Jurgen Klinsmann will take his USA team out to face the Czech Republic in Prague on Wednesday night, but the only question on everyone's minds concerned a certain legend who goes by the name of Landon Donovan.
Donovan is set to play his final game in a US shirt on October, after Klinsmann selected the forward for one final farewell encounter, and before the match against the Czech Republic, Klinsmann was showered with questions over Donovan.
The American forward was left out of the World Cup squad by Klinsmann, and Donovan was pretty critical about the team's performances at the World Cup. Despite the friction between the player and coach, though, Klinsmann sees no issues when Donovan takes field for one final time next month in Connecticut.
"As a player [Donovan] obviously deserves every piece of recognition for an amazing career with that farewell game, and has tremendously done so much for the national team program," Klinsmann said. "So it's a real pleasure to give him that farewell match, and give him that occasion and give him that recognition.
"[The criticism] means he was or is upset about that decision, about not going to the World Cup, and is for me a good reaction. That means he cares. That he's not happy about that, that he makes statements that he's not content, he sees it different, that's legitimate, that's totally fine with me."
Klinsmann, though, insisted he had made the right decision over deciding to leave Donovan out of the World Cup team, with the US eventually going down to Belgium in the round of 16.
"He built his case leading up to the World Cup, and I decided that the players that were in his position, whether it's forward or midfield, are just ahead of him," Klinsmann added. "For me in my evaluation as a coach, it was a simple decision.
"Obviously it was a big deal, I knew that, too, but at the end of the day, I needed to take those players that I believe would make a difference. That was my decision."
Where to Watch Live
The game is set for a 2.15 pm ET (11.45 pm IST) start with live coverage on NBC Sports in the US. The game can also be watched via live streaming online in the US HERE. Catch the action in the Middle East and North Africa HERE.
