After Eight Long Years, The U.S. Men's National Team Is Headed Back To The (2022) World Cup!

 

    In the most anti-climatic way possible (all they needed to do was not lose by 6+ goals), the U.S. men's national team secured their place in the 2022 World Cup with a 2-0 defeat tonight at Costa Rica. The Americans finished third in CONCACAF behind Canada (no really) and Mexico to earn the last automatic bid from the region; the Costa Ricans will have to face New Zealand in a playoff for another ticket to Qatar this fall. The World Cup draw is on Friday afternoon (11:30 am, FS1) with the event starting on November 21 and the Final is on December 17. Haha nothing like having one of the biggest events in the world smack dab in the middle of the holidays and a million other things going on in sports. 

    After infamously missing out on the 2018 World Cup, what should be a basically automatic thing for the USMNT became that much more important in this cycle. Sure they had their ups and downs (in case you forgot, qualifying takes forever) but all that matters for head coach Gregg Berhalter is that they got the job done. For casual fans who only tune into the World Cup, this promises to be the most talented squad that the United State has ever fielded. Almost all of the older players from previous World Cup teams have been phased out, replaced by precocious studs all over the pitch that are employed by some of the top clubs in soccer: forward Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) is the headliner that everybody knows but midfielders Giovanni Reyna (Dortmund), Weston McKennie (Juventus) and Tyler Adams (Red Bull Leipzig) along with defender Sergino Dest (Barcelona) are just a few of the names that you will be constantly hearing from now until November (Wyclef Jean voice). 

    It sounds like a cop out but so much of the USMNT's fate in Qatar will be determined by who are the other three countries in their group. With a favorable draw, they could potentially go very far in the tournament. Conversely, if they must play a couple powerhouse teams in the group stage then yikes. Regardless, this is a fun and likable collection of players that are only going to get better with this most valuable experience at the World Cup that most of them lack. Keep in mind that the 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico so given the young ages of most of our top players, you can start to understand why people have sky high expectations for that time since many of these guys hopefully will be in their primes by then.

    Finally, I would argue that there is no more important global sporting event than the World Cup and you simply cannot underestimate how much buzz soccer will generate if the USMNT can make a run in Qatar. Something similar to this has been said at every previous World Cup but thanks to video games and social media, the game has never been more popular in the States-just ask your kids or younger relatives. With so many of these players competing outside of MLS, you start to understand that this isn't your father's all-heart and little talent American teams of the past. There are plenty of questions about Berhalter and some time left to figure out who will make the final roster but at this moment, this is a time to celebrate and be proud once again of the USMNT because they are winners after the darkest time in their modern era.

UPDATE 4/1/22: The World Cup draw was this afternoon and I have to say that it went really well for the United States at least on paper. They are in Group B with England, Iran and the European playoff winner of Wales vs. Scotland/Ukraine. They'll meet the European playoff winner on the opening day of the tournament November 21. After that, they'll face England on Black Friday (November 25) and they will close out the group stage on November 29 vs. Iran. They should win the opener, a positive result against England is possible and they have to beat Iran.

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The USMNT & Mexico Staged An Instant Classic In The First-Ever Concacaf Nations League Final

 

    Tonight's 2021 Concacaf Nations League Final pitting the U.S. men vs. their archrival Mexico in Denver's Empower Field at Mile High, was further proof that you could put these two teams in any almost venue and/or match situation and they will probably produce something wildly entertaining. This was the first time this mini-tournament had ever been held and it turned out to be a very memorable one as the USMNT defeated Mexico 3-2 in extra time. The three top American attacking players of this new era-Giovanni Reyna, Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic-fittingly all scored goals while backup goalkeeper Ethan Horvath (a complete unknown to everyone but the most hardcore U.S. fan) was an unexpected hero after he came on following Zack Steffen's non-contact knee injury (yikes). 

    There was some awful defending right from the start by the host Americans as fullback Mark McKenzie (who is normally a forward) gave the ball away to Jesus Corona less than a minute into the match and the Mexican forward blasted a shot over Steffen's shoulder for a shocking 1-0 lead. The U.S. settled down and eventually tied it at one in the 27th minute as McKennie's header went off the crossbar allowing Reyna to get an easy tap-in when the Mexican backline was slow to react to the loose ball. It was 1-1 at halftime and stayed that way for much of the second half before everything went crazy. Steffen left the field in the 69th minute after he appeared to tweak something in his knee when he was about to do a drop kick. Yeesh, hopefully it's not too serious since he is firmly entrenched as the No. 1 American goalkeeper for the near future. However, Horvath who is from Colorado and plays at Club Brugge in Belgium was very impressive in such a tough spot. He did allow the go-ahead goal 10 minutes later but it could hardly be deemed his fault as some lazy marking by the U.S. defense allowed Mexican forward Diego Lainez to receive a cross at his feet and calmly put it in the net. 

    McKennie was named the best player of the tournament & the man of the match for a reason since he was dangerous all night on headers. In fact, he tied it up three minutes later with Reyna hitting a corner kick which the young Juventus midfielder was able to knock past Mexico's goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. It was 2-2 at the end of regulation and the score remained the same after the first 15 minutes of extra time. In the second half of extra time, Pulisic was taken down in the box by Mexican defender Carlos Salcedo in the 109th minute. VAR checked it and it held up allowing Pulisic to blast his penalty kick to the upper right corner in the 114th minute. McKenzie's nightmare outing continued as he was whistled for a handball in the box in the 119th minute. That ruling was also reviewed by VAR and stood up. However, Horvath bailed out his teammate in spectacular fashion by making a diving stop on Mexico's midfielder Andres Guardado's (who had subbed in earlier) penalty kick in the 124th minute. The U.S. had to sweat out seven (!) more minutes of stoppage time but they somehow managed to survive it for the thrilling victory which gave them their first trophy in ages.

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Happy Day: Valencia Midfielder Yunus Musah Chooses The USMNT Over England, Italy & Ghana

 

    You might not have been aware of it but this morning the USMNT scored one of their most important victories in a long time. No it didn't come on a field, in true 2021 form the message that 18-year-old midfielder Yunus Musah had picked them over the likes of England, Italy and Ghana was relayed over social media. Think about that, a prodigious talent that currently starts regularly in La Liga (Spain) for Valenica on his own free will picked the U.S. men's soccer team over two European powerhouses and the African country where his parents are originally from. 

    I liken this whole process to big-time recruits in high school basketball or football in America picking which juggernaut college program they'll presumably play for during the next few years before hopefully making millions of dollars as a pro. The key difference in Musah's case is that while his future is still unwritten, he has already proven at a young age that he can play in one of the top leagues in the world for a middle table club as a teenager. With all due respect to USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter, I'm pretty sure this decision had very little to do with him since who the hell is he in Musah's mind?

    Nope, while it's great that Berhalter gave Musah his first two USMNT caps in November vs. Wales and Panama, the player is betting on the future of the U.S. being brighter than those three other aforementioned countries. The chance to play with great young American players like midfielders Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund) and Tyler Adams (Red Bull Leipzig) was too much for Yunus to pass up and that's something which should give U.S. fans plenty of confidence moving forward. 

    It's one thing for sportswriters and media members to project what countries are going to be on top in the near future but who knows better than the guys who are actually on the field, you know playing in the games themselves? Musah has gotten a taste of U.S. training camps and a few friendlies and he obviously liked what he saw. Keep in mind, he went to Arsenal's academy and he captained England at various levels including the Under-18s in 2019 and he played on the Under-19s team in October of 2020. Musah is following in the footsteps of Barcelona defender Sergino Dest who wisely picked the USMNT over the Netherlands in 2019. 

    A very busy year is about to commence for the USMNT as Olympic qualifying starts later this week, they have a pair of friendlies next week against Jamaica and Northern Ireland then this summer they have the Nations League, the Gold Cup and the Olympics (assuming that they make it there this time). World Cup 2022 qualifying begins in September and that doomed tournament takes place in November and December of next year in Qatar. If it feels like you understandably need a refresher course on who plays for the USMNT these days, don't worry since you'll get plenty of chances to see them (obviously with different rosters depending on the time of the year and the various club schedules) in the coming months.

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