ST. Paul, Minn. – United States men’s national team can breathe again. It can also feel its fingers and toes again, like 3-0 win end Honduras in icy conditions got the United States’ World Cup qualifying campaign back on track.
It was a most welcomed victory for players and coach Gregg Berhalter, because let’s face it, the current World Cup qualifying window is a brutal tagline. Win 1-0 first El Salvador worked hard, lost 0-2 first Canada farts. Berhalter’s faction seems to be receding instead of becoming stronger. With the game against Honduras scheduled for Minnesota later in the winter, that seems an unnecessary complication for a more talented American team.
However, the United States regrouped thanks to goals from Weston McKennie, Walker Zimmerman and replace Christian Pulisic.
It’s a game about survival. Honduras may have been knocked out, but as the 2018 cycle shows, such opponents (read Trinidad & Tobago) can make for a nasty surprise. The US has endured the elements, with temperatures at warm-up around 1 degree, -14 with wind chill. By the end of the game, the cold wind had dropped to -16.
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America also has to deal with its own lack of confidence. The Americans’ attack struggled late in the game, and a stumbling at home would not only set their qualifying campaign off course, but would increase the already mounting pressure on the players and Berhalter.
However, the United States overcame all of those obstacles, and it did it the old-fashioned way, with a set of three goals. Most recently last summer, such games were a major win for the United States, but prior to Wednesday, the United States had not scored a single goal from dead-ball situations in the entire Bowl. sense. McKennie’s eighth-minute header broke the record, and then Zimmerman scored twice in the 37th minute, shooting home after a foul. Kellyn AcostaDelivery in the box.
The push for the United States is huge. The goals conceded were only the third and fourth times the United States has conceded in the first half of 11 World Cup qualifying matches in this cycle. The tallies stabilize the nerves and warm the limbs, at least on the US side.
“Honestly, I don’t think they want any part of the [the cold] Zimmerman talks about Honduras tonight.
How cold is it? The U.S. Soccer Federation has released a laundry list of dozens of mitigation efforts before the game begins, efforts that range from hot side benches to insole warmers run by the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. provided.
On the field, and mainly play offensively, the United States goalkeeper Matt Turner He was forced to sprint around his penalty area to stay warm, especially after referee Oshane Nation forced Turner to use a hotter punch just minutes after the match.
The USSF provided the thermal head cover to Honduras, but coach Hernan Dario Gomez objected to the conditions. Three players were substituted at halftime, and a later tweet from the Honduras League said two of them were due to “extreme climatic conditions.”
“I’m not going to analyze the team, the game or the players’ performances. It’s impossible and I can’t afford to do that under these circumstances,” Gomez said after the game. “Inside the dressing room, my players are receiving intravenous fluids and many of them are in pain.”
But Berhalter made no apologies for his choice of location. He recalls how Honduras in the past wasn’t shy about scheduling in difficult conditions.
“When we go down to those countries, and the temperature is 90 degrees and 90% of the dew point and the humidity is unbearable, and the boys are going to be dehydrated, and have cramps and heat exhaustion, you know. , that’s the nature of our competition,” he said.
It would be an exaggeration to say that the US looked fluid in attack, but it was also a match where they adapted, controlled the tempo and took down a dangerous pair of attackers in the match. Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto. Once the United States has taken the lead, it will never be the same as giving up the lead.
The United States extended the mid-half lead with another fixed target. Pulisic had just come on as a substitute, and hit home in the 67th minute after Ricardo Pepi and Zimmerman reached the corner of Acosta.
It’s the kind of dramatic result the US has been craving – Berhalter even found time to take pictures with fans with only about 10 minutes left – and the US did just that with his dig coach. ta. Both Zimmerman and Acosta substitute for the injured Chris Richards and Tyler Adamscorresponding. Jordan Morris start for Pulisic while Yunus Musah and Sergino Dest also gave way to De la Torre and Reggie Cannon.
But as usual, the focus was on the team’s two stars: McKennie and Pulisic. The Juventus The midfielder remains the emotional center of the USMNT, and has fully recovered after being suspended for two games in September for violating the team’s COVID-19 protocol. His goal gave the United States confidence, as did his overall play. If he feels like he “let the team down” almost five months ago, as he said before this game, he’s definitely raised it in this window.
Berhalter said of McKennie: “He’s a guy who leads by his performance. “I think he’s got an excellent window. You can tell he’s in high form at Juventus, the way he’s come in this window. He’s dominant.”
Pulisic’s cut was less obvious, even with his goal. His failure to start wasn’t a complete surprise given his late form, but it was still a tough decision for Berhalter, leaving him open to the possibility of a second guess. It also risks fracturing the relationship between the manager and the star player. It finally paid off.
“I think the hardest thing about being a coach is talking to a player and telling him you’re behind him and you’re behind him 100 per cent,” Berhalter said. “Because the players feel somehow that you’re not supporting him and for Christian it was a very difficult decision. But I feel it was a decision made to put him in. the best position possible to make the impact we know he can And that’s why when he’s in those positions on the pitch he has the quality to make those shots, scoring goals like that. And that’s the impact he’s had on the team and really helped bring the team victory.”
Will the goal serve as a springboard for the American number 10? Club and country are two completely different environments. Different managers as well as competitors. Pulisic doesn’t give much either. His celebration in this case seems muted, but the vote count can only help, and with the level in sight, the US still need Pulisic to perfect his form to cross the World Qualifier finish line. Cup.
The final window has now appeared. March 27 match against Panama will likely decide everything, despite an outside warning that victory in Mexico City at Azteca could end everything for the United States.
At least now Berhalter’s team has some momentum. A trip to Qatar is in sight.
