USA manager Juergen Klinsmann has implored his side to become 'nastier' following their limp defeat to the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday.
The US ended 2014 in disappointing fashion when losing 4-1 to Martin O'Neill's Irish side at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and it was a soft performance from a team who had given so much throughout the year.
After the match, Klinsmann called on his players to get tougher just as he did after losing 4-1 to Brazil back in 2012.
"I got in trouble a couple of years ago for saying it, but I'm telling you again: we have to get nastier," said the German.
But the former Tottenham and Bayern Munich striker also praised his US team for a successful 2014 which saw them progress to the Round of 16 at the World Cup in Brazil in a group consisting of Germany, Portugal and Ghana.
"The main objective this year was the World Cup and we did a good job overall," Klinsmann added.
"After the World Cup this is the time now to bring the youngsters in, to bring a new wave in, and see what you can do. And you do it at the cost of some results.
"I think the learning curve after the last two games is that they also have to learn emotionally how to digest a World Cup. And a lot of our players had big problems digesting those extreme emotions; they dropped 20, 30 or even 40 percent in performances in their club environment.
"This is because they didn't know how to deal with all these emotions and all that recognition and all the compliments that came after the World Cup. And in a certain way it's human and understandable. In previous cycles, they didn't play for half a year after a World Cup."
