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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Eight Years Later, The U.S. Men's National Team Return To The World Cup With A 1-1 Tie Vs. Wales

 

    So much has changed since the last time that the U.S. men's national team was in its last World Cup (2014 in Brazil). This afternoon, an almost completely new squad (defender DeAndre Yedlin is the only holdover from that team) took the field in Qatar for their Group B opener vs. Wales. While this team is brimming with far more individual talent than the Americans have ever possessed, they still came away with a disappointing result: a 1-1 draw. Earlier in the day, England opened with a 6-2 thrashing of Iran which is what a heavyweight team like the English are expected to do. Of course, up next the Americans meet England on Black Friday (2, Fox) in a huge showdown that now takes on even more meaning since the U.S. settled for a point rather than earning the full three against the Welsh. Ugh.

    The U.S. played a nearly flawless first half and took a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute on a brilliant build-up play (more on that later) and a top-class finish by 22-year-old forward Timothy Weah. Rather than push for the all-important second goal in the second half, head coach Gregg Berhalter decided to sit on that perilous lead and ended up getting burned by Welsh legend Gareth Bale who drew a dumb foul in the box from defender Walker Zimmerman. The LA Galaxy star (that still sounds so weird to say) predictably converted the penalty kick in the 82nd minute and the Welsh grabbed a point in a match where the U.S. owned 59% possesion and had two more corner kicks (5-3) than Wales. 

    Did I mention that the U.S. finished with just one shot on goal? Yeah, that will not get it done at a major tournament. I think any objective American fan came into this cursed event in an awful and backwards country most scared of Berhalter screwing this whole thing up since he is their most glaring weakness besides inexperience of the players on this stage. Today was not a fireable offense but budding star midfielder Giovanni Reyna never seeing the field while forward Jordan Morris was a late substitute for Weah was a ridiculous decision. Turner did his part with a spectaular save to punch a dangerous Welsh header over the crossbar in the second half. He even got a hand on Bale's penalty kick but it was stuck way too hard to make a difference. 

   Starting with striker Josh Sargent's holdup then Pulisic's rush forward followed by a perfectly weighted pass to Weah who one-timed a finish before Wales' goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey could rush out to stop it, that U.S. goal was utterly gorgeous. Needless to say, past American teams never pulled off sequences like that against legitimate competition. Berhalter's starting 11 was about as good as it gets given the current roster: Turner in goal; Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Zimmerman and Sergino Dest in the back; Yunus Musah, newly-elected captain Tyler Adams (who was deservedly voted Man of the Match) and Weston McKennie in the midfield; Pulisic, Sargent and Weah up front. Other than the puzzling Morris move, Yedlin came on for Dest, Kellyn Acosta replaced Musah and Brenden Aaronson subbed in for McKennie. Besides Reyna, there really were not any other guys that never played against Wales that you could make much of a fuss about. 

    Berhalter should not panic and if I were him, I would roll with basically the same lineup vs. England. The U.S. has to be careful then since four guys (Ream, Dest, Acosta and McKennie) will carry yellow cards into that match with risk of missing the Iran Group B finale (should they pick up another yellow) which is likely to be very important for all four countries in the Group. England will be favored but the United States has shown in the past that they can play with the English. Goal differential is always something to pay attention to in this format so if they lose, it cannot be by more a goal or two. The U.S. led 1-0 at halftime against Wales and were up for 46 minutes late into the second half so hopefully this group takes some lessons from their first taste of the World Cup and puts it to good use when they meet one of the best teams on the planet.

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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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After A Rough Week, U.S. Men's National Team Woke Up & Earned A Huge 4-1 Win At Honduras

 

    Let's be real, it had not been a fun time to be a fan of the U.S. men's national team. Qualifying for the 2022 World Cup had hit a major bump in the road as they had a scoreless draw last Thursday at El Salvador, followed by a 1-1 tie with Canada in Nashville on Sunday. Couple that with injuries to some of their best players (Gio Reyna and Sergino Dest) not to mention a shameful temporary exit from the team after violating Covid-19 protocols (Weston McKennie) and you can understand why angst was growing by the hour. Tonight in the first half at Honduras, they looked like a mess as striker Brayan Moya used a diving header (when he was left completely unmarked in the middle of the box) to give the home team a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. Thankfully, the second half was a revelation as the United States looked like a different team as they scored four times to come away with a much-needed 4-1 victory. 

    Nobody is probably more thankful for the win than U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter since it is not hyperbole to say that his job was on the line if they had lost and come away with two out of a possible nine points this week. If you think that is being a little too dramatic, Jurgen Klinsmann was fired in a similar spot (after two matches in their ill-fated 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign). Also, former USMNT forward Taylor Twellman said as much on ESPN this evening after the U.S. vs. Honduras match. So where has this team been? Good question since three of the four goals for the Americans came from substitutes which shows how poorly Berhalter's strange makeshift lineup performed in the first half. 

    Fulham defender Antonee Robinson scored the biggest goal of his life in the 48th minute after he came on to start the second half. With a loose ball bouncing around in the box, he was there to calmly finish with a measured volley into the side netting. Making his first ever start for the U.S., 18-year-old striker Ricardo Pepi of FC Dallas made Berhalter look brilliant as he scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the 75th minute. Midfielder DeAndre Yedlin served a perfect cross to Pepi who headed the ball strongly into the corner. After playing great in the first half, Honduras crumbled late in the second half with another sub-forward Brenden Aaronson of Red Bull Salzburg-finishing a give-and-go with Pepi in the 86th minute. Finally, defender Sebastian Lletget of the LA Galaxy was able to clean up a rebound of a shot by Pepi for the final tally in the 93rd minute. 

    Besides the nightmare first half, the only real negative for the U.S. was that their best player Christian Pulisic of Chelsea fame went off in the 62nd minute with what looked like a pretty serious ankle injury. The good news in that regard is that he has nearly a month to heal up since the next window of World Cup qualifying games is in October starting on the 7th in Austin, TX vs. Jamaica. Three days later, the Americans go to Panama followed by an October 13 date with Costa Rica in Columbus, Ohio. After matchday three, the U.S. is tied with Canada for second-place (out of 8 countries) while Panama also has five points. Not surprisingly, Mexico is on top with seven points while Costa Rica, Honduras and El Salvador are all struggling with two points then Jamaica is last with only one point. Besides that performance, the best thing for this group is some time away from each other for a bit. They can focus on their club seasons for a few weeks before reconvening hopefully with a different mindset next month. The upcoming portion of their schedule does not sound too daunting at least on paper but the last week should prove that they cannot afford to take any opponent for granted right now and every point is precious to them because they simply have to qualify for the 2022 World Cup by any means necessary.

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USWNT Icon Carli Lloyd Will Get The Farewell Tour This Fall That She So Richly Deserves

 

    As the saying goes, "Father Time is undefeated." While that may be true especially in the career of a professional athlete, at least USWNT legend Carli Lloyd fought the good fight so much longer than nearly anyone else in women's soccer history. Today, the 39-year-old midfielder/forward announced that she will play in four soon-to-be announced USWNT exhibitions this fall and she will return to play for her local club Gotham FC in the NWSL for the rest of their season and then that's it, she's done for good. When you stack her accolades up with any other USWNT legend, her resume is as good as anybody else's. The crazy part too is that she was considered past her prime and out of the picture for the national team in her early-30s only to burst back onto the scene and play the best soccer of her life for years after that. 

    The Delran Township, New Jersey native was never a big-time prospect in her earlier years, instead she played four years (2001-04) at Rutgers University in her home state before making her debut with the senior national team the next year. From there, she went on to make an astounding 312 appearances (2nd most in USWNT & world soccer history), she won two World Cups (2015 & 2019) and two Olympic Gold Medals (2008 & 2012), she scored 128 goals (4th most in USWNT history) and she won a pair of FIFA Women's Player of the Year Awards in back-to-back years (2015 & 2016). Her signature moment for most people is probably the hat trick that she scored in the first 16 minutes of the 2015 World Cup final vs. Japan including an absurd shot from midfield over the hapless Japanese goalkeeper. 

    Of all the great American women's soccer players, Lloyd has never been the one with the flashiest moves on the field nor the biggest personality off the field but that's not the point. For me, one of the true signs of greatness is the consistency from game to game and year to year and that is Carli. Even though the USWNT couldn't become the first team (men's or women's) to follow a World Cup title with a Gold Medal in the following Olympics, settling for the bronze in Japan earlier this month, she is still one of the top players on the team. It's one thing for a goalie to play at a high level late into their 30s or even early 40s but for a field player it's nearly unheard of. It was such a bizarre Olympics with no fans in the stands (due to Covid-19) but one of the enduring images of the entire proceedings had to be Lloyd running sprints on the empty field after they had been upset by Canada in the semifinals. On the surface to a regular person, that likely seems insane but I think it sums up Lloyd so well. She never accepted mediocrity from herself and her internal will to succeed is what ultimately resulted in her being one of the best women's soccer players of all-time.

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The U.S. Men Finished The Job By Beating Mexico 1-0 In Extra Time To Capture The 2021 Gold Cup

 

    For the second time in less than two months (and the first time in team history), the U.S. men's soccer team beat Mexico in back-to-back finals. This time, defender Miles Robinson (game-winning goal) was the unlikely offensive hero while the goalkeeper Matt Turner (5 saves, 5th shutout of the tournament) continued to play out of his mind as the USMNT survived 1-0 in extra time at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas-the enormous indoor home of the Raiders. This was the seventh Gold Cup title all-time for the U.S. and their first since 2017 (keep in mind that it happens every other year). They hunkered down and made the most of their limited chances as Mexico possessed the ball by a wide margin (64%-36%) compared to the Americans. This was also the fifth time in six Gold Cup matches this summer where the U.S. has won by a slim 1-0 final score. 

    Other than Turner-who was rightfully named the Man of the Match after one last superb performance-Robinson was the only other U.S. player to play in every minute of every game in this edition of the Gold Cup. The Arlington, MA native & Syracuse product scored what undoubtedly was the biggest goal of his life very deep (117th minute!) into the second half of extra time. In fact, it was the latest goal that the USMNT had ever scored against Mexico. The winning sequence all started on a set piece as midfielder Kellyn Acosta swung a cross right into the box where Robinson rose the highest to head it in for his third career goal for the Americans-all scored this year.

    As he showed time and again in this tournament, Turner doesn't get rattled by much and when he is on his game like he has been for the past few weeks, look out world! By going 6-0 in this tournament, he probably ensured that he is about to get much richer whether that is with the New England Revolution or somewhere else. He has also placed himself firmly in the discussion for who should be the No. 1 USMNT goalkeeper moving forward: either Manchester City's Zach Steffen (who is clearly the odds on favorite) or him seem like the only legitimate options at this point. For what it's worth, nobody's stock on this team improved more than him at the 2021 Gold Cup. 

    The other aspect of this Gold Cup that I found most fascinating was seeing so many of the less heralded but still promising young U.S. players that will most likely be their future depth in support of their A-team pals from the Nations League title squad. We are exactly a month away from World Cup qualifying getting started up again meaning that birthday boy and U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter will have some tough decisions to make to create that final roster. They meet El Salvador on September 2, followed by September 5 vs. Canada in Nashville and September 8 against Honduras. Before then, these players and coaches deserve to have a well-earned short break before things truly start to get serious in September.

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