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The positives were hard to come by in the United States Men’s National Team’s 1-0 Gold Cup victory over Canada on Sunday in Kansas City, Kansas.
The victory in the group stage final saw the United States secure first place in Group B with a perfect 3-0-0 record. In practice, and depending on the results later on Sunday, that means the United States will likely avoid a clash with Mexico before the August 2 final.
But the Americans have to get there first, and based on Sunday’s performance against their neighbors to the north, it’s by no means a given. Instead of offering a dynamic effort, the United States finished second with Canada looking most likely to score in the final 60 minutes of the competition.
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“There was a lot of suffering,” said US coach Gregg Berhalter.
He later added: “Overall we hit our goal of the group stage, we were the winning group, we had the best goal difference in the group and here we are. And now, all the focus. is put on the quarterfinals. “
The match started off pretty brilliantly, with Shaquell Moore converting Sebastian Lletget’s weak crossover barely 20 seconds into the match. The United States capitalized on that momentum for the next 15 minutes, with James Sands’ hybrid role – playing center-back on defense but entering midfield when in possession – causing some difficulty for Canada.
Coming off a hydration break in the 30th minute, Canada took control and most of the possession thereafter. Admittedly, losing defenseman Walker Zimmerman to a 10-minute injury hasn’t helped the United States, especially since Zimmerman is one of the few veteran players on the team. But the same fate befell Canadian forward Ayo Akinola in the first half, with Cyle Larin joining Akinola on the sidelines just eight minutes after the start of the second half. And yet the Canadian midfielder had the upper hand, with Tajon Buchanan looking particularly dangerous no matter where he lined up.
“I thought the United States was capable of provoking [our] behind five problems, said Canada manager John Herdman. Obviously, Gregg [Berhalter] had worked to put Lletget in difficult positions for us.
“But I think we adjusted to the water break, and we were able to go to a 4-4-2 in that three, three forwards box and started to take control of the game.”
It must be said that the American back line held up quite well throughout the match, although it benefited from a lenient refereeing from Adonai Escobedo. Goalkeeper Matt Turner has been called upon to make three saves. Miles Robinson put on a Man of the Match performance, with Sam Vines and Sands equally impressive. Robinson put out numerous fires throughout the game, showing his ability to defend himself one-on-one.
“I think Miles took us [to] the next step, and now it’s a knockout game, ”Berhalter said. “Can he recover now, then in a knockout game, can he repeat the same type of performance.
Sands’ stint in the back drew attention, although there were times of transition where he struggled to recover.
But the lasting picture of the day was of the United States continuing the game, and in the final hour, Canada (405 attempted passes in that span, according to ESPN Stats & Information research) had an advantage. considerable possession over the United States (263 attempted passes).
At one point, Berhalter cited the hot weather as a reason for the USA team’s difficulties, explaining that “making decisions under these conditions is stressful”.
He also mentioned that the Americans had to manage the game for the remaining 89 minutes after Moore’s goal. There’s no need to insist, but conditions were the same for both teams, and a 1-0 lead after 20 seconds put the United States in a position where they could dictate the tempo. Certainly, it was up to Canada to commit the numbers, but that should have provided the United States with transition opportunities.
So why the difficulties? Gyasi Zardes and Daryl Dike’s linking play was poor, although the same could be said for the quality of the passing. It was also a day when the United States simply struggled to get the ball back once possession was lost. The United States did not have much success in terms of the more grainy aspects of the game. This was illustrated by the loss of the United States to Canada in terms of tackle percentage (33.3%) , duels (44.1%) and jumps (36.4%).
More than anything, the match reflected the relative inexperience of the squad. It is one thing to face Martinique. It’s another to face a Canadian team that looks more and more like a growing team.
“We have a young, sometimes naive and innocent group; guys who haven’t played in too many CONCACAF games that are difficult,” said US midfielder Cristian Roldan. “The refereeing is different; the competition is different. So we need to be more savvy in how we close matches.”
The United States now has a week to prepare for the quarter-finals, which will see them face either Costa Rica or Jamaica. Neither will be an easy exit.
Canada’s game marked the second time in three games that the United States had struggled to face a physical opponent with offensive elements that could threaten. This young American team learns lessons on the fly, and they can gain confidence doing so while registering victories.
The Americans will push for this to continue until the round of 16.
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