Landon Donovan: Jurgen Klinsmann should go if USMNT falls to Mexico

By foxsports
Published

Former U.S. national team star Landon Donovan believes Jurgen Klinsmann should be fired if the U.S. loses to Mexico in Saturday's CONCACAF Cup.

After El Tri won this summer's Gold Cup, they will face the 2013 Gold Cup winner at the Rose Bowl for CONCACAF's place at the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Klinsmann's side was surprisingly dumped out of the 2015 Gold Cup by Jamaica in the semifinal stage. The former LA Galaxy man says with another loss, the U.S. boss should be held accountable for his team's poor run of form, which also included a 4-1 drubbing by Brazil in a friendly last month. 

"Around the world, if a player plays poorly and a player has a bad string of results they get dropped from the team," Donovan told ESPN FC. "Jurgen said many times he wants our players to feel pressure -- so if they lose a game they can't go to the grocery store the next day. If they lose a game they are getting hammered in the press.

"Well, the same holds true for the coach and so we had a very poor summer with bad results in the Gold Cup. The last game against Brazil was probably the worst game I've seen them play under Jurgen. The reality is that now, anywhere else in the world, if this coach had those results, and they lose this game against Mexico, they'd be fired.

"I think if Jurgen wants to hold all the players to that standard, then he has to be held to that standard too."

Donovan was controversially left off the 2014 World Cup squad by Klinsmann, before announcing his retirement from soccer later in the year. 

FOX Soccer and Goal.com have teamed up to bring you the best in world soccer coverage. Visit Goal.com, and follow them on Twitter and Facebook.