USMNT devoid of urgency Canada built for CONCACAF success in

Posted by seestyle on July 31st, 2022

United States head coach Gregg Berhalter said the United States "dominated" the match against Canada, but after a 2-0 defeat, many USMNT won't share the same takeaway.

On the road in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying in a hostile environment thanks to a raucous Ontario crowd and frigid temperatures, the United States flopped to a comprehensive defeat, beaten by a Canada side happy to sit back and absorb pre sure before hitting with pace and venom on the counter.

The Canadians played their style in their home, and while defender Miles Robinson claimed nothing that the hosts did surprised the Americans, the United States still always lookeda step behind.

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While the Canadians proved themselves the cla s of CONCACAF and moved to the brink of World Cup qualification, the USMNT still Fernando Valenzuela Jersey has work to do to secure a spot. In fact, a first-place finish is almost certainly out of the question, and the U.S. could even falladrift in third if Mexico tops Costa Rica.

What we learned from Canada vs. USMNT1. I sues with Christian Pulisic

Captain America has struggled the past few months at Chelsea, we all know that. Being asked to play different positions and earning only sporadic minutes has clearly taken a toll, that much was evident against El Salvador. But Pulisic is a highly talented player Pedro Baez Jersey , and fans expected him to find a groove eventually.

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The opposite has happened. Pulisic had a downright poor gameagainst Canada, unable to produce anything electric in open play or anything even serviceable on set pieces. His one corner delivery to the head of Weston McKennie at the end of the first half was his only special moment of the match.

If the alarm bells weren't blaring after El Salvador, they are now. There are plenty of theories David Freese Jersey aboutthe mental, physical, tactical, or other factors that might be at play, but whatever the problem, it is evident thatPulisic is pre sing.With just one more match on Wednesday before players fly back to their clubs to continue the season, Berhalter doesn't have enoughtime to sort outwhatis wrong orhowto fix the player. That's on Pulisic. Berhalter's immediate goal will be to figure out his best way to attack Honduras, and that might not include the Chelsea man.

2. Canada is extremely CONCACAF, but in a fun way

While the United States has been fixated for years on building into an international competitor that can consistently battle Europe's powers, Canada has simply focused on embracing CONCACAF. It's worked, to perfection.

Les Rouges are a perfect encapsulation of how to be succe sful in the North American confederation, producing a winning combination of defensive prowe s, counter-attack magic, and a bit of mucking-it-up when nece sary. Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies take this cohesive unit to the next level with their world-cla s talent, but even without one or both, Albert Pujols Jersey John Herdman has fostered a program built on unity and structure.

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While other inferior CONCACAF sides need to rely on a mix of fouls, yellow cards, and other shenanigans and gamesmanship, Canada has quality and enoughpace and flair to justify its undefeated first-place standing in the table.

Who knows if it'll work at the next level when the Canadiansreach Qatar, but in the Octagonal, it has been quite literally unbeatable.

3. USMNT lacked urgency and edge

Head coach Gregg Berhalter was open about the lack of connectivity in his post-match pre s conference followingthe 1-0 win over El Salvador just days prior.

"I wouldn't say this was our best game," Berhalter said about that win over the Cuscatlecos."I think Zach McKinstry Jersey that the ambition to play forward and get behind El Salvador was mi sing for the 90 minutes. We had it in spurts, but I think it could have been better." Berhalter continued later, "I didn't think our pre s was as connected as it needed to be, and you could see that we were away from each other for a while, the majority of the group."

Those same themes cropped up against Canada, and while the El Salvador match could be explained away as a good performance lacking a finishing touch, against Canada the United States produced just 0.87 expected goals. There were precious few chances created, and only Weston McKennie's header near the end of the first half tested Canada 'keeper Milan Borjanat all. The Canadians bullied the U.S., putting the onus on a referee who was letting the teams play.

In his role as analyst for CBS's Paramount+, USMNT legend Clint Dempsey crushed the United States at halftime for having a lack of urgency in the first half, and it didn't improve at all in the second half. But it's not just this game that's lacked any venom from the USMNT, as the El Salvador match proved.

Thereis obviously a continuing chemistry and urgency deficiency that needs to be rectified, and whether that comes from personnel decisions Edwin Rios Jersey , a tactical reconfiguration, or a new approach to training, something clearly has to change.