Former U.S. national team captain and current ESPN analyst John Harkes says that the USA has done well enough starting its World Cup qualifying campaign with nine points from three games, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
“We’re playing well, but we’re not playing great,” Harkes told Jack Bell. “The battle in Guatemala was good — we played with some pace and were able to exploit their outside backs. But I think this team is playing too safe, just enough to get a result. Maybe it’s still early, but I want to start seeing little signs, some positive things in the final third. More imagination, more creativity. I’d like to see more players trying to break down the other team.”
Harkes said there was no overlooking the fact that the U.S. had gone on the road and achieved results while keeping a clean sheet, “and there are some good, positive things going on. But let’s face it — if you take the U.S. and Mexico out of Concacaf, the region’s teams are weaker than they were before. Are we being pushed to the max to perform at a high level? I don’t think so.”