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USA Blanks Canada to Win Third Straight CONCACAF League Title
By: Marvin Azrak
The United States Men’s National Soccer Team won the 2022-23 Nations League, defeating Canada 2-0 in the final on Sunday in Las Vegas.
The triumph solidified their regional dominance. The final was an open affair, with the USMNT taking an early lead and winning their third consecutive CONCACAF title. They’ll place the trophy next to their 2021 Nations League and 2021 Gold Cup titles. Despite losing star striker Gio Reyna to injury, the USMNT’s backline and Canada’s poor sharpness allowed them to secure the win.
Chris Richards and Folarin Balogun scored their first international goals, with Reyna assisting both. Captain Christian Pulisic was named Best Player and Matt Turner Best Goalkeeper. The USMNT’s starting lineup was the youngest in a tournament final, with an average age of under 24. Zimmerman and Turner played a key role early on. But it was Reyna and Weah’s speed that caused problems for Canada.
Tim Weah had just beat his man and played a dangerous ball to the near post to Christian Pulisic that was blocked at the last second. Gio Reyna stepped up for the corner and delivered a cross just outside the six-yard box that Chris Richards jumped for, heading down the ball back toward the middle of the goal that evaded Borjan as his momentum had taken him to his right. It was 1-0 just twelve minutes into the contest. The tally was Richard’s quickest in any game of his career. It was game on. A statement had been made, and America’s northern neighbors knew it.
Then in the 34th minute, Reyna headed a cleared ball toward Weah, who quickly returned it to Reyna. Reyna moved forward and noticed Folarin Balogun keeping his line despite having a man on his back. He wisely sent the ball toward Balogun’s right side. Balogun protected the ball and took a shot with his right foot toward the near post for his first international goal. It doubled the Americans’ advantage. From there, they defended their way to the title. Aside from their stifling defensive pressure, Turner was unbeatable. He finished the tournament with consecutive shutouts, also shutting out Mexico in the semifinals. Canada did what it could to get back in the game. But despite possessing a 62-38 edge, they couldn’t buy a tally.
Canada had hoped to break their title drought by winning a trophy for the first time since the 2000 Gold Cup. However, their loss to the United States means they must keep waiting. The upcoming Gold Cup later this month will provide another chance for the team. In the meantime, Canada needs to address some issues. During the game, their backline needed help to keep up with the U.S. attack. Manager John Herdman must find ways to support Bayern Munich star Davies, as the U.S. threw multiple defenders at him during the game. Canada’s forwards, Larin and David, needed more support to compensate for Davies’ lack of support. Tajon Buchanan was expected to help but only played for 30 minutes as a substitute. Canada needs to find a solution to these problems to succeed in future games.
The U.S. team was without midfielder Weston McKennie and defender Sergiño Dest, as they were serving red-card suspensions. Reyna’s performance was impressive after a rough previous seven months. Reyna was involved in a controversy surrounding Berhalter, which began during last year’s World Cup. Reyna almost got sent home because of poor effort in training. However, Pulisic doesn’t see that as an issue.
“For me, there’s no issue with Gio at all,” Pulisic said. “What happened, happened. He’s a great player, and he’s going to help us moving forward no matter who the coach is.”
Meanwhile, Canada played in a final for the first time in 23 years under coach John Herdman.
Herdman took the high route despite the defeat.
“We’re closing gaps,” he said. “The guys, many of them were more comfortable with the performance (but) disappointed at not winning. They know they were right there tonight.”
B.J. Callaghan, a manager from the United States, who won a championship in his second game as a head coach, also agreed. Gregg Berhalter will resume as head manager after the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The tournament begins on Saturday against Jamacia.
“Canada is a really good team,” said adds to their 2021 Nations League and 2021 Gold Cup titles. “First of all, they’re really well coached. They’re really well-organized. It was quite a chess match tonight.”
Callaghan made two key moves, preventing Canada from winning. Defensively, he double-teamed Canadian star, Alphonso Davies. Offensively, he stressed execution on set pieces. The Americans struggled in that area throughout the 2022 World Cup. Callaghan went to a five-person back line in the second half, with Canada pushing the pace.
The USMNT has won nine tournament trophies, including both editions of the Concacaf Nations League in 2021 and 2023 and seven Concacaf Gold Cups in 1991, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2021. The starting lineup in the tournament final was the youngest in USMNT history, with an average age of 23 years and 314 days. Matt Turner earned his 19th clean sheet and was named Best Goalkeeper, while Christian Pulisic was named Best Player. The USMNT Starting lienup had an average of 26 caps and 17 in official competition, with nine players aged 25 and younger. The team made three changes to the lineup from the semifinal match against Mexico, and Yunus Musah, Gio Reyna, and Joe Scally became the first trio of 20-year-olds to start a final for the USMNT. The team has made five straight appearances in the Concacaf finals and holds a 17-10-12 advantage in the all-time series against Canada. Substitute striker Ricardo Pepi tied for the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League Golden Boot lead with four goals.
During the third-place game, the Mexican team was led by their new manager Diego Cocca, who had to deal with the absence of center-back César Montes and outside-back Gerardo Arteaga due to red cards. Cocca made six changes to the lineup from their previous game against the U.S., including former Galaxy defender Julián Araujo in the starting lineup, marking his first competitive match. Araujo quickly felt his presence by contributing to the build-up play that resulted in the game’s only goal four minutes later.
The match began with Araujo passing the ball to Uriel Antuna, who quickly ran toward the right side of the penalty area. Antuna tried to cross the ball to the goal, but it went off-target and reached Gallardo, who was unmarked on the other side of the box. Gallardo scored with his left foot effortlessly, surprising many spectators still taking their seats. Despite this early lead, Mexico didn’t perform as expected, and Panama seemed to have the upper hand in most parts of the game, except the scoreboard.
