Doug McIntyre
Football journalist
With all due respect to the night time of March 30, 2022, when the United States males’s nationwide soccer workforce certified for that yr’s World Cup after lacking the 2018 World Cup, the most important second within the final decade-plus for the USMNT was FIFA’s choice to award its 2026 marquee occasion to the United States, Canada and Mexico.
That information got here simply eight months after the nation’s three-decade run of World Cup appearances was ended by a surprising defeat in Couva, Trinidad, and assured the Americans not solely participation in 2026, but additionally a draw favorable at house.
For any workforce, the draw back of internet hosting a World Cup is vanishingly small. The solely apparent one is the dearth of high-stakes qualifying matches, these matches that are likely to strengthen groups as they earn their place on the game’s largest stage. Matches performed in enemy territory are probably the most difficult of all. And they’re much more useful, from an expertise perspective.
That’s why for the present model of the USMNT, Thursday’s journey to Jamaica for the primary leg of the two-game, totals-goals-wins Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals is so vital for brand new coach Mauricio Pochettino and his gamers.
“It’s clearly going to be a troublesome place to go,” Christian Pulisic stated Wednesday, shortly earlier than boarding the USMNT constitution flight to the Jamaican capital of Kingston, the place the U.S. has received simply as soon as in seven aggressive matches all-time .
By a quirk of scheduling, Thursday will mark the second consecutive away sport for the Americans, who misplaced a uncommon pleasant in Mexico to their principal rival final month The Tri. The classes discovered from that ugly 2-0 defeat must be utilized on Tuesday.
Pochettino — who was with out eight starters, together with the striker Pulisico – publicly supported his gamers’ dedication to Guadalajara in his post-match press convention. In non-public, he was much less happy.
“I do not need to open the doorways an excessive amount of, as a result of typically the messages between the teaching workers and the gamers will be private,” U.S. goalie Matt Turner stated Tuesday. “But from my perspective, I feel we did not do sufficient of the little issues within the sport.
“I’m not speaking about techniques and I’m not speaking about high quality,” Turner continued. “I’m speaking about supporting one another when troublesome tackles and challenges got here, attacking the referee… dropping duels all around the pitch.
“There’s the sport and there is the techniques. And then on the opposite aspect, there’s the sport throughout the sport. And for us, we misplaced that a part of the sport in an enormous manner, and clearly the outcome displays that.”
It helps that Pulisic is again for this. The similar goes for a lot of others who missed the Mexico match, reminiscent of defender Chris Richards, midfielder Weston McKennie and forwards Ricardo Pepi and Tim Weah.
The incontrovertible fact that 9 gamers on the present 25-man U.S. roster have already performed in Jamaica, a 1-1 draw halfway via the 2022 World Cup qualifying cycle, cannot damage both.
But the Reggae Boyz are higher now than they have been then. Led by former England supervisor Steve McLaren, Jamaica boast 5 Premier League gamers on this month’s roster, with current twin citizen Isaac Hayden from Newcastle United trying to make his debut in opposition to Pochettino’s aspect.
“They’re clearly a workforce with plenty of good athletes, a really bodily workforce and one which I feel has improved quite a bit in the previous few years,” Pulisic stated.
Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah star in USMNT November roster drop | SOTU
Add within the bumpy pitch and scorching temperatures — Thursday’s excessive in Kingston shall be close to 90 levels, with relative humidity round 80 p.c at kickoff — and Pulisic and his teammates anticipate extra barroom brawls what nice video games.
“We must match the depth earlier than we attempt to play,” midfielder Yunus Musah stated. “We actually must be able to combat.”
A win or draw would set the United States up effectively for the all-important rematch in St. Louis on Nov. 18. Whatever the result, Thursday additionally guarantees to be an vital step on the street to 2026, even when Americans aren’t. Don’t essentially assume huge.
“It’s simple to look ahead,” Pulisic stated. “The principal objective proper now could be to beat Jamaica. That’s actually the one factor on our thoughts. I feel we’ve to take it step-by-step. That’s what we’ve in entrance of us proper now and we’ve to point out that we’re actually dominant ., wonderful efficiency.”
“This is our objective at the beginning,” Pulisic added. “If we are able to do this, we are able to clearly construct on that.”
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. He was a workers author at ESPN and Yahoo Sports earlier than becoming a member of FOX Sports in 2021 United States males’s and girls’s nationwide groups on the FIFA World Cup on 5 continents. Follow him @By Doug McIntyre.
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