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Baffling Tactical Decision by Jurgen Klinsmann Puts USMNT into Early Hole in Hex

Jurgen Klinsmann did it again.

The manager of the United States men's national team once again overthought himself and set his team up for failure at the start of their 2-1 defeat to Mexico, which was the first loss on home soil in World Cup qualifying in 15 years.

Instead of aligning his starting XI in a formation that best suits the talent in his squad, Klinsmann opted for what he called a 3-4-3 formation with John Brooks, Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez in the middle as well as Timothy Chandler and Fabian Johnson as wing-backs.

Mexico exposed the poor formation from the start as the Yanks tried to adapt to playing in a system that's rarely been used during the Klinsmann era, except for a quick experiment during the 2015 January camp where Jermaine Jones made a cameo in the middle of defense.