As these things go, the trophy may not mean much to the United States national team. But at the very least, Sunday’s win in the Nations League was a chance to bring together the core of the national team in a meaningful match ahead of World Cup qualifying this fall.
At the most, winning the Nations League means that the United States is back and headed for World Cup glory.
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This, of course, are the extremes represented by the United States beating Mexico 3-2 in the final of the Nations League. The inaugural tournament still might not mean much, but it produced a final high on drama that provides a glimpse into the status of the rebuilding national team.
For head coach Gregg Berhalter, this proved to be an elevated friendly. What was learned from the United States in beating rival Mexico in Denver:
Yes, big win. Yes, questions still persist – Let’s get this out of the way…for the United States, the Nations League final will be nothing but a boost. But don’t get it twisted: Questions still continue for this group.
From these two matches, there were no definitive answers for who will partner at centerback with John Brooks. Similarly, questions about what to do up top still remain as Josh Sargent’s scoring form continues its slide from late in the Bundesliga season to now early summer.
Ahead of qualifying this fall, the United States needs to come up with an answer alongside Brooks, who was tremendous in the Nations League matches this past week. An option not on the roster remains Walker Zimmerman, who is probably the closest thing in the player pool to Aaron Long. Also Chris Richards, when healthy, should be given a show at central defense after a strong showing in the Bundesliga the last half of this season.
The theatrics will help – Remember the criticism of the United States following the failure at Couva was about the “tattooed millionaires” lacking grit and fight. Well, there was character and bite in oodles in Sunday’s win.
Yes, Mexico held the ball more and was the better team on style. But the Americans went down twice and fought back each time.
They also learned about CONCACAF through all of this.
The pitch invader. The bottles being thrown from the stands. Tata Martino’s antics. VAR bailing them out twice and giving them a penalty kick. The gamesmanship of diving and getting into the referee’s head. This is all part of CONCACAF.
And it was a valuable lesson for a young team with several dual-eligibility players not quite used to this part of the world’s game.
The psyche being rebuilt – After the disaster in Couva in 2017, the United States needed a moment like this. Sure, if they lost it wouldn’t have been the end of the world. But the Americans literally had everything to gain and nothing to lose, provided they didn’t get run off the field.
Much like the friendly win at Azteca in 2012 changed the mentality and set up the United States for a grueling scoreless draw in World Cup qualifying a year later, this win on Sunday night is potentially big for the young Americans. A group coming together, with a still frail mentality, will benefit from this win.
Without a signature win under Berhalter to date (and truthfully, with few opportunities to get one given the global pandemic), beating Mexico in a match that matters will have ramifications on both sides of the border over the next year.
Consistent performances – This wasn’t the best tournament for Christian Pulisic, invisible in the semifinal and the first 55 minutes of Sunday’s win. Weston McKennie struggled at times too in the 1-0 win over Honduras. But in key moments on Sunday, they along with Gio Reyna and the steady Brooks stepped up in key moments.
And that is what qualifying, and in particular CONCACAF, is all about. Ride out the pressure, the bumpy fields, the hostile crowds, the elements and show up with a big moment or two. Pulisic, who looks more comfortable out wide, certainly did that in the second half and during extra time. He was special and lifted the performance of the team and his teammates.
Weston McKennie is a future captain of the national team and that’s all there is to say about that.
Playing Themselves In – Tim Ream didn’t have a monster game but he is unjustly being criticized for his performance on Sunday. He won a lot of duels, positionally was solid and added some good possession and distribution out of the backend.
He isn’t flashy but Ream earned a spot with this group for qualifying and the World Cup next year. The same is true for Kellyn Acosta, who didn’t flash but proved versatility in the midfield and along the backline.
Depth (and position flexibility) is important for making a 23-man roster at the World Cup. Ream and Acosta got a big experience in the Nations League against Mexico. They certainly did enough to factor in down the road.
On the flip side, Jackson Yuell might have played himself out of consideration for the time being.
Dest is a Work in Progress – It says something about the United States national team that a regular at Barcelona isn’t their best player. But while Dest remains an intriguing prospect, the 20-year is an enigma.
Outside of his world class ability to push forward, overlap and play in space, Dest still struggles tactically (he vacates a lot of space with his runs) and is suspect defensively (that’s not a great combo when your team is under pressure).
The benefit of playing at Barcelona is that Dest gets big matches routinely and his training is second to none in terms of talent and players around him. The downside is that Barcelona, even in the Champions League, is rarely under pressure.
And certainly not the type of pressure that the United States will be under in certain qualifying matches.
All this means that Dest may not be a first choice option for Berhalter following two rough outings in the Nations League. Thankfully, Reggie Cannon and DeAndre Yedlin are good options there.
Tyler Adams – This team is better with him on the pitch. That’s all.
Horvath needs to make a move – With Club Brugge, Ethan Horvath made just a single Jupiler League appearance in league play year. But as he showed in the friendly against Switzerland then in relief duty on Sunday in the Nations League, he is a tremendous shot stopper and controls his area well.
A move for playing time is obviously needed. While there are some MLS teams that obviously would benefit from him (see, New York Red Bulls), a move within Belgium wouldn’t be terrible. But finding a side that is in a quality league while giving Europa League minutes at a minimum would be helpful for his sharpness at the international level.
The coach is growing too – It isn’t just this young national team that is growing but Gregg Berhalter is, as would be expected, showing development along the sidelines. Some of his moves are puzzling but unlike a certain German coach from not too long ago, there is some rationale behind these decisions.
Going with three centerbacks was supposed to free up Dest and Yedlin to overlap and provide width – it just didn’t work out. Josh Sargent up top was valued for his work rate – the forward just didn’t score.
Berhalter needs to learn to be less if a visionary and a bit more cynical at the international level. But he is growing and developing.
The good news is that his team is buying into what he is selling. That, more than style points, is good substance.
This helps recruiting – The United States is a better team because deficiencies on the roster are being alleviated by the successful recruitment of dual-nationals. The Nations League bore witness to the impact of John Brooks (Germany) and Theoson-Jordan Pefok (France) and their impact on the international level.
That the aforementioned Dest had his struggles and Yunus Musah didn’t feature don’t quite matter.
This is a big moment and match for the United States to go after Efrain Alvarez, the LA Galaxy attacker, and add another exciting young piece to their core. And a player like Kik Pierre could be a big lift to the backline, especially after the solid season he had in Holland’s top flite.
The way the Americans played and their joy in winning the Nations League can certainly help Berhalter and Earnie Stewart in the tug of war over other dual national players. The Untied States showed not just a big win over a rival on Sunday. They showed team spirit and backbone.
Two big selling points for Steward and Berhalter.
Follow Kristian Dyer of ‘MLS Multiplex’ on Twitter @KristianRDyer