INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Mauricio Pochettino had a message for those whose belief is waning after the U.S. men’s national team’s concerning fourth-place finish in the Concacaf Nations League: Have patience.
“I don’t want that the people feel pessimistic,” the U.S. manager said after his team lost 2-1 to Canada in the tournament’s third-place game at SoFi Stadium on Sunday. “Disappointed? Disappointed, we are all. And the fans need to feel the disappointment that we didn’t win. But I don’t want to allow (them) to feel pessimistic, because I think we have good players. We are going to find a way to perform. And for sure we are going to compete in a different way. And (at) the end, we are going to get different results than Thursday and today.”
After two more negative outcomes, losing to Panama in Thursday’s semifinal and again to a Canadian team that had coach Jesse Marsch red-carded, it is clear that the U.S. team and its Argentinean coach has a lot to fix. What it is that they need to change is not as easy to pinpoint. Right now, it feels like just about everything needs to get taken down to the studs.
“It’s back to the drawing board in terms of that intensity, that passion, that fight,” U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner said. “I think it’s pretty clear after these two games that we weren’t up to that level of intensity and some hard conversations need to be had amongst ourselves and we need to push each other to get back to that level. Because it’s not just a given that we can step onto the pitch and perform at a certain level.”
It feels like a long road and a complicated task. Or maybe not. U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams believes there is a quick way to remedy it. “Win games,” Adams said. “It’s that simple.”
Pochettino came back time and again to the idea that the Nations League was only one stop on a journey toward the end game that is the World Cup. It’s an idea he discussed earlier this week, pointing to teams who have played well or poorly ahead of the tournament only to have opposite results at the World Cup. Pochettino said he didn’t want to let these losses overwhelm the ultimate goal.
“I don’t want to say I am happy at this (failure), don’t take me wrong, but if there (is) something negative about results, or things to learn, it’s better (to learn it) now because I think we have time,” Pochettino said. “Because if we will be in this situation in one year’s time, for sure I will tell you: ‘Houston, we have a problem.’ No? Eso es.
“But you will see. If in one year we are talking about that, it’s because we have a big problem and we were not capable to discover and to try to decide a better strategy and way to provide the team the capacity to play in a different way. I think we have time. And I prefer to let that (lesson) happen today than in one year.”
The road to fixing things starts this summer at the Gold Cup. Pochettino and his staff will get a month with the squad, their first chance to truly spend time and try to build something within the group.
“Obviously, the feeling is not good right now,” U.S. star Christian Pulisic said. “We need to turn it around and we can hopefully build some momentum this summer, because we really do need it and with big, big tournaments ahead.”
Better vibes for Canada
On the other side, Canada can leave Los Angeles feeling positive about their ability to beat their rivals on U.S. soil. That positivity, although slightly muted given the win comes in a third-place contest, was the prevailing feeling from the Canadian side.
“The mentality of this team is strong. And today was another big test for us against a very good American team and it showed that we’re ready to compete and beat everybody in this region,” Canada assistant coach Mauro Biello said. “For many years, we were always the underdog. But I think things are starting to shift. And we’ve proven that over the last two games here.”
A turning point in the game for Canada was head coach Marsch being sent off in the 54th minute with a straight red card. Marsch had stepped on the field to shout repeatedly at referee Katia Itzel García in protest of two potential missed penalty calls on Canada forward Jonathan David.
David would score a stunner of a goal five minutes later. That goal would end up being the difference.
Biello said the goal “galvanized the team.” Yet David himself was quick to clarify, with a grin, that Marsch’s second protest might not have been totally necessary.
“So for me, the first one is a penalty. The second one, there’s nothing because I don’t even try to win the penalty. I just slipped. I think it’s an accumulation of what happened in the Mexico game and the first penalty that we didn’t get today. And his reaction I think is understandable, because you want to be taken seriously and not have the referee even just not even consider our pleas,” David said.
Marsch’s red card appeared to change the dynamic of the game. Canada attacked more fervently afterwards . The U.S. had little response.
“I saw him over there flying about. I was loving it. He made an emotional stand for us,” Canada defender Alistair Johnson said. “I think that was something that’s been bubbling underneath the surface over these past couple of matches in terms of not getting the same whistles that he feels that we should, and that he knows that us, being Canadians, we’re a little too humble to start rolling around and begging for a call. So I think he felt like, ‘No, this is my moment. I need to make a stand to show that, f***, this isn’t right.’”
Marsch’s red card prevented him from fulfilling his postgame press conference duties. But it didn’t prevent him from injecting some life into the Canada locker room afterwards.
“(Marsch) had a smile from ear-to-ear,” Johnson said. “Beating the Americans for us is top of the agenda, as good as it gets. And then obviously for (Marsch) with his double allegiance, it probably felt really good.”
(Top photo: Alexis Quiroz / Jam Media / Getty Images)
