United States coach Juergen Klinsmann has praised his squad’s mental fortitude following Saturday’s last-minute away win over Jamaica.
The visitors looked to have thrown away a vital three points in their World Cup qualification bid after Jermaine Beckford cancelled out Jozy Altidore’s goal in the 89th minute.
However, a Brad Evans strike in the second minute of injury time propelled Klinsmann’s men back into second place of their CONCACAF group.
And the German was understandably delighted to win in such circumstances.
“We said that from the beginning and I think we are ready now to come to difficult places like Kingston and say that we want the three points,” he said.
“That’s obviously a big plus for us going into the two home games and I think the team should be complimented for that.”
Winning goalscorer Evans was also pleased with his last-gasp contribution, which consigned Jamaica to bottom place in the group.
“Incredible. There’s certain moments that you always remember and that’s certainly one of them. Just pure elation after the goal and then the jersey comes over the head and I can certainly take a yellow card for that one,” he said.
But Evans remained coy when asked whether his goal might earn him a starting berth for Wednesday’s meeting with Panama at CenturyLink field – the venue where he plays domestically with the Seattle Sounders.
He added: “We’ll see what line-up we turn out – there’s still a couple of days in between games so you never know.
“First and foremost playing in front of your home crowd doesn’t happen too often with the national team so it’s be something that I always remember whether I’m in the stands or playing in the game or whatever it is, it’ll be a great moment, especially for the city of Seattle too.”
The United States have posted two wins, one draw and a loss from their four qualification matches thus far, and are level on points with group leaders Costa Rica.
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