What Should Have Been A Great Night For The USMNT Is Overshadowed By More Silly Drama

 

    On the surface, tonight was a fabulous result for the U.S. men's soccer team as they thrashed their biggest rival Mexico 3-0 in the CONCACAF Nations League Semifinals on Thursday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The Americans extended their unbeaten streak vs. the Mexicans to six games (4-0-2). United States captain and midfielder Christian Pulisic scored twice, striker Ricardo Pepi added the other goal as a substitute and goalkeeper Matt Turner only had to make one save as the U.S. dominated Mexico to reach the Final on Sunday night (9, Paramount Plus & Univision) against Canada who earlier had blanked Panama 2-0. Unfortunately, the match will be remembered as much for its ugliness on the field (13 combined cards including two guys that received reds on each side) as well as off (anti-gay chants from idiot Mexican fans who also pelted the field with trash) which forced the referees to end it early in stoppage time when everything became too much to handle. Oh and a bombshell came out during the proceedings that after six-plus months of searching for a head coach, the U.S. men's soccer team is going to reappoint Gregg Berhalter in charge. You have got to be kidding me!

    The whole bizarre situation left U.S. legend Clint Dempsey stunned at halftime, wondering why they had wasted so much time simply to go back to where they started with Berhalter. Indeed, since they were badly outclassed 3-1 vs. Netherlands in the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup on December 3, the U.S. men's national team has been beset by drama involving Berhalter and the Reynas. It felt like a no-brainer to get someone from the outside to bring some fresh ideas and a new perspective to a group that on paper is far more talented than any team that they have ever had in their history. As recently as earlier this week, we heard that former Arsenal and French star Patrick Vieira (who coached at Crystal Palace in the Premier League and NYCFC in MLS) was interested in the job. I cannot say that he is an outstanding coach from what we've seen early in that side of his career but at least he is a big name in soccer and a non-American who has played and coached at the highest level. Nope, instead we are going back to a guy that is best suited to be a coach in MLS or Mexico (there was a rumor earlier this week that Berhalter turned down a coaching opportunity with Club America). Ugh. I guess we should have seen this coming though since the breadcrumbs were there for a Berhalter return with some of the USMNT's best players like Pulisic and midfielder Timothy Weah publicly pledging their support to him lately which seemed odd at the time. 

    Back to the game which was all about Pulisic. In the first half, he had a wonderful chance as he dribbled around Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa only to put the not that difficult shot over the net. Christian was stunned as he lay on the ground for an extended period of time in disbelief. Thankfully, he shook that off as he pounced on a loose ball in the Mexican box and finished a pretty left footed shot in the 37th minute for a 1-0 U.S. lead. Less than two minutes into the second half it was 2-0 U.S. (Dos A Cero!) as Pulisic buried a perfect cross from Weah. Striker Folarin Balogun's much-anticipated debut for the USMNT could have ended on an ugly note as Mexico's goon defender Cesar Montes chopped him down in the 69th minute with a brutal trip that rightfully resulted in a red card. Sadly, American midfielder Weston McKennie got drawn into the scrum and ended up with a red card of his own a few moments later. Balogun survived and the U.S. extended the beating as Pepi entered in the 75th minute and scored the final goal three minutes later after a pinpoint feed from defender Sergino Dest (who received a red card of his own in the 85th minute).

    It has a long way to go to match the intensity or history of U.S. vs. Mexico but I will submit my prediction that over the next few years, the U.S. vs. Canada should become much more of a rivalry since the Canadians are better than they have ever been with legitimate stars like striker Jonathan David (Lyon with Weah) and midfielder Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)-who scored both of their goals vs. Panama-who compete at top European clubs. Conversely, Mexico is in shambles (which I almost feel badly about, well not really) with few stars left on its roster these days. It sounds like Berhalter will be re-introduced (oh joy) on Friday but at least Sunday night should be fun as the U.S. men go for another CONCACAF Nations League title. It is a bummer than McKennie and Dest will miss the match because of those stupid red cards but that will give other guys like Balogun and midfielder Gio Reyna (sporting his fresh new Eminem-esque blonde hair)-who didn't do much against Mexico-a chance to really shine on Father's Day evening in Vegas along with Pulisic.

Survive & Advance: USMNT Hangs On To Beat Iran 1-0, Reach Knockout Round Vs. Netherlands

 

    It was nervy and a bit sketchy at the end but all that matters is that the U.S. men's national team got the job done this afternoon in its Group B finale vs. Iran. The stakes were simple enough: win and they proceeded to the knockout round; lose and they catch the next flight out of Qatar. Thanks to a superb goal by star Christian Pulisic and the second straight shutout by goalkeeper Matt Turner, the Americans finished in second place in Group B with a 1-0 victory against Iran. They now will face the Netherlands on Saturday morning (10 am, FOX) in the Round of 16. England beat Wales 3-0 to finish in first place in Group B and they will meet Senegal on Sunday (2 pm, Fox). 

    With only two goals in its three games in Qatar, goal-scoring has clearly been a major issue facing the U.S. They played really well in the first half today though and were rewarded when midfielder Weston McKennie sent a long pass to defender Sergino Dest which he headed towards the goal line. Pulisic bravely went right at Iran's goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and volleyed the ball into the net just before he received a swift kick to a very sensitive area. After understandably staying down on the ground and being tended to by the USMNT medical staff, Pulisic briefly came off the field before going back on to end the half. He was replaced to start the second half and after a trip to the hospital, he said that he would be ready to go against the Dutch which is a huge relief given how serious it initally looked.

     Iran stepped up its play in the second half, particularly in the latter portion of the final stanza. US head coach Gregg Berhalter used all five of his substitutes and other than the mostly useless striker Haji Wright and midfielder Brenden Aaronson (who was a fine replacement for Pulisic), he focused on defenders with Shaq Moore (who shouldn't be on this team) coming on for Dest, Kellyn Acosta taking out McKennie and Walker Zimmerman subbing in for Timothy Weah (who had a stoppage time goal in the first half wiped away despite no VAR review of what looked like an incredibly close offside call). No Gio Reyna appearance for the second time in three matches, no Joe Scally (yet to see the field in Qatar) or no DeAndre Yedlin who I would have preferred vs. Moore.

    The Netherlands will represent a true step up in class for the U.S. but their 0-0 tie with England proves that they can hang with the better teams that are here. The Dutch won Group A after finishing 2-0-1 via a 2-0 win vs. Senegal, a 1-1 draw with Ecuador and a 2-0 shutout of Qatar to close it out earlier this morning. Their breakout star has been forward Cody Gakpo who has scored a goal in each game so far in the 2022 World Cup. It should be a good matchup since like the Americans, the Dutch have only allowed one goal in Qatar. Expect another low-scoring affair like today was and hopefully the U.S. attack can wake up a little bit more. For context, the last two times that the U.S. reached the knockout stage of a World Cup, they lost in the Round of 16: 1-0 to Belgium in 2014 and 2-1 to Ghana in 2010. Their last win at this point was that memorable 2-0 upset of Mexico way back in 2002.

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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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Dos A Cero Forever and Ever: The USMNT Beats Mexico For The Third Time In A Row Since June

 

    Remember when the USMNT (4-2-1) was on the brink of utter disaster just a few short months ago? That hardly seems to matter now as they beat their archrival Mexico (4-2-1) 2-0 tonight at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. Canada (3-4-0) held off Costa Rica (1-3-3) this evening in Edmonton leaving the Canadians one point behind both the United States and Mexico. Panama (3-2-2) is the only other country that is in the same neighborhood as those top three teams. Any victory against Mexico is a huge one but this carried extra meaning since it vaulted the U.S. to the top of their eight country CONCACAF group. It was also the first loss of this round (the 3rd) of qualifying for the Mexicans and it meant that the Americans have now beaten them in three staright matches dating back to this past June-something that neither country has done in this epic series since 1937. 

    It was scoreless at halftime and it remained 0-0 for much of the second half before the U.S. got a jolt of energy from its best player (who was a substitute) followed by an insurance goal by another one of their main stars. Of course, this was all made possible by goalkeeper Zack Steffen (4 saves) who earned the shutout with some solid play including a diving stop on a partial breakaway by Hirving Lozano-Mexico's best goal scorer-in the 18th minute. Forward Christian Pulisic did not start because he's only played two games for his club team-Chelsea-since returning from a serious ankle injury. In five minutes of action though, he made an immediate impact as he connected on a diving header with fellow forward Timothy Weah providing a picture perfect cross from the right side into the box. 

    Much like Pulisic, midfielder Weston McKennie is already proving to be a big-game performer for the USMNT not to mention his powerhouse club (Juventus). Unfortuately, in the 68th minute he picked up a yellow card for the second match in a row so he will miss the next U.S. World Cup qualifier-on Tuesday (5, Paramount+) at Jamaica (1-3-3). He made up for that by corraling a loose ball and dribbling through or around multiple Mexican defenders before finishing a low shot into the corner of the net. That made it 2-0 in favor of the U.S. in the 85th minute and stunned Mexico never had any time to recover. The only other negative for the Americans was that defender Miles Robinson picked up a red card in the 89th minute on a shaky at best call. He will sit out as well on Tuesday meaning that head coach Gregg Berhalter needs to make at least two changes to his starting lineup from tonight. 

    Finally, Tuesday night represents a golden opportunity for the U.S. to try and separate itself a bit at the top of the table. Sure from the outside it appears to have all the makings of the usual CONCACAF trap game that affects every country in this wacky region from time to time: they are facing an underdog opponent on a shoddy field and in a terrible stadium that has next to nothing to lose at this point. You'll remember that the previous time that the USMNT and Jamaica met on October 7, the Americans walked away with a 2-0 victory in Austin, TX. It will take another strong team effort to get the desired result of three more points. It is also their final World Cup 2022 qualifier in 2021 and the next one after that won't be for over two months (vs. El Salvador on January 27) so what better way to go into the holidays than with a win?

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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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After Beating Honduras 1-0, USMNT Advances To The Concacaf Nations League Final Vs. Mexico

 

    With NHL and NBA playoff games on tonight, I'm not going to assume that you were glued to the USMNT vs. Honduras in the inaugural Concacaf Nations League semifinal at Empower Field at Mile High. Still, it had some relevance since it was the USMNT's first official competitive match since way back in November 2019. Head coach Gregg Berhalter put together the second-youngest starting 11 in USMNT history and it worked as they squeezed out a 1-0 victory thanks to substitute Jordan Siebatcheu's clutch header in the 89th minute. Oh by the way, it was his first USMNT appearance, talk about making an instant impact! Most importantly, this sets up a juicy title game between the US and Mexico on Sunday night (9:36, CBS Sports Network). 

    If we want to take a more critical view, with most of their best players in the lineup (namely Zack Steffen, Sergino Dest, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna and Christian Pulisic), you would expect the Americans to dominate against one of their mediocre Concacaf brethren. Honduras surprisingly had some good scoring chances too as Sargent cleared a ball off the goal line in the 27th minute with a great backwards header and Steffen also came out to challenge a shot in the 51st minute that could have been a goal if he was slower to react. Before their goal, the best opportunities for the US came on a Reyna shot early on that went inches wide of the net, a Sargent header in the 30th minute and Pulisic was stuffed in the next minute from in close. 

    This would have gone straight to penalty kicks if it was tied after regulation but thankfully it didn't have to come to that. The game-winning play came when defender John Brooks crossed the ball to McKennie who headed it back to the middle where Siebatcheau dove for a powerful header. I would say that the USMNT will have to play much better on Sunday to beat Mexico but they struggled as well and hung on for a 5-4 victory in penalty kicks against Costa Rica in the other semifinal. Hopefully playing each other brings out the best in these bitter rivals. I cannot think of a better way to wrap up the weekend and get this summer of soccer started than with the latest chapter of the USMNT vs. Mexico. 

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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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Weston McKennie Leaves Schalke For Juventus Where Cristiano Ronaldo Will Be A Teammate

 

    If you've been paying attention lately, this end result wasn't a surprise by any means since European soccer rumors are covered almost as extensively as U.S. presidential elections stateside but it is still enormous news for the U.S. men's soccer national team that one of their top talents-midfielder Weston McKennie-has been loaned from FC Schalke (Germany) to Juventus (Italy) until June 30, 2021. If things go well for the 22-year-old Texan at one of the world's top clubs, he could in line for 18.5 million Euros paid over three years. He will be the first American to ever play for Juve. Wow!

    It's been a meteoric rise for McKennie who started with his local MLS club's (FC Dallas) youth program before making the prudent move to head to Schalke and the Bundesliga in 2016. He spent part of his childhood growing up in Germany so there wasn't a huge culture shock for him once he returned. In fact, he made his first team debut the next year. Over the past three seasons, he's become a fixture for Schalke playing in multiple positions and therefore in the same time frame he got his first USMNT call-up under his belt (memorably scoring vs. Portugal in his U.S. debut) and since then he's become enough of a star that he was a captain for them as a 20-year-old.

    Christian Pulisic rightfully gets most of the headlines which makes sense with his insane career trajectory but with McKennie at Juventus now along with Tyler Adams at Red Bull Leipzig and Giovanni Reyna at Borussia Dortmund just to name a few, the US men's national team shouldn't miss any more World Cups in the near future-assuming that those are still a thing despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Besides their ages and limitless potential, my favorite part about all of these guys is that they are not afraid to go to Europe where they can train and compete against the best players from around the globe. They are not the coddled players from previous USMNT generations that mostly preferred to stick around here where they could dominate without putting in much effort.

    Moreover, they are not scared to make the leap to even bigger (ie. more pressure-packed) clubs. With five goals in 91 career appearances for Schalke (including a Champions League game-winner) and six goals in 19 appearances for the Red, White and Blue, McKennie realized that Schalke will never be more than a mid-tier club in the Bundesliga at best. Their glory days have long passed and they'll never be better than the juggernaut Bayern Munich or Dortmund who is also becoming a budding powerhouse in their own right. Juventus on the other hand is a lock to win Serie-A every year (9 in a row and counting!) not to mention the fact that they are always a contender for the Champions League crown as well. Oh and one of the greatest players in soccer history-Cristiano Ronaldo-plays there along with another absurd attacking talent in Argentine Paulo Dybala. You can't expect McKennie to have an immediate impact with Juve, remember that even Pulisic had some bumpy moments in his first Chelsea campaign, but you can't find a much better environment in every possible way (players, coaching, fans, worldwide attention) to maximize his abilities.

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With a Chance to Bring Positive Energy Back, USMNT Fall Flat On Their Face in Gold Cup Final

I'll keep this brief because first of all this team-the USMNT-really doesn't deserve much attention (at least in a positive manner) and likewise, especially on today of all days when the USWNT just captured their fourth World Cup title. However, let it be noted that the U.S. men fell 1-0 tonight in the Gold Cup 2019 Final to Mexico at a sold-out Soldier Field in Chicago. The Americans were bidding for their seventh Gold Cup title but they were outdone by their most bitter rival the Mexicans who earned their record eighth Gold Cup crown in front of what must have felt like a home game to them. Oh and did I mention that Mexico improved to 5-1 against them in the Final? The only U.S. win vs. Mexico in the Final remains from 2007.

The U.S. had two great scoring chances early in the match as midfielder Christian Pulisic had a breakaway stopped by Mexico's goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa (I'm the biggest Pulisic honk I know but he should have done better with that shot). That was frustrating but not even in the same galaxy as striker Jozy Altidore's pathetic breakaway that started off so well with him putting a Mexican defender on skates but that ended with him shooting the ball wide of the net. When you don't score on either opportunity like that in soccer, you have a sense of impending doom that hits you right away when you are playing a team that is better than you to begin with.

Sure enough while it was 0-0 at halftime, Mexico turned up the pressure in the second half and was rewarded in the 73rd minute with a beautiful goal (part of me just died inside admitting that). The sequence began when midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro (who earlier in the 1st half appeared to hyper-extend his elbow) passed to forward Raul Jimenez in the box who back-heeled a pass to midfielder Jonathan dos Santos whose left-footed shot rose enough to hit the crossbar but bounce in past U.S. goalkeeper Zach Steffen.

One goal shouldn't automatically mean that you are cooked but with Altidore already subbed out and the other veteran American Michael Bradley (why is he still on the team?) giving away the ball in the midfield left and right, you knew that the USMNT was in dire shape down 1-0. They finished with only two shots on goal and despite having four more corner kicks than Mexico (7-3), they did nothing but waste them all.

I'm not going to say that he was exposed since I didn't think much of him to begin with but I can't say that I'm overly impressed with the latest U.S. vanilla head coach Gregg Berhalter. His roster decisions for the Gold Cup were puzzling (no Josh Sargent?) and while I admit that he was understandably hamstrung a bit by a Tyler Adams injury right before the tournament started, that's no excuse for making such bizarre decisions like putting in something called Daniel Lovitz in the 83rd minute this evening down a goal. Huh? I understand that winning a Gold Cup doesn't mean all that much in the grand scheme of things but to get this program back on track, shouldn't they focus on tasks that they can excel at like this while building to those more pipe-dream thoughts (ruling CONCACAF, winning a group stage and competing for a World Cup, etc.)?

This could have been a change of pace from their last few years of painful irrelevance, a rare good development for the USMNT. However, instead they continue to spin their collective wheels despite possessing a ton of young talent (Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tyler Boyd who somehow didn't play tonight) that thank god, choose to play in leagues outside of average MLS.

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Oh Hey Guys, the USMNT Advanced to the Gold Cup Final vs. Mexico With a 3-1 Win vs. Jamaica

Even the most serious person would have a hard time keeping a straight face when they pretend to compare the importance of the Women's World Cup to the utter irrelevance of the Gold Cup. That's why I have failed to mention anything about the USMNT in the Gold Cup this summer until just now because beating up on the likes of Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Panama and Curacao (outscoring them 12-0 in the process) means very little to a hardcore soccer fan like myself so who else would really care?

However, in the slowest sports time of the year I started to come around to this bi-annual event with Mexico's 1-0 extra time victory over powerhouse Haiti last night in the semifinals. All the U.S. had to do was take care of business tonight in Nashville vs. Jamaica (who they beat in the 2017 Gold Cup Final) and they survived a 90-minute weather delay (due to lightning) en route to a 3-1 victory.

Do you realize how incredibly special Sunday could be for U.S. soccer in general? While our beloved USWNT meet the Netherlands (11, FOX) in the World Cup Final for the main course, the night cap is a juicy USMNT vs. Mexico showdown in Chicago (9, FS1). U.S. vs. Mexico is always must-see TV and especially in a setting like this which should be electric. If that's not enough to entice you to wrap up your holiday weekend with Gregg Berhalter's hodgepodge collection of youngsters and a few veterans, think about this: midfielder Christian Pulisic at the ripe old age of 20 is already the best men's player in USMNT history. Not convinced? Well he had two goals tonight but let's not forget that this summer he will begin his journey at Chelsea (England), you know one of the best and most powerful clubs in the world. The U.S. failing to qualify for last summer's World Cup was a disaster for a million reasons but I will always point to missing out on Pulisic getting to play against the world's top teams and players at such a young age would have been utterly awesome.

Pulisic gets most of the headlines as he should but there are other intriguing talents on the USMNT that you probably aren't aware of. Midfielder Weston McKennie (who recently signed an extension with Schalke of Germany's Bundesliga) opened the scoring with a pretty goal in the ninth minute. It all began with a long pass from Michael Bradley (yes, he's still a thing) to Reggie Cannon who one-touched it into the box for Jozy Altidore (soon to be Mr. Sloane Stephens to you) who laid it off for McKennie to blast by Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake. It was McKennie's second goal of the tournament, his other one was the game-winner in the previous match (a snoozefest 1-0 quarterfinal win vs. Curacao). Pulisic and McKennie have been friends for awhile as you can tell from their fantastic post-goal celebrations.

U.S. goalkeeper Zack Steffen is leaving the Columbus Crew (MLS) for Manchester City (England) but first, he'll be loaned to Dusseldorf (Germany). He only had to make three saves against Jamaica but a few of those were quality stops. After returning from the long delay, the U.S. was up 1-0 at halftime. In the 52nd minute, Pulisic pounced on a juicy rebound after Blake fumbled a relatively easy shot from Jordan Morris. It was Pulisic's 12th career goal for the USMNT and his second of the 2019 Gold Cup. McKennie and Altidore both picked up yellow cards in the first half so it was no surprise that Jozy was Berhalter's first sub out-in the 56th minute-as Gyasi Zardes came on for him. Also, his fitness level is shall we see not at peak condition at the moment.

Jamaica turned up the offensive pressure and they were rewarded with a goal in the 69th minute as forward Shamar Nicholson (who entered 4 minutes earlier) headed in a cross from midfielder Leon Bailey. It was the first goal conceded by the Americans in the tournament so there is that. There were some nervy moments for the U.S. hanging on to that 2-1 lead as midfielder Cristian Roldan replaced his Seattle Sounders teammate Morris in the 70th minute. Pulisic refused to let his squad lose though as once again, Blake was extremely generous in his rebound control. He made a diving save on Paul Arriola's shot from outside the box but Pulisic was able to jump up from the ground and put in some more loose change. In the process, he became only the second U.S. player to score a brace (2 goals) in the Gold Cup semifinals, joining Landon Donovan.

This will be the U.S.' 11th appearance in the Gold Cup Final which is a tournament record and they have made it this far in seven of the last eight editions. Dating back to the 2017 Gold Cup, they have won 10 straight games in the competition and five in a row overall. It feels like it is always U.S. vs. Mexico in the Final but this is only the sixth time out of 15 times that it's happened (Mexico is 4-1 with the only U.S triumph coming 12 years ago). In the history of the Gold Cup, the Mexicans have the most titles (7) but the Americans can tie that with a win on Sunday. Mexico always draws huge crowds wherever they go (don't forget your festive bags of urine to throw at your most hated U.S. players!) and hopefully a decent amount of U.S. fans show up in Chicago as well, it is on their home soil after all. Hopefully as we are basking in the glow of the fourth USWNT World Cup crown, we see an entertaining match between these two countries that genuinely hate each other. The USMNT has a long way to go towards earning back many of the fans it lost over the last few depressing years but a win against Mexico would be a nice way to kick start that effort.

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