Fans at Rio Tinto Stadium have been singing the praises of Kyle Beckerman since his arrival with Real Salt Lake in 2007. Now with the U.S. National Team set to face Mexico on Saturday in the CONCACAF Cup with a berth in the 2017 Confederations Cup on the line, it isn’t Clint Dempsey or Michael Bradley or Brad Guzan that carries the fate of the U.S. on his shoulders, but possibly Beckerman according to ESPNFC’s Doug McIntyre.
“The 33-year-old MLS lifer's name might not have the cachet of the others, but make no mistake: If the U.S. is to win in Pasadena, Beckerman figures to play a crucial part by sitting deep and thwarting El Tri's attacks in front of the American back line, breaking up plays before they can turn into dangerous scoring chances,” writes McIntyre.
He isn’t alone in his praise either.
“After the World Cup, I had several clubs in Europe calling me saying ‘Wow, we never knew that Kyle was such an influence on the field,’” Klinsmann said in the story. “I told them that three years ago, but they never wanted to watch his games. Kyle could've played his whole career in Europe if somebody would have seen certain things when he was 22, the way he cleans up.”
Beckerman and the U.S. meet Mexico at 7:30 p.m. MT, with television coverage on Fox Sports 1. To read the full article by McIntyre on ESPNFC, click here.
