Jurgen Klinsmann has been sacked as USA coach, following two straight defeats in the final round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
The German replaced Bob Bradley in 2011 and his contract was to expire after the tournament in Russia.
But after the USA lost 2-1 to Mexico at home and 4-0 to Costa Rica four days later, US Soccer decided to let him go.
“Today we made the difficult decision of parting ways with Jurgen Klinsmann, our head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team and Technical Director,” US Soccer president, Sunil Gulati, said in a written statement.
“We want to thank Jurgen for his hard work and commitment during these last five years. He took pride in having the responsibility of steering the program, and there were considerable achievements along the way.
“Many are aware of the historic victories, including leading us out of the Group of Death to the Round of 16 in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but there were also lesser publicized efforts behind the scenes. He challenged everyone in the U.S. Soccer community to think about things in new ways, and thanks to his efforts we have grown as an organization and expect there will be benefits from his work for years to come.
“While we remain confident that we have quality players to help us advance to Russia 2018, the form and growth of the team up to this point left us convinced that we need to go in a different direction. With the next qualifying match in late March, we have several months to refocus the group and determine the best way forward to ensure a successful journey to qualify for our eighth-consecutive World Cup.”
Klinsmann led the USA to the knockout stages of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and finished fourth in the 2015 Gold Cup. After the U.S. reached the semi-finals of the Copa America Centenario in June, the team hit rock bottom with the defeats to Mexico and Costa Rica.
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