We’ll discuss the Panama game later, but first, think back to December 2022.
The U.S. men’s soccer team had just been eliminated from the World Cup by the Netherlands, losing 3-1 in the round of 16. The entire country is looking for answers: Why can’t Greg Burhalter’s team get the job done?
“When you see the difference between the two teams; for me, our finishing ability offensively was a little lacking,” Berhalter said of the second-youngest of the 32-team World Cup. Shi said. “That’s normal. We have a very young team and they will catch up.
Ah, youth. There are few things in football more exciting than the concept of potential. They promise that for current players or teams, it’s just a matter of waiting until they find their niche. Experience should bring with it the intangibles of perfecting athletic skills. These are often the qualities that turn good players into great players: an erudite reading of the game, or an uncanny ability to predict an opponent’s next move, to name a couple.
Still, it can be a frustrating silver lining when a team is eliminated from the World Cup. These only come around every four years and, furthermore, as young replacements advance through the ranks, there’s no guarantee that one player, let alone their collective, will have a claim to a national team spot.
At some point, a person or a team must show that the proverbial “teachable moments” from past difficulties have resonated and will inform better decisions in the future.
Which brings us to Thursday night in Atlanta.
For a quarter of an hour, the U.S. national team prepared for the challenge. In this context, Panama represented the type of enemy that Berhalter’s side would welcome. In the all-American competition of the Copa America, ostensibly the CONMEBOL (South American) tournament, one would think it would be better to face an opponent who regularly competes in CONMEBOL than one from a different league entirely.
After the final whistle, with the team losing 2-1, Berhalter and his players repeatedly mentioned their familiarity with Panama. They know Panama is a team that plays with energy every game. They know what Panama is and what methods they will take to shock the tournament hosts.
This begs the question: if you know where your opponent will be it is Trap, why do you end up falling into a trap that is completely of your own creation?
(Eliecer Aizprua Banfield/Jam Media/Getty Images)
One of the hallmarks of Berhalter’s tenure with the USMNT since taking over in 2018 has been his ability to hinder, overcome and ultimately run circles around Mexico. The two teams have been vying for supremacy in the CONCACAF balance of power for decades. As countries such as Costa Rica or Canada have developed significantly during this century, their success has been matched by their twin powers in the region.
This framing does a disservice to other members of CONCACAF, a form of football classism built on past pedigrees and reputations surrounding the country’s top players. The nature of the group draw is to provide each team with its next three opponents, so it’s inevitable to focus on the opponents deemed to be the “strongest” across the three games, regardless of their position in the queue. So while you’re focusing on the final game of the group against Marcelo Bielsa’s ambitious Uruguay side, you might be overlooking the teams you’re less afraid of.
Teams like Panama.
Even after watching the highlight reel of Tim Weah’s 18th-minute red card a dozen times (or maybe, especially Having watched it so many times), it’s hard to understand his decision-making. Before and after the game, the U.S. team emphasized that they knew Panama would use dark magic to fight for control of the game.
Tim Weah receives red card after review of this contact 🟥 pic.twitter.com/phw8bSzdKR
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 27, 2024
Tim Weah is sent off! 😱
The American player was sent off directly with a red card for violent behavior🟥
Big moments from this game… pic.twitter.com/WEmV5B9DKt
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) June 27, 2024
The thing is, this isn’t one of those cases. This is not a reaction to a sickle tackle or a sharp elbow from behind the referee. It was revenge for an inconspicuous off-the-ball collision between a defender ready for a challenge and an eager attacker. Did this series of events allow Panama to play for more than 70 minutes with a man advantage? It undermines the claim to “know” what will happen.
Well, maybe that’s not fair. Know what’s coming and plan accordingly. The latter part is more important.
(Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
To be fair, the shenanigans the United States claimed to expect did materialize.
Chief among them was Cesar Blackman’s challenge in the 12th minute, with the Panamanian player colliding with the defenseless Matt Turner in mid-air without giving the ball a serious nod. . Goalkeeper Turner suffered a knee injury in the process, which may have limited his mobility, and Blackman equalized 14 minutes later.
Of course, Blackman escaped the collision without seeing a yellow card, but that’s another story.
In a cruel twist, the player who seemed poised to provide the “finishing ability” Berhalter craves in 2022 has done his job. Even before Weah was sent off and Blackman scored, Folarin Balogun opened the scoring with a shot that only a special striker could pull off with confidence.
(Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
In the second half, Berhalter made three adjustments, replacing Turner with a new goalkeeper, withdrawing a midfielder to add a defender, and replacing the defensive midfielder to ensure stability. The U.S. national team fought bravely in the second half. In theory, a 1-1 draw would do wonders for the hosts, leaving them with four points to Panama’s one, with both sides having a game remaining.
deeper
What the USMNT needs to advance to the Copa America quarterfinals
Ultimately, Panama’s extensive possession (74%, or 72% if only considering touches in each final third) gave them enough time to turn one point into three. As Christian Pulisic succinctly put it after the game, “it’s not so easy to have the ball” when you have one less man. Panama created its best chance of the game in the 80th minute and didn’t waste it.
Weah’s teammates and coaches were quick to mention the Juventus man’s remorse after the game and said he had apologized for his actions and the negative consequences they had caused. It looks like he will soon have another chance to right his wrongs (either in the knockout rounds or after this tournament) – as have others of this generation, including Gio Reina, Weston McKennie And what Sergino Dest did after the events that happened on and off the pitch.
For now, however, the damage has been done. Weah’s ill-advised push gave Panama an advantage it probably didn’t need but certainly enjoyed. Tyler Adams called Weah’s transgression a “lesson” worthy of future reflection. Pulisic assured us that Weah “will learn from this”.
Haven’t we heard this before? Given that the U.S. national team rarely schedules friendlies against teams outside of CONCACAF, is there any excuse for not having some level of grasp on the essentials of games against intra-conference opponents?
How can a team hope to beat Uruguay, Brazil or Colombia in a possible quarter-final, let alone the wider field at the World Cup, if they regularly fall victim to the opponents they know best?
deeper
The U.S. national team threatens to ruin their big moment
(Top photo: Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
