On the even of the match, Klinsmann reportedly used his press conference to cast doubts on Algerian referee Djamel Haimoudi, who would be officiating the US-Belgium match on Tuesday.
It was natural of Donovan to do so despite being largely identified to US soccer, as it was obvious that he is not in any of the main lineup or reserves head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has picked to represent the US at the tournament in Brazil. As a former national captain, Donovan was emotional at the time that Klinsmann had overlooked him in spite of an impressive resume, the Bleacher Report noted.
Boateng returned to the Black Stars last year following his retirement from international football after the previous World Cup in South Africa claimed that GFA pleaded to him to play for his home country, according to his interview with German newspaper Bild.
Halilhodzic, who is a French-Bosnian, viewed questions about his players' religious practices as a form of voyeurism, accusing them of putting him in a position that would elicit hatred to him and his family no matter what his comments about Ramadan are, TIME reported.
