Atlanta’s Jack McInerney hasn’t received any playing time with the U.S. men’s national soccer team in the two games since coach Jurgen Klinsmann called him up for the first time two weeks ago.
The team defeated Belize 6-1 on Tuesday in its opening game of the Gold Cup. The team previously defeated Guatemala in a friendly game.
Klinsmann said that neither McInerney, who grew up in Alpharetta and plays for Philadelphia in Major League Soccer, nor fans should worry.
“I think for a player like Jack, right now it’s a tremendous learning curve,” Klinsmann told the website SoccerbyIves.net. “You train every day with these guys and you see, ‘Okay this is my club level and this is the national team’. He’s coming along, we’re happy with him, we see him, we see his talent and he’s getting more confident every time he’s getting on the practice field.
“In the Gold Cup, it’s a bit tricky because we can only sub three guys. It would have been easier maybe (with) two or three preparations games, then you throw him in there to get a couple of minutes in, it’s no problem. But now with the rules, only having three, you want to make sure that you make the right ones based on what you see really in training as well, but he’s on a good path.”
McInerney, a forward, has scored 10 goals for the Union this year.
Sean Johnson, a goalkeeper who also grew up in Atlanta, was also called up. He also hasn’t played in either game.
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