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.

Tweet

Follow @RichSlate 

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. 

Tweet

Follow @RichSlate 

Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) Became The First American To Appear In A Champions League Final

 

    The USMNT still has a ways to go but today was a special moment as its brightest star-Christian Pulisic-became the first American to ever appear in a Champions League Final as Chelsea blanked its Premier League rival Manchester City 1-0 to win its second Champions League title in club history. The 22-year-old from Hershey, PA subbed in for striker Timo Werner in the 66th minute and just missed scoring the insurance goal that would have put Chelsea up 2-0 on the favored Manchester City who won the Premier League this season. In 24 minutes of action off the bench, Pulisic had 19 touches of the ball and made 16 passes while recording one shot. He capped off an up-and-down season personally in the best possible way, as a legitimate contributor to the top club team in the world. 

    In 10 Champions League games this season (which included four starts), Pulisic had two goals and two assists. In 27 Premier League appearances in 2020-21 (18 starts), he had four goals and two assists. He also played in six FA Cup matches (three starts) and two USMNT friendlies where he added a goal in two starts. It's been a very busy stretch for Pulisic who battled a hamstring injury and saw his former manager at Chelsea-Frank Lampard-get fired and be replaced by his old Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel. It's easy to get caught up in the frustrating aspects but the bottom line is that there he was smiling from ear-to-ear and lifting the Champions League trophy this afternoon in Porto with his Chelsea teammates so that had to make all the hard times well worth it. 

    For the record, he wasn't the only American there either as Manchester City's backup goalkeeper for most of the season was Zack Steffen-another native of Pennsylvania. He was understandably stuck behind City's star Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson but the 26-year-old still managed to get in the occasional starts in the League Cup, the FA Cup, some USMNT friendlies, the Premier League and the Champions League in this past campaign. This is a guy who was in MLS just a few years ago so I'd say that his future also looks very bright considering how far he's come in his career. More than anything with the next World Cup coming up in 2022, seeing Pulisic and Steffen as key parts of two of the best club teams in the world, as a fan of the USMNT you have to be psyched about the future with so many talented players scattered all around the world.

Tweet

Follow @RichSlate 

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.

Tweet

Follow @RichSlate 

USMNT Defender & Rising Star Sergino Dest Leaves Ajax To Sign 5-Year Contract At Barcelona

 

    It wasn't that long ago that a USMNT player going to Europe to compete for any half decent club-let alone one of the great powerhouses-was big news. 2020 has been a nightmare in basically every way possible but at least thanks to social media and cable TV packages, we are able to watch the best American players compete every week throughout Europe and far away from the mediocrity and utterly boring nature of MLS. Following in the footsteps of Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Tyler Adams (Red Bull Leipzig), Gio Reyna (Dortmund), Weston McKennie (Juventus) and Chris Richards (Bayern Munich) among many others, today fullback Sergino Dest agreed to a five-year deal with Barcelona.

    I can't pretend that I know all that much about Dest in terms of seeing him compete that often. Ajax matches are hard to find unless they are deep into the Champions League and as we all know, the USMNT has barely had any games this year due to the global pandemic. However, reading about him from many trusted soccer writers around the globe, it sounds like there is much to be excited about for this 19-year-old who grew up in the Netherlands but chose to represent the USMNT rather than the Dutch. Take that Arjen Robben! 

      The rumors started to creep up last week that he was choosing between Barcelona and Bayern Munich for his next destination. What a life, huh? Unless you've been paying close attention this year, you'd probably be surprised to hear that Bayern is actually a notch above Barca at the moment. With yesterday's German Super Cup win over Borussia Dortmund, that gave Bayern five (!) trophies this year. Additionally, their roster is more loaded than Barcelona's. Of course this is not to say that Barcelona is merely a consolation prize. Any chance to count one of the best players in soccer history as a teammate-a still in-his-prime Lionel Messi-you jump at that opportunity.  

    Barcelona has turned some of its aging roster (adios Luis Suarez and Arutro Vidal) over since watching its chief rival Real Madrid win La Liga earlier this summer and then getting absolutely destroyed 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals. Ajax used to be one of the top clubs in the world and they've started to regain some of that notoriety in the last few years thanks to an incredible development program. Dest is a shining example of what they do in Amsterdam (besides smoke a ton of weed and ride bicycles like they're going out of style): he played in 35 matches with 27 starts for Ajax last season, adding two goals and six assists.

    Barcelona's new manager Ronald Koeman is from Holland as well so that shouldn't hurt Dest's chances of getting on the field soon for Barcelona. Even if it takes some time to be featured frequently by Koeman, he will be getting incredibly valuable experience training every day alongside stars like goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, defenders Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba, midfielders Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong (his old Ajax teammate) and Philippe Coutinho along with forwards like Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele. 

    Despite the last few years being a bit of a mess (by their impossibly high standards), Barcelona's trophy case is still overflowing. This is a team that's won 30 Copa Del Rey trophies, 26 La Liga titles, five Champions League trophies and three FIFA Club World Cup trophies. Dest is obviously not afraid of personal challenges and heading to Spain is a logical next stop for a guy who has tantalizing potential. As if you needed any additional reasons to watch Barcelona matches (other than Messi doing his usual wizardry and Ray Hudson's glorious commentary on beIN Sports), here it is. Let's also hope that the USMNT can get back on the field someday soon because for once, their roster is going to be loaded with legitimate talent not just the usual MLS heroes.

Tweet

Follow @RichSlate 

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.

Tweet

Follow @RichSlate  

Samantha Mewis Goes to Man City Which is Great For Her & USWNT but Bad News for the NWSL

 

    Hello friends, I thought that I should check in after over a year since my last post. Haha so what have you been up to lately, are you enjoying the pandemic as much as I am? With no Olympics this summer (maybe next summer?) plus all USMNT and USWNT matches cancelled due to the coronavirus, there has not been a whole lot going on with our best men and women's soccer players. Yes, our top men like Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) and numerous guys in the Bundesliga gave us something to watch this spring/summer when European leagues returned to action. Similarly, many of the top women's players were in the successful NWSL Challenge Cup tournament in Utah which concluded in July. 

    Still, there are so many question marks in all of our lives these days, so imagine if you were a professional athlete in the prime of his or her career. What a nightmare. Whitman-Hanson alum (shoutout to that Massachusetts high school) and UCLA star Samantha Mewis has improved by leaps and bounds the last few seasons to become one of the best midfielders in the world. As such, she wants to challenge herself and the fact that there is no certainty if the NWSL will even have anymore games this year, she made the prudent decision to head to England to play for Manchester City. 

    I have always taken the opposite view to our USWNT players than the USMNT guys (who I always want to go abroad) since they are in the mix every year for the best national team in the world so you would hope that the United States could sustain a top-flight women's professional soccer league. Turns out, no matter how many World Cups (four) or Olympic gold medals (also four) that they win, all that love and positive momentum that they gain in the brightest spotlight, without fail always fades a bit too much when they return home. 

    That's why more and more of the USWNT's top stars head to Europe like Carli Lloyd or Alex Morgan (before she got married and had a baby) to play for powerhouse clubs like Man City or Lyon. Rose Lavelle is also rumored to be going to Man City any day now. There are only eight teams in the NWSL and even though Mewis' club-North Carolina Courage-is one of the best, she needs more certainty in her professional life. Women's soccer is slowly getting more popular overseas and it's no wonder that the juggernaut men's clubs can also field a women's team in its own backyard. 

    I will never lecture anyone on what to do with their time but with that said, this is my personal feeling on the subject of women's soccer in the U.S.: if you enjoy the USWNT, please support them at their club teams as well and make the NWSL or whatever women's league is around in the United States more stable so that our best players don't have to compete elsewhere to stay in top shape for the World Cup, Olympics, She Believes Cup, friendlies, etc. Rant over. 

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate