USMNTs Lackluster Performance in CONCACAF Nations League Finals: A Wake-Up Call for World Cup Prep
The CONCACAF Nations League finals were supposed to be a crucial step in the USMNT's World Cup preparations, energizing a distracted soccer nation and serving as a turning point for the national team under head coach Mauricio Pochettino. However, the evening began with 60,000 vacant seats at SoFi Stadium and ended with a lackluster performance that epitomized the team's lack of urgency.
The US players fell 1-0 to Panama, and it was clear from the start that something was off. Defender Chris Richards described the match as "frustrating," while star attacker Christian Pulisic added that it was "disappointing, of course." Former star Clint Dempsey, now a pundit, was even more blunt: "This is embarrassing."
There was "no urgency" on the field, goalkeeper Matt Turner pointed out. Pochettino agreed, noting that Panama's dramatic 94th-minute goal was a clear example of the team's lack of aggression and intensity. Pulisic played a sloppy headed pass, midfielders lost 50-50s, and defenders recovered slowly.
"Organization was good," Pochettino said postgame. "But we lose the ball. We were not aggressive in the duels. We lose the duel, and then we concede." He bemoaned a lack of "aggression" and hunger, saying that the team didn't compete in the way that the game required.
The question on everyone's mind was: Why? Why, at the start of a year before a World Cup year, was there "no urgency"? With six training camps to go until a once-in-a-generation opportunity to "change soccer in America forever," and with a regional trophy at stake, why did they look so disinterested, cautious, and uninspired?
Part of the answer lies in the dull, hollow atmosphere at SoFi Stadium. These are players who perform every week in front of 60,000 maniacs in Milan and Mönchengladbach, at the cauldrons of Crystal Palace and Juventus, in front of fans who care about their clubs. On Thursday, they walked onto the field where they'll open their World Cup next summer and looked around, and saw...one solitary, not-quite full section of diehard US fans. A few thousand spectators were scattered throughout the gleaming, futuristic arena; they were hardly making any noise.
The surrounding seats were empty because it was 4 p.m. on a Thursday. Players pointed that out; none blamed the fans who didn't show. But they were also empty because the American public is not, at least for now, enthused by this USMNT. There are tens of millions of soccer fans in the United States, but their interests are diverse. And they've been bombarded by an endless stream of international matches that blur together. "There's so much football being played," US defender Tim Ream said. Fans can't get up for all of it, month after month.
