United States boss Jurgen Klinsmann changed his tune and now believes the USA can win a World Cup. Former USA star Landon Donovan, meanwhile, assessed the talent likely to be included on the American side for the 2018 World Cup.
The United States exceeded expectations by qualifying out of Group G, dubbed the 2014 "Group of Death." After a second-round 2-1 loss to Belgium in extra time, Klinsmann believes the Americans can win a World Cup.
"Is it possible now to go game-by-game and maybe even win four knockout games? Yes," Klinsmann said, via ESPN. "But you can't go in saying we're here to win the World Cup when you have teams like Brazil, Germany and all the big countries in there. I think you have to take it just one step at a time."
Klinsmann's new outlook differs from the sentiments he expressed last year, when he said it was "not realistic" to think the United States could win a World Cup.
He seemingly clarified why he made those remarks last year by saying, "(Coming) into this World Cup to win it is just not right, because you would raise the expectations through the moon."
Klinsmann acknowledged the team has a lot of work ahead of them before 2018, starting with assessing new talent.
"The good thing about going into the next year is we have the opportunity to see a lot of young players coming into the senior team and we can give them time to show where they're at," he said.
Veteran staples such as Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey are unlikely to feature in the next World Cup because of age. Donovan, whom Klinsmann cut from the final roster for Brazil, discussed Team USA's future on Wednesday during an interview with ESPN Radio.
"What we have is a lot of young, very talented players -- obviously DeAndre Yedlin, Julian Green yesterday, Aron Johannsson's a young guy who didn't get much time in the tournament, Mix Diskerud is a young kid who didn't get any time in the tournament," Donovan said. "I would say that the part that needs to develop is the leadership part.
"[For 2018] you certainly are going to have Michael Bradley there, that will be a big plus, but losing Timmy [Howard], losing Clint [Dempsey], losing DaMarcus Beasley, losing a guy like Kyle Beckerman, all those things are going to hurt for sure.
"And now it's who is going to step up and fill that role in that way? Yes, Michael Bradley will be one and yes, keep your eye out for who else is going to step up in that way if we are going to be successful in 2018."
