Credit: Joe Puetz - ISIPhotos.com
Ever since we were all old enough to grasp basic concepts, not overlooking any other team in Concacaf has been a fact of life. Ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but there’s a long line of favored teams that have fallen over 90 to 120 minutes in knockout games in this region. The USMNT doesn’t have to delve that deep into its past to remember a couple of games against their Nations League semifinal opponent, Panama, that didn’t go their way.
It’s easy to look back at that 2023 Gold Cup semifinal that Panama won on penalties in San Diego as an indication of things to come for the USMNT. The following summer, it was a group stage exit in the Copa America that also involved a loss to Panama. That Copa America experience would lead to a coaching change and the beginning of the Pochettino era of United States soccer. Pochettino’s first games that counted happened in the Nations League quarterfinals, advancing past Jamaica 5-2 on aggregate.
With the United States and the other seeded teams in League A no longer playing through the group stage, a difficult to scout tournament becomes somewhat more complicated. The November roster isn’t the March roster, the result of choices and circumstance, form and injury. Four months is a long time in soccer, amplified by the limited days players have on international duty.
Tuesday’s announcement that three players named to the final USA roster are unavailable due to injury resonated given the tactical issues all Concacaf teams face. Depth is a problem even for the top squads, bringing tactics into question when key players aren’t there. The left and right back situation for the United States isn’t a first choice problem, but right back Sergino Dest just returned for his club side and isn’t in this squad, while left back Antonee Robinson is one of the withdrawals due to injury. There’s no like-for-like replacement for either of them, speaking directly to their unique abilities and positions in this squad.
Again, it’s worth repeating that in the best case situation the wide backs are no longer a problem for the USMNT. This wasn’t the case for years, where one or the other positions was an outlier in the player pool. This is international soccer, and the only way to address that is to find an eligible player capable of doing the job. World Cup cycles hinged on how that played out for successive coaches.
Now, in a familiar tournament finale for this generation of players, it’s something else that looks manageable. The United States can lean on club experience. Players that have taken roles in the back line for their clubs while still featuring in the attack for their national team are certainly options. The USMNT’s Juventus duo of Weston McKennie and Tim Weah have both played in defense in Serie A. With all due respect to Concacaf, players who can succeed in Serie A will likely do the same in this region.
USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino’s original roster also included Celtic teammates Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers. Both normally start for the defending Scottish champions, who entered the March international break with a 13-point lead at the top of the Premiership table. The center back pair brings that club familiarity, something that could be leaned on when necessary given the depth chart for center backs in the squad. Unfortunately, Trusty also ended up being unavailable in this window. Again, that’s the region, with circumstance often the biggest disruptor.
Defensive midfielder Johnny Cardoso is the third player from the original roster unavailable due to injury. The only USMNT player left in La Liga, his 20 games with Real Betis showcase the kind of talent that demands inclusion in any roster. Cardoso’s game falls under multiple complimentary soccer cliches, but let’s go with a steadying presence. He is the type of player who can calm a game down, giving his teammates more of an opportunity to play their game rather than shifting towards panicked defending when a team takes full advantage of a lapse. His 90 minutes against Real Madrid in a 2-1 home win on March 1 showcased what his game has become in Europe. You need an equalizer against the best team in the league? Cardoso showed up as that guy.
So now we’ve looked at what is potentially missing for the USMNT with games that count on Thursday and Sunday. Let’s look at what isn’t. The United States has the best attacking options in Concacaf, full stop. Yes, there have been criticisms that the team lacks the type of back-to-goal #11 target forward who will push and shove in the box to create chances. Step up Patrick Agyeman and Brian White, both already showing how that works in MLS this season after taking full advantage of their January opportunity with the USMNT. What having that kind of player does is create additional opportunities for the strength of the USMNT, the wide play of Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah.
So what about that Copa America group stage game against Panama last summer? The one where it was Panama picking up the points in a 2-1 win in Atlanta? The USMNT responded almost instantly to an 18th minute red card, taking the lead four minutes later. Panama’s equalizer four minutes after that didn’t set a tone for an open game with plenty of chances. The United States finished with four shots on goal to Panama’s three, with Panama putting two of theirs in the back of the net.
Panama’s equalizer started on the left and found a player with enough space at the top of the arc to adjust and get a shot off level with the ten-yard box. Cesar Blackmon’s shot to USMNT goalkeeper Matt Turner’s right did the work, taking advantage of space to create the opportunity. Jose Fajardo’s winner in the 83rd needed an open area in the box for a reset that once again ended up with the ball in a good position for Panama to score from just outside the six-yard box against Ethan Horvath after a halftime substitute due to injury. If there’s a lesson learned from that type of game, it should be the expectation that the other team is going to take as much advantage as possible. Highlighting that was the 74% of possession held by Panama, along with the reversed penalty call that could’ve made things much worse for the USMNT in the 65th minute.
However, opportunities can certainly cut both ways. What the USMNT took from that game was a new focus on keeping discipline and shape while still pushing what they do best, even a man down. That, and the realization that an early red card and that halftime goalkeeper sub can happen in the same game. There’s no teaching experience, and this version of the USMNT should have an understanding of Panama from the Copa America and a 2-0 friendly win for the USA during the October window.
Yes, the USMNT is missing players. Two of the three goalscorers against Panama in 2024 aren’t available due to injury. Certainly, there are versions of this squad that speak to greater strengths the program has worked to develop. All of that said, with games that count at a premium, the team should have the confidence that comes with knowing how well their games are working with clubs and their country. It’s always easy to lean on cliches, but next man up carries a deeper meaning with this group. It’s a belief in what they can do together, with that limited preparation time and the pressure to show that, once again, things are changing for the better.
