USMNT comes back to beat Peru behind Altidore's two goals (Video)

Jurgen Klinsmann wanted his United States men's national team to make a statement in its friendly against Peru on Friday night. He wanted his players to prove a point.

They did. Eventually. Sort of.

In something of a schizoid performance, the Americans claimed a 2-1 come-from-behind win in Washington, D.C., courtesy of a pair of Jozy Altidore goals.

The all-important, winner-take-all playoff with Mexico for a spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup is just over a month away and, ahead of the game, the USA had hoped to start forging some momentum and build on it against Brazil on Tuesday. "With these games, it is not the time to be patient," Klinsmann had said. "This is really now time for the guys to make a really strong impression that they understand the situation. … These games are not about developing things for the future. This is about proving a point towards the Mexico game."

[FC Yahoo: Trying to make sense of Klinsmann's incredibly confusing interview]

Following a six-game winning streak that started off with friendly victories over Mexico in April, and the Netherlands and Germany in June, the Americans had claimed just one win in four games going into their bout at RFK Memorial Stadium, even though all of those were played on their home soil. Just as concerning was their failure to score more than one goal in any of the four games wedged around a 6-0 blowout against a woeful Cuban side in the Gold Cup, in spite of facing modest opposition.

But the Peruvians were no slouches. They are the back-to-back third-place finishers at the last two Copa Americas. Initially, they utterly dominated the Americans at half speed, looking sort of disinterested in the humid night yet still claiming 59 percent of the possession in the first half.

In the 20th minute, Peru's Daniel Chavez was granted way too much room to shoot from just outside the American box as Omar Gonzalez stepped away from him, only to try to recover and block the shot with the back of his leg. All this accomplished was to deflect Chavez's effort, which then looped over goalkeeper Brad Guzan and into the U.S.'s goal for a 1-0 lead.

The Yanks, for their part, sleepwalked through most of the first half. In that lackluster spell, they lacked width, midfield presence, service into the strikers, energy and urgency. And that's to say nothing of the almost total absence of cohesion in the absence of captain Michael Bradley and forward Clint Dempsey.

At length, they forced a sprinkling of chances just before halftime. Jermaine Jones cut through the middle of the field before unleashing a fierce shot with his left, which Pedro Gallese could only just reach and tip over.

On the ensuing corner, John Brooks eventually got a clean look but smashed the ball way high.

Zardes – the only American to catch the eye in the opening act – was set loose by Tim Ream and hit a diagonal shot on the run, which was parried by Gallese. Then, Altidore did well to intercept a back pass but didn't have the room to collect his own leaden touch and had to settle for a corner.

At halftime, somehow and unexpectedly, the U.S. rediscovered whatever ingredients to its success it had misplaced in the last month or two when it had slogged to its worst Gold Cup placement in eight editions and 15 years. In the 58th minute, Geoff Cameron's long throw to the heretofore feckless Altidore yielded a penalty when the latter was brought down in the box. Altidore took the kick himself and saw his initial effort saved by Gallese, but he volleyed his own rebound home for the equalizer.

Ten minutes later, DeAndre Yedlin once again put his abundant speed to good use and ran riot in the Peruvian box and laid back for Altidore. The Haitian-American striker was dispossessed before he could connect with the ball but, after the ball made its way to Zardes for a shot, tapped home in front of an open goal on the rebound to make it 2-1.

Just like that, the USA was in front in a game that had at one point threatened to become embarrassing. Suddenly emboldened, the Americans even began showing off a little flair. They survived a late and desperate flurry of Peruvian chances late on and rode out the game.

It wasn't easy, or pretty, or convincing. Or probably planned that way. And sure, it was only a friendly, but looking ahead to Brazil, and Mexico, and World Cup Qualifying after that, the Americans did manage to make something of a statement.

Albeit a sort of confusing and soft-spoken one.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.