Last-Minute Goal and Glimpse of Future Leave Klinsmann Smiling GLENDALE, Ariz. - With the top tier of talent of the United States men's national team still competing in Europe, the lineup fielded on Saturday by the Americans in their first international action of 2012 will not be the one they use in June when the team begins qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. Many of the players on the field at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., will not even be with the team when it closes out its World Cup qualifying preparations in February with a friendly against Italy. Nevertheless, the players on hand Saturday took a step toward building the program's depth under Coach Jurgen Klinsmann by securing a 1-0 win against Venezeula in front of a boisterous crowd of 22,403. "They implemented everything we told them," Klinsmann said, "except maybe scoring a little bit earlier." While the Americans maintained steady pressure on the Venezuelans throughout the match, their efforts were not rewarded until stoppage time, when Ricardo Clark, a late substitution, headed a corner kick into the bottom left corner of the net in the 97th minute. Nerves seemed to delay the Americans" attack in the early stages of the match. The starting lineup was made up largely of novices; three players were making their national team debuts; three others had two or fewer international appearances. The win, which ended a 13-match winless streak against South American countries and improved the Americans" record to 3-4-1 under Klinsmann, was a culmination of a three-week training camp. The Americans will play Panama in Panama City on Wednesday before a meeting with Italy on Feb. 29 in Genoa. Since Klinsmann took over the team last July, he has stressed an attacking style that is led by strong ball possession. Through eight games, that offense has not materialized. Klinsmann has relied heavily on a 4-1-3-1-1 formation, switching to a 4-4-2 only in the squad's most recent game, against Slovenia in November. An ankle injury to forward Juan Agudelo during this month's camp left only three healthy strikers, but the Americans again attacked in a 4-4-2 against Venezuela, creating a handful of quality chances in the first half. The first one came off the foot of Teal Burnbury, whose left-footed snipe from about 20 yards sailed over the net. A minute later, Brek Shea raced in on the left wing and fired a low shot that just missed the goal. Later, on a free kick from about 30 yards, Shea's header redirected Graham Zusi's kick low to the far post, forcing the Venezuelan keeper to dive to push the attempt wide with his fingertips. The chances continued to pour in during the second half, with a flurry of headers off set pieces and traffic in the box, as the Americans outshot the Venezuelans, 15-6. But finishing failed the Americans, sometimes merely out of hesitation. "It's all hungry, good players," Klinsmann said. They want to make the next step. They want to know, where's my next level? The Venezuelans offered only token attacks, instead keeping as many as 10 players back to defend. But the relatively easy night for the American back line was not exactly what Klinsmann needed. With the aging stars Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu two of the current stalwarts in central defense, Klinsmann must decide whether to stick with an older guard or slowly start to work in the next generation. That was the overarching sentiment in the recent camp, and it will probably continue as the Americans seek answers regarding personnel, style and identity as they begin the quest toward the next World Cup. "We controlled it completely, and it gives them confidence," Klinsmann said of the game. We wanted to give them a feeling of this type of a game that they can play with these nations. You can eye-to-eye measure yourself with them, and it was really wonderful to see that.