U.S. men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter has repeatedly said his squad should approach the qualifying competition for the CONCACAF World Cup as if they were playing 14 individual finals. The unfortunate flaw of this analogy is that teams tend to enter the final phase. The Americans have started the classification with a discouraging saving.
Two draws in the first two games, just one goal scored, multiple injuries and the dismissal of midfielder and member of the team’s Leadership Council, Weston McKennie, has greatly undermined the momentum generated by the League titles. CONCACAF Nations and the Gold Cup won this summer. So far, Americans have had no tactical or psychological preparation for the classification glove. They have not lived up to it. And that doesn’t cut it in a final.
Fortunately, there is another flaw in Berhalter’s analogy that works in favor of his team. Despite failing to win their first two “finals,” the United States (0-0-2) is far from eliminated. There is a long way to go in the CONCACAF Octagonal, which will send the top three finishers to next year’s Qatar World Cup. And there’s still one more chance to reverse the current slide before this month’s international window closes. Win in Honduras (0-0-2) Wednesday night at the San Pedro Sula Metropolitan Olympic Stadium, and the U.S. would change the narrative. Five points would represent a decent, tough return in the first three games, and at least a dozen American debutants will have gained indispensable qualifying experience.
American midfielder Kellyn Acosta (23) plays the ball in the second half against Canada.
Christopher Hanewinckel / USA TODAY Sports
There are no trophies in San Pedro Sula, but the bet is significant. In a way, this will feel more like a final than the previous qualifiers against El Salvador and Canada. Win and the US can exhale and approach the October window of three games with a little more confidence. Losing, and the questions, concerns, and public resentment that still linger over the failure of the 2016-17 rankings will increase. The knives will come out. If the tension and intensity were too high for a young American team to handle this month, a defeat (or an ugly draw) in Honduras will make the October qualifiers much tougher.
“If I’m a fan, I’m not happy with two points after two games. I am not and I can understand the frustration. I think it’s completely normal. But you have to look at the big picture. This is a marathon. It’s not a sprint. It doesn’t qualify in a single window, ”Berhalter said Tuesday after the team’s arrival in Honduras.
I can see that they are memories of the past, memories of the last qualifying round and people said, ‘Oh, we’re in the same situation.’ I can fully understand that, ”he continued. from a different group. We are focused on winning games …. We know these games are tough and we are focused on getting another result on Wednesday. “
Watch the MLB games online all season with fuboTV: Start with a free 7-day trial.
To turn the script around and secure those three extra points, Berhalter and his team will need to dig deeper. Winning on the road to CONCACAF is always difficult (the United States is 3-2-2 in Honduras, but 0-1-1 since 2010). Honduras will be desperate and fresh thanks to a more thorough rotation of the Fabián Coito team. And the United States will play short. The U.S. absentee list is topped by McKennie, who was suspended for Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Canada and then sent home to Italy after breaking team rules. The midfielder admitted on Sunday via Instagram that he violated the “COVID protocols” and publicly apologized. On Tuesday, TUDN reported that McKennie had an unauthorized visitor to his Nashville hotel room, and ESPN later cited a source who claimed the midfielder also spent a night outside the COVID bubble. national team.
In April, McKennie was suspended by Juventus for organizing an illegal rally at his home along with two teammates.
Berhalter declined to confirm TUDN and ESPN reports, but said the door remained open to McKennie’s eventual return.
“I think the morale is fantastic. People make mistakes. Weston apologized to the group. He apologized to me and things happen, ”said the manager. “We are here in the camp for seven days. The intensity is amazing. They are three finals in seven days. We need everyone to be focused on what we are trying to achieve.
“In general, the group is there. The group focuses on that and sometimes when people don’t, then you have to talk to them and sometimes you have to enforce the standards, ”he added. “It bothers me as a coach. It’s annoying for Weston. It’s annoying for players and staff. But it is what it is and we will be ready to play tomorrow “.
Speaking to Honduras, US striker Christian Pulisic said: “I think the team is ready to respond to everything that has happened. it’s high and I think we are ready for a great match tomorrow “.
The impact of the pandemic on this classification period is not only related to incomplete protocols. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen, who was already dealing with spasms in his back, tested positive for COVID on Sunday and will remain out of action. Matt Turner has filled in well and will probably start again in Honduras. Pulisic played 90 minutes against Canada after recovering from a positive test and the subsequent forty-day forty. It was his first action since opening the Chelsea Premier League on August 14 and it is unknown how much he will have left in the tank. It was decent, but far from spectacular against Canada, making several fouls and hitting the post in the first half.
“[I’m] recovering well from [Canada] game too and I will definitely be ready for tomorrow. I will give everything I have “, said Pulisic on Tuesday.
Two of Berhalter’s most dangerous dribblers, striker Gio Reyna (hamstring) and defender Sergiño Dest (ankle), will miss the Honduras match. And in addition to injuries, there is the spectrum of fatigue. Midfielder Tyler Adams and center-back Miles Robinson have probably been the best performers in the United States in the top two. But both will have played the full 180 minutes so far. Going to 270 in three countries in seven days would take quite a while. Brenden Aaronson also started against El Salvador and Canada, working in midfield in the first game but showing up well and scoring as a winger in the second. San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Jackson Yueill was called up Monday for more depth, but is unlikely to start in San Pedro Sula.
American striker Gio Reyna is one of the key collaborators missing in Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier against Honduras.
Isaiah J. Downing / USA Today Sports
Aaronson’s second-half goal in Nashville is the only advance so far from an attack that has struggled to get going. The frantic El Salvador and compact Canada presented very different challenges, but the United States failed to create a constant danger against both. In fact, the Americans have struggled to score all summer and, after a six-goal Gold Cup eruption against little Martinique, have scored just five goals in six games. The set pieces and the pressing / changes have been the main route to the goal (Aaronson created the turnover that led to Wednesday’s account). Opportunities for open play resulting from prolonged possession, accumulation, or individual skill have been difficult to achieve.
Honduras is traditionally a team that is content to defend and counter. The United States will have to rely on the lessons learned in Nashville against Canada’s deep, compact five-man bottom line.
“We have good attacking players,” Pulisic stressed. “It’s not something we have to worry about or look at too much. Viously, obviously, we can do small things. We see videos, certain adjustments that we will try to make just to make them flow a little better. But in the end we know how to play and, yes, it’s our job to get out there and create chances and score goals. “
Berhalter has said after both qualifiers that the United States had possession too slow and needed to do a better job of getting opposition defenders out of position and making runs and playing passes behind the bottom line. This depends on the chemistry, control and speed. The press can only do so much against an opponent who does not try to keep the ball and seems to counter quickly. Honduras will have noticed the difficulty of the United States to separate the low bloc from Canada, not to mention the way it yielded to Cyle Larin’s tie at the counter.
Berhalter acknowledged Tuesday again that there was substantial room for improvement. But he also admonished those who thought the Octagon could be more lenient.
“When we did press conferences and talked … we said how difficult it will be, how it won’t be easy. There will be ups and downs, ”he said. “But when you’re really going through it, I think people are like‘ Whoah, why didn’t we win the first two games? Why didn’t we win the first two games 4-0? ‘And the reason we said it will be difficult. There will be many challenges. There will be unexpected things. You will have injuries. You won’t have a good performance or a game or you won’t finish some occasions. That will be what the qualification will be ”.
It’s been all these things and more. Luckily for the United States, there is still nothing definitive. There is time to turn it around, and there is still confidence within a besieged and exhausted squad that Wednesday could be the day.
“That’s what we do to make a living,” Pulisic said when asked about keeping the focus in the midst of adversity. “It simply came to our notice then. Things happen. Things happen out of the game. But it is our job that, as soon as we get to this field, we are ready to begin. We are ready to give 100% and I know that this team will be ready tomorrow ”.
More football coverage:
Sports Illustrated may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.