Jurgen Klinsmann's USMNT call-up of Sacha Kljestan was long overdue
New York Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan was named on Monday as a late addition to coach Jurgen’s Klinsmann’s roster for World Cup qualifying this week. The only problem is that Kljestan should’ve made the initial roster in the first place.
Kljestan will replace injured centerback John Brooks, so it’s not a like-for-like switch at all, but it’s a move that suggests Klinsmann has seen what Kljestan has been up to in Major League Soccer and can’t ignore it anymore. Kljestan hasn’t featured for the U.S. men’s national team since March 5, 2014 and he has looked overdue for another shot, especially in the absence of a true No. 10 playmaker on the USMNT roster.
Kljestan's form has been excellent since making the jump from Belgium club Anderlecht to the Red Bulls last year. This season, he has a league-leading 15 assists plus five goals, which may end up beating what he did in 2015, when he helped lead the Red Bulls to the Supporters' Shield.
But even without goals or assists on the stats sheet, Kljestan is an impactful player who gives the players around him good options in the attack. He is smart when it comes to finding pockets off the ball, which allows the Red Bulls move the ball through the attacking end, and as his 15 assists in 27 games suggests, he is exceptional with his final ball and ability to thread through lines with his passes.
Add in Kljestan's excellent set piece service, and he's a complete player who has been overdue for a look on the national team. About a quarter of the MLS season remains, but Kljestan has been arguably the best playmaker in MLS this season and though he may be a long shot to win MVP, he’s in the conversation.
"The competition in the national team midfield is very strong," Klinsmann said in a Facebook Q&A on Monday. "... It's not easy to break back into that group. Sacha made it now and we are looking forward to working with him in the next 10 days and it's up to him how far he can push it."
The question, of course, is whether Klinsmann will give Kljestan, 30, a meaningful shot in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, when the USMNT will face St. Vincent & the Grenadines on Sept. 2 and Trinidad & Tobago four days later. Neither of these teams are powerhouses, but the games are crucial for advancing to the final hexagonal round of 2018 World Cup qualifying. Klinsmann named his initial roster without Kljestan on Sunday.
The Americans have lacked a true No. 10 for a while, in the past shoehorning Michael Bradley into that role, where the usual holding midfielder has struggled. Darlington Nagbe is one intriguing option if Klinsmann wants to go back to a formation that features a No. 10 playmaker, but Kljestan is tried and true in the role. Although it appears Klinsmann has been folding youth into the national team, when it comes to games that matter, the USMNT manager typically tends to favor experienced veterans and that may make Kljestan an attractive option.
Kljestan, for his part, has been open about his disappointment in being passed over by Klinsmann repeatedly. When he missed the Copa America Centenario roster in June, it sounded like there was a bit of resignation in his reaction: "It's always a bit of a bummer for me. I always hope to be on the national team." Well, now he has his first shot in a long time, if he can step up and make the most of it.
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