PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago -- Make no mistake about it: The U.S national team's second World Cup qualifier of the 2018 cycle won't be the stroll in the park that their first one was.
"It's a good team," U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said Monday of Trinidad and Tobago, who the Americans face on Tuesday night. "They've proven that throughout the entire year. They won in Guatemala. And they're on a high."
The hosts are coming in off an impressive quarterfinal run at the Gold Cup in July and a 2-1 qualifying win in Guatemala City on Friday. The Americans also picked up three points last week, trouncing St. Vincent and the Grenadines 6-1.
But playing on the road is another matter entirely, even if this match will take place on hallowed ground for the Americans; Hasely Crawford Stadium was called National Stadium back in 1989, when Paul Caligiuri's looping long-range goal beat the hosts and clinched the U.S.' first World Cup berth in 40 years, kicking off the modern era of American soccer.
Tuesday's match will be played almost 26 years to the day -- the anniversary of Caligiuri's strike is Thursday -- of that so-called "shot heard round the world.
Even if the Soca Warriors eventually made their debut on the sport's biggest stage by reaching Germany 2006, nobody in this twin-island nation of 1.2 million has forgotten that day in 1989.
"It doesn't feel like a huge rivalry," Trinidad and Tobago coach Stephen Hart said on Monday. "[But] it's one of those games that I think the country looks forward to because of the history."
History matters little to the current U.S. team. Despite Friday's win in St. Louis, Klinsmann's side comes into the game in a delicate place, having lost to arch rival Mexico in last month's CONCACAF Cup after a fourth-place finish in the Gold Cup over the summer.
A win in Port of Spain would go a long way toward relieving the pressure that has been building on Klinsmann, even if the German insists that he's not worried about the consequences of losing.
"I would never go into a game thinking [about what happens] if I lose," Klinsmann said on Monday. "That's not me."
And the U.S. has won here before, including a 1-0 victory on the way to the 2010 tournament in South Africa. But they've also lost, in 1994 and 2008, although each defeat came in a matche that didn't matter in the standings.
So while the Americans, to a man, say they are hoping to take three points from the match, the reality is that, under the circumstances, a tie would be an acceptable result.
"We want to take it to them, but we have to be smart about it," U.S. defender Geoff Cameron said. "If we're up a goal late, we're not going to go all-out on counterattacks. We have to pick our spots."
If there is a key for the visitors, it's nullifying the threat posed by imposing T&T striker Kenwyne Jones. The 31-year-old Cardiff City forward is the most experienced player on an otherwise young team, and a handful for any back line to deal with.
"They like to knock down long balls and work off of that," said Cameron, Jones' former teammate at Premier League Stoke City. "We can't allow that to happen. We know we're going to have to have a guy kind of sitting in winning those second balls. We have to be switched on."
"I think we need to have a special eye on him, there's no doubt about it," Klinsmann said.
Given the 6-foot-3 Jones' ability to win long balls, the U.S. coach could start defensive midfielder Kyle Beckerman in front of the defense, a switch that appears even more likely given that Jermaine Jones is suffering from a minor injury heading into the contest.
Klinsmann, for what it's worth, indicated that he wouldn't make too many changes. He's already announced one, with veteran Tim Howard replacing Brad Guzan in goal.
On a bumpy field against an in-form foe playing in front of a raucous, sold-out crowd, communicating could be an issue.
"It's not a nice field," Jermaine Jones said. "We just have to take it how it comes. It's always difficult to play away. I think we're the better team, but we have to show it."
It's not going to be easy.
Notes
- Hart understands that the U.S. isn't in the best place coming into the match, but he stopped short of saying they might be a little vulnerable right now.
"I watched the team closely and I understand the feeling with the U.S. press," he said. "But at the end of the day, you're into something completely different. This is World Cup qualification."
And he thinks the return of Howard, who hasn't played a meaningful match for the U.S. since his record-setting 15-save performance against Belgium at last year's World Cup, could provide an psychological boost for the guests.
"His performance against Belgium, for me, was the single best goalkeeping performance I've ever seen in a World Cup, right? And when you have that kind of stability, that kind of experience, it drops itself onto the psyche of the players. I think the U.S. team will be fine."
By contrast, to say Hart was encouraged by another of Klinsmann's personnel decisions, namely the choice to leave top scorer Clint Dempsey home, would be an understatement: "I was overjoyed," he cracked.
- With Howard and Guzan on the roster, the U.S. is well covered in goal and it's not the first time Klinsmann has had to juggle two top-end keepers.
The coach recalled a similar situation when he led Germany into the 2006 World Cup, although his keepers then, eventual first choice Jens Lehmann and his back-up Oliver Kahn, weren't nearly as close off the field.
"Still there, even if they were not the biggest buddies they were very, very professional," Klinsmann said. "They were actually cheering for each other, they were there for each other, and then I had to make a decision before the World Cup, which was very difficult, and the way Oliver Kahn took it was unbelievably exceptional. He became a huge supporter of Jens.
"Throughout the period of the two years it was a real competition," Klinsmann continued. "They pushed each other probably to another level, even in those two years, but then, before a World Cup you've gotta go in there with a number one. This is a bit different."
- Fabian Johnson expects to start on the left wing, even if Klinsmann left the door open for the Borussia Monchengladbach man to return to right-back, where DeAndre Yedlin has struggled defensively at times.
"I think I'm going to start at left midfield," he said. But I don't know if the coach is going to change a lot of things or even anything. We haven't talked about it yet."