Klinsmann bemoans USA's bad luck in Gold Cup defeat to Jamaica
United States men's national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann said luck was not on his team's side after its bid for back-to-back CONCACAF Gold Cup titles came to an end Wednesday.
Jamaica emerged as a shock 2-1 winner in the semifinal in Atlanta, albeit in controversial circumstances.
The defending champions were made to pay for a horror five minutes, as Darren Mattocks opened the scoring in the 31st minute and Giles Barnes netted a contentious free kick four minutes later after goalkeeper Brad Guzan was judged to have handled the ball outside his own penalty area.
Captain Michael Bradley gave the U.S. hope early in the second half, and the co-hosts dominated proceedings from that point without making it count on the scoreboard, as the skipper and striker Aron Johannsson wasted opportunities.
"The team and fans are disappointed," Klinsmann told reporters. "We lost this game with two set pieces. We had enough chances to score four or five. We didn't do that and Jamaica won. Congrats to Jamaica, they performed well. Defensively Jamaica did a very good job.
"We had enough chances to put this game away. The luck was not with us, but we also were not clinical enough."
The U.S. will face the loser of Mexico versus Panama in the third-place playoff.
"We need to finish off in style Saturday in front of our fans," Klinsmann added. "Approaching that game the right way, we owe that to our fans."
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