have.

The Current Formation Isn't Working

It's tough to say that Klinsmann's current alignment won't work considering the US is without their best midfielder (more on him later), but right now they should look to move to a different formation.

This team needs to get more players into the attacking third so that they can create more chances to put the ball in the net.

However, Jozy Altidore was the only player who constantly played up against France. Altidore is a good player and had a solid game, but he needs some help if the USMNT plans to win games.

Klinsmann needs to find a player who works well with Altidore up front. If that happens, the US might be able to manufacture some much-needed offense against Slovenia in their upcoming matchup.  

Klinsmann Is Figuring out His Players

Klinsmann is going through the process of figuring out what types of players he has to work with.

That means that he's been throwing all kinds of different players out on the pitch to find out whom he wants to keep on the national squad moving forward.

This is great, because it means that he's willing to try out different players and see what he has, but it also leads to losses.

When a coach has to look through so many players, it's hard for those players to know where they stand, and it's difficult to play well when you're worried about your job.

Ever-Changing Lineup

Considering that Klinsmann has only been the coach for six contests, it's not surprising that he still hasn't settled on a starting lineup. 

That said, it's getting closer and closer to the point where he needs to decide on a starting lineup and stick to it.

As I said in the last slide, he's throwing out all these different lineups to decide which one works best.

However, after six games you'd think he's much closer to knowing which guys will start for him game in and out. It seems that Klinsmann has figured out a few key positions, but he still needs to decide on other spots, especially in the midfield.

Look for Klinsmann to continue testing different lineups until the New Year, when he finally settles on his starting 11.

Young Stars Getting a Chance to Prove Themselves

One of the best things that's come out of Klinsmann's many roster changes is the fact that many young stars have gotten a chance to prove themselves in international play.

However, that's been a double-edged sword so far.

True, it's great to see some young blood getting a chance to suit up for the USMNT, but those young guys also make "rookie" mistakes, which lead to missed chances and goals for the opposition.

That said, it's better to get these growing pains out now, when the game outcomes don't really matter.

If Klinsmann can get these guys playing up to form now, that will make this team more dangerous in the future.

Kyle Beckerman Isn't Impressing Anyone

I don't know about you, but I've yet to see many positives from Kyle Beckerman.

From his position on the field, he needs to seamlessly slide from a helping defender into an attacking role, from which he can facilitate in the midfield.

Beckerman has yet to show he can do either of those things well. He's often caught ball-watching and drops too far into the defense to become a legitimate attacking threat.

The midfield was already stretched thin against France, and his subpar positioning made them lose their shape entirely.

Beckerman is a solid MLS pro and does bring a blue-collar attitude to the pitch, but that doesn't make him a good fit for the international squad.

Klinsmann needs to stop this experiment now and develop a player who can actually put together solid games from the position.

No Landon Donovan

One of the bigger problems Klinsmann has run into during his tenure is the loss of his star player.

Landon Donovan sat out of the last few friendlies with an injury and chose to sit out the France game because his MLS squad is getting ready for the MLS Cup.

It's hard to blame Donovan for wanting to make sure he's completely ready for a championship game by sitting out a friendly, but it hurts the national team when he doesn't play.

This could become a positive for the team if they're able to develop players who can produce alongside Donovan.

Too often in the past, this squad relied on Donovan to score goals, and maybe they could use this as a "kick in the pants" to get the other attackers to step their game up.

Or Jose Torres

Another player that would benefit the USMNT quite a bit if he were healthy and playing is Jose Torres.

Torres showed a ton of creativity in Klinsmann's first few games as the coach. Torres effectively passed the ball up to attackers and showed off a creative skill set that the US hasn't had in years.

Then he was injured. Torres has been forced to sit with a foot injury and won't return to the pitch until some time in December.

Hopefully when he comes back, he'll return as the same player and give the US midfield the player they need to play Klinsmann's attacking style. 

Low Level of Fitness

After the game against France, Klinsmann told the press that he needed his squad to be fitter.

This squad has played pretty well in the first half of their games so far under Klinsmann, but they have fallen into a routine of losing that form during the second half.

This could be attributed to the team not having a level of overall fitness that lets them play the speedy game that Klinsmann demands.

Surely, this will improve moving forward. As the team becomes acclimated to his style of play, they will become more efficient in running it.

Practicing Klinsmann's style will lead to fitter players, which will hopefully lead to better results.

Lack of Scoring

The biggest problem the USMNT has had so far under Klinsmann is their lack of scoring.

Klinsmann promised to bring in a higher-tempo attack that would lead to more goals than US fans were used to under Bradley. 

However, that has yet to happen, mostly because of the previous reasons I've listed in this article.

When you add up the many things that have caused them to struggle, you find that those are the same things that have led to their inability to score.

Once the team becomes more familiar with Klinsmann's offense, settles on a starting lineup and gets back their key players, they should become a better version of the 2010 "Round of 16" squad.

Look for the team to begin making great strides as the calendar moves closer to the 2012 Olympics and the games begin to "matter."