United States Departs Nations League Tournament Empty Handed
A second-straight loss sees the U.S. finish in fourth place.
Sunday saw Mauricio Pochettino and the United States Men’s National Team wrap up their run in the Concacaf Nations League, meeting Canada in the tournament’s third-place game.
Poch made five changes from the lineup that suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Panama in the semifinal on Thursday. Matt Turner returned between the sticks behind the back line of Max Arfsten, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Mark McKenzie and Joe Scally. Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie sat deep in the midfield, with Christian Pulisic, Diego Luna, and Tim Weah higher up. Patrick Agyemang served as the lone attacker up top.
Canada found their first big chance of the game nine minutes in when Alphonso Davies darted down the left flank and cut inward before attempting to slot the ball centrally to Tajon Buchanan. The former Rev looked poised to volley a shot on target, but Max Arfsten was there to stick a foot in and tapped the ball up and over the goal before Buchanan could get to it.
After a few solid attempts, Canada found the opener in the 27th minute. It started with Buchanan having his central pass blocked. Ali Ahmed got onto the loose ball and sent it to Jonathan David. The striker couldn’t get a clean strike on the ball, but it rolled to an open Tani Oluwaseyi, who drilled it into the net from atop the six-yard box to give Canada the 1-0 lead.
It only took seven minutes for the U.S. to find the equalizer. After breaking down the left flank, Weah slotted the ball to Luna who then slotted the ball back to Patrick Agyemang, who rocketed a shot on target. Despite Dayne St. Clair getting a touch to it, it wasn’t enough as the ball flew into the net to draw the game level at one apiece.
The United States’ first change came before the start of the second half as Marlon Fossey replaced Scally.
Canada looked poised to find a second goal in the 53rd minute when David got onto the ball and evaded the defense, finding himself one-on-one with Turner. With Arfsten on his heels, David slammed the brakes as Arfsten slid in, looking to dispossess David.
Thankfully for the U.S., Canada’s chance ended when David slipped on the turf. Despite Arfsten making no contact, Canada head coach Jesse Marsch was livid with the no-call as he ran along the touch line and onto the field. Marsch’s day ended early, as he received a straight red card for his actions in the 54th minute.
After squandering a chance earlier, David amended his mistake in the 60th minute when he received a pass from Ali Ahmed inside the box. The striker switched the ball to his left foot and rocketed a shot past Turner to give Canada a 2-1 lead.
A triple change came in the 69th minute as Tanner Tessmann, Yunus Musah, and Gio Reyna replaced Adams, McKennie, and Pulisic. Pochettino’s final change came in the 78th minute as Brian White replaced Agyemang.
The United States nearly found the leveler in the 86th minute when Mark McKenzie headed down a free kick to Luna. Luna got onto the ball and attempted to slot it past St. Clair but the goalkeeper came up big as he got a touch to it to keep their lead intact.
The Nations League didn’t go the way Mauricio Pochettino and many anticipated as the U.S. left the tournament, finishing in fourth place after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Canada. An overall disappointing outing by the U.S., as they suffer back-to-back defeats while only scoring once.
Pochettino and his staff will go back to the drawing board as the nation prepares for this summer’s Gold Cup tournament.