This USMNT team is far – and it showed against Mexico

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Before the friendly matches between the United States and Mexico on Friday night at MetLife Stadium, the rhetoric was the same on both sides.

"I think for the moment, Mexico has a slight lead over us, having beaten us in the last game and performed well in recent years," said US coach Gregg Berhalter.

"I think that in general, our players face in leagues better than those of the US national team and I also think that the Mexican league is above the MLS, which means that it is very likely that [Berhalter] is right and that, by his position, he considers the Mexican national team a little better than the United States in a general context ", El Tri Geraldo boss "Tata" Martino offered.

And that was true. Before the friendly, the United States had won only one of the last five games against their opponent, which allowed them to reaffirm their dominance of the CONCACAF with a 1-0 victory in the Gold Cup final of July. While nothing that happened during the 90-minute friendly match at Meadowlands would change this story, the question was how long did the gap between the Stars and Stripes have filled? ?

– Ranking of Mexican players: 'Chicharito, & # 39; & # 39; Tecatito & # 39; stellar in win
– Odds of American players: Pulisic in good position

The answer: not as much as the American fans hoped.

The Mexican formation, reinforced by the additions of Diego Reyes, Hector Herrera, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and Jesus "Tecatito" Corona, who did not appear in the Gold Cup, dominated for a long time and won 3-0.

"As you can see, we still have a lot to do," US midfielder Christian Pulisic said at the end of the match. "Things never really happened like us."

The most striking index of this gap is Mexico's first goal in the 21st minute. After a long period of possession that allowed the visitors to pass the ball easily around the pitch, Corona defender Sergio Dest (who debuted with the USMNT) sent a cross that Hernandez led ahead of Zack Steffen. It was a brilliant goal, the kind of coordinated team count that any trainer would like.

Americans could score a goal like this? Maybe eventually. The way in which Mexico's lateral move has unbalanced the United States is comparable to the way Berhalter wants his team to play. The Americans are not here yet. The shape improves, but the ideas, the ideas and the vision arrive too slowly. Too often, American players have been forced to return to Steffen to try to break the pressure of Mexico.

"We have somehow panicked, and these are things we have to adapt to in the heat of the moment because it is obvious that Mexico is a very pressure driven team," said Reggie Cannon. "It's something we have to learn to work in. It's not an easy task to play from the back."

The sessions were too slow, pass a meter or two, work poorly, decisions are slow. The mental part of the game is not fast enough either.

But, of course, it was a friendly match. A meaningless game where the score was not as important as the progression. To hear Berhalter on Friday night was a step in the right direction.

"Our goal was to continue to focus on progress as a group," Berhalter said at a post-game press conference. "Being brave with the ball, looking for holes, there were times when it was good, and times when it was not good."

Overall, there were more times where it was not good. Which does not mean that it has never been good. For Americans, there is hope. There is always hope.

Part of the hope comes, as always, from the American youth movement. For better or worse against Mexico, the regime change is underway, with Berhalter establishing a starting list with an average age of 24 years and 150 days. Unlike the past, where enthusiasm was focused on potential, these young Americans are already an accomplished group. Pulisic is good in the Premier League. Weston McKennie and Steffen's abilities continue to grow in the Bundesliga, just like Joshua Sargent joined the team as a second-half substitute. Dest, 18, starts watching Ajax. Cannon is better at FC Dallas.

Pulisic, who scored four goals at the top, was particularly frustrated – everyone showed something. In the 12th minute, Pulisic faced off against four defenders, dribbling into space and throwing a pass to a teammate. A few minutes later, Dest managed a 25-yard curling shot that forced Jonathan Orozco to make the first stop of the match. After the half, the whole team competed better and harder (at least until the submarines settled in, the match ended and Mexico accumulated two more). Sargent scored a penalty for Sebastian Lletget (who then had an assaulted attempt on the part of Orozco).

These are the strengths. They were few and far between. It turned into a long night against a superior opponent. But the United States did not give up what they were trying to do.

"It's actually the big problem that people do not understand: you can not give up the concepts when things get complicated, because we will not be able to improve," Cannon said. "In two years we'll be in the same place, when things get complicated like that, when we run into a pressure-pushing Mexican team we have to learn to play, but unfortunately it will come with mistakes."

At night, there were mistakes. Choose an adjective: Disorient. Difficult. Discouraging.

And yet: "Of course, there are frustrations when you lose 3-0," said Pulisic. "There is always frustration, but we have a style of play that we describe and we always try to execute.Of course, today we have not been able to do everything, but in the combination of things, there were some good moments. "

Berhalter agreed. "The accumulation continues to be a process, and I think that today, we have shown improvement," he said.

Before Friday night, Mexico was the best CONCACAF team. After Friday, the situation is better at each phase of the match. The United States stays in the rearview mirror. But fortunes can change. Objects may be closer than they appear.