Q1. Why are the players and coach OK with what I perceived as a lackluster performance? A1. In CONCACAF, qualifying is pretty straight forward. The top half of the table goes to the next phase. There is no advantaged gained from finishing first. For the most part a comfortable win at home or a point on the road are satisfactory results. Occasionally, a group will have one very weak team in which case we will want to get an away win against said team. Q2. I was shocked that the US did not dominate a team ranked (60, 85, 105) like I thought they would. They seemed to play much better in the World Cup against better competition. Should I be worried? A2. There is no need to worry. For the US qualification is quite straightforward. Our players are concentrating on getting the team ready for 2014 and keeping themselves healthy until then. As long as we are getting the points we need (See A1) our concern should be on identifying what style and which players best serve the US for 2014. Q3. I feel that a team like the US should be dominating on the road against teams like Gautemala and El Salvador. Why is that not happening? A3. In four of the Central American countries qualifying games will absorb and dominate the country's attention to a level that we never witness in the United States for any event. Every citizen in the country, even those who don't play or like soccer, will be focused on the game. The players will know that the country's every hope and aspiration will be placed on their shoulders. Visiting teams, on the other hand, will need security round the clock and be feted at the stadium with insults, battery acid and urine bags. So, do not be surprised that these teams find an extra gear or pull out a magical moment when you least expect it. For your reference, the four countries are Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Q4. What results should worry me in the qualifiers? A4. Tying at home or losing on the road by two or more goals. However, isolated instances of those results have been known to happen to the US once in a while and the team has always had the quality to redeem itself later. Losing at home should be cause for immediate panic and calls for changing coaches and/or players. Q5. Your answers sound like excuses. A country like the US should be winning a World Cup and annihilating CONCACAF competition. What do you say to that? A5. There is no birthright to having an elite national soccer team. Having a large population, great athletes or a long tradition helps but they are not the be-all or end-all of soccer and do not entitle any nation to be world beaters. Great soccer teams take years to build and are mostly rooted in great youth development. If this is answer is still not good enough for you then please refer to "The England Fan's FAQ on Creating Massive and Delusive Expectations".
I second the fact that this needs to be stickied, judging by the reaction after the tie in Guatemala.