PASADENA, Calif. – Brad Guzan was the established starting goalkeeper for the US national team headed into Saturday’s CONCACAF Cup game against Mexico.
But did Nick Rimando nearly make a dramatic entrance into the game in Guzan’s place?
US national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann told reporters in the postgame press conference after the 3-2 loss that he seriously considered bringing in the Real Salt Lake No. 1, who has built a formidable reputation in MLS for stopping penalties, if the game went to a shootout. But a late injury scrapped the strategy.
"The plan was to maybe to have Nick Rimando ready for the shootout, because obviously he’s the best penalty blocker you can have in this whole region,” Klinsmann said.
“I was very optimistic and if it’s 2-2 maybe we score the 3rd goal, but if it went 2-2 going into the penalty shootout Nick Rimando would be a good consolation, but it didn’t work that way.”
Ultimately, Fabian Johnson was forced off due to an injury in the 111th minute, with Brad Evans taking his place, before Paul Aguilar’s 118th minute strike sealed the win for Mexico.
Despite the canceled – and rare – goalkeeper substitution, two of Klinsmann’s earlier subs, DeAndre Yedlin and Bobby Wood, made a major impact on the game. The duo combined to score the Americans’ second goal as Wood continued his good scoring form for the national team this year.
“I saw there was space, and I saw Bobby making the run,” Yedlin said. “I played him into space and he finished it well.”
Evans praised his former Seattle teammate’s growth.
“[It was] a very good play by DeAndre – heads up," Evans said. "That’s something the past year that he’s really developed, a patience in the attacking half and moving up to right mid he’s got to have that now. For him to play a cheeky little ball in behind, it’s a great finish from Bobby. It says a lot about the hard work those two have put in.”
And Klinsmann said bringing the pair off the bench was overall the best strategy, given their age and the stakes of the game:
“You don’t want to consider them from the beginning on because to start a game like this, like tonight is a lot of weight on the shoulders of players. And when you look at your younger players, you kind of consider it’s maybe better to bring them off the bench so they don’t overthink that situation, and that paid off with both.”
