USMNT Play in Nations League Play

By Anonymous (not verified), March 26, 2024

By Michael Saunders, Lead Writer, Soccer Orlando Magazine

My Takeaways from the USMNT Nation's League Victory:

(1) Reality Check:

Should be no question that the USMNT is currently the best squad in CONCACAF... and they have been for a few years. Sure the team was fortunate to defeat Jamaica; but, I can point to other worldwide Confederation Nation League tournaments where other so-called dominant teams have survived setbacks or even been eliminated.

Bottom line: The Nation's League competitions provide a better insight than friendlies.... That said, winning any CONCACAF tournament has not translated to a WC quarter final match,..... That is the challenge still facing the USMNT.

(2) Berhalter:

Pre WC 2022 I asked those I highly respect in the game what would be the minimum finish the USMNT needed to achieve to keep Berhalter as NT Coach; the consensus:

(a) Failure to get out of the Opening Round: Fired

(b) Reaching the Quarter-final (or more): Guaranteed

Despite the "deficiencies" one could rightfully attribute to him, he survived. Yet the post-WC Gio Reyna "scandal" nearly became the "kiss of death" of Berhalter. No need to regurgitate the details; but the uproar over his criticism of Reyna was to be expected. The ensuing feud that developed between the families should never have been aired. That said, Berhalter facilitated a reproachment with Gio Reyna. The good news is that Reyna's performance produced tangible dividends for the USMNT that cannot be denied.

(3) Berhalter's Nation's League Performance Management:

Following the near debacle of a match against Jamaica, one should not be surprised at the criticism thrust aimed at Berhalter. Indeed, the adage "possession is 9/10ths of the law" may apply to legal disputes, but as a statistic in soccer it does not necessarily equate to "win".

Look, criticism comes with the territory for any national team manager. As much credit as Berhalter deserves for rebuilding the USMNT's disjointed team & system failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, making it to the knockout stage at Qatar 2022, Berhalter's team management was open to question as the squad looked tired in its loss to the Netherlands in the round of 16. Yet f

acing the "abyss" following the good fortune of winning against Jamaica, the team's overall performance & deserved win of the Nation's League's championship final versus the USA's perennial competitor, Mexico, should keep "the hounds at bay" at least until the forthcoming Gold Cup.

Of course, victory begets support from the players. As defender Chris Richards said and echoed by many of his teammates: "We totally support Gregg and think our performance tonight showed that." Clearly, the player's have bought into Berhalter's management. Still, the question needs to be made: How well did the team prepare for the final and execute accordingly? Tim Ream answered that best:

It’s the most direct Mexico team that there’s been...“And that was discussed yesterday and today. So we expected exactly what they did. And it played right into what we knew, and what we were aware of. It may have looked predictable — that’s because it was. We knew exactly what was coming, and we knew exactly how to make the game ours.”

Hopefully, we will see more of that this summer.