USMNT Reverts to Bedwetting, Suffers First Loss to Canada in 34 Years
On the bright side, at least the United States Men's National Team won't be forced to play Trinidad & Tobago again.
Two years removed from the disaster that kept the USMNT from the 2018 World Cup, dudes decided to open a new wound.
It came in a listless, wandering 2-0 loss to that spunky crew from the Great White North who took time out from their regular day to administer the embarrassment.
It came in Concacaf's version of the Nations League, figuring if that sorta competiton is gonna happen in Europe, then North America should do it, too.
Feel free to follow along:
Besides being another money-grab to justify Concacaf's existence, this is basically just another reason for Mexico and the USA to get in a run and otherwise dick around until they meet in a final.
Unfortunately for the Americans, they took the latter too literally:
Great question.
And it doesn't seem like Gregg Berhalter has any convenient answers.
Dude's been in charge for 16 matches, now, going 9-2-5 against a menu of mostly Concacaf minnows and unremarkable opponents in friendlies. Two of the losses came at the hands of Mexico -- 0-1 in the last Gold Cup final and 0-3 in a friendly -- and they didn't look much better against a humdrum Venezuela.
Long story short, at this rate, even if the USMNT makes it to the 2022 World Cup, they're showing nothing to indicate they'll be more than field fodder.
This crew hasn't won on the road since they downed Cuba, 0-2, in Havana, and that's not saying much at all.
Against Canada, Christian Pulisic -- alleged flu symptoms or no -- was MIA before he actually went MIA on the hour. He fit right in with his teammates, then, as a litany of aimless passes became all too boring to watch.
Sharp words will flow like lava among the USA's fan base, but in essence, yes.
Burkhalter has shown an ability in the MLS to get decent results outta the Columbus Crew -- four playoff appearances, one loss in the MLS final -- with lunch-bucket roster in a league that's getting there but still isn't yet close to top-level club competition.
Neither is Sweden's Hammarby IF, and they canned him back in 2013 for a lack of creativity.
Don't think dude will be fired anytime soon, though.
His superior at USA Soccer is his brother. They like each other.
So, even though Berhalter's led his squad right outta the Nations Cup playoffs -- featuring Mexico, Canada, Honduras, and Curaçao -- he'll be taking them into World Cup qualification in less than a year with no real prospects beyond a mere qualification.
Meanwhile, Canada's boosted its chances of squeezing past El Salvador in FIFA ranking points -- they're No 75; Los Cuscatlecos are No 72 -- to crash the Hex party next June, which sends three qualifiers to the World Cup.
If they play like they did in this one, they've got a shot.
If they succeed, maybe they'll ultimately be field fodder, but at least they can be proud of it.