Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna weave through defenders by turns, flicking deft passes into the Netherlands box for … Haji Wright? Brendan Aaronson? Jesus Ferreira? Wright managed a freak score to get the U.S. within a goal of the Dutch, but the absence of a dynamic striker doomed their comeback.
Of course, it would have been a shock if the Americans had upset the Oranje, ranked eighth in the world and a solid performer in the group stage of the World Cup. Center back Virgil Van Dijk, a leader of Liverpool, is one of the best defenders in soccer, while striker Cody Gakpo is in the running for the golden boot (top scorer) at the competition.
Ultimately, it was Denzel Dumfries, who plays for Italian giant Inter Milan, who sliced the U.S. open with two laser passes to Dutch runners who each blasted the ball into the net in the first half of the first knockout match in these games at Qatar. Yes, there were defensive lapses with those goals, as well as the third one, the dagger, that Dumfries scored himself in the second half, but the American defense was decent throughout the tournament.
Despite the unflattering 3-1 score line, this was one of the strongest performances I’ve seen from a U.S. men’s soccer team. In the past, we’ve been excited to have one or two U.S. players clinging to roster spots on middling clubs in top European leagues. In 2022, Coach Gregg Berhalter could field a team featuring:
· Pulisic, a frequent starter for Chelsea
· Tyler Adams, a rising star with Leeds United, also in the English Premier League
· Yunus Musah, a key player for Valencia in the Spain’s top league
· Weston McKennie, the first U.S. player to play for Italian power Juventus
· Gio Reyna, a recognized talent with Borussia Dortmund
The U.S., ranked 16 in the world, had one of the strongest midfields at the World Cup, with all of the young players listed above primarily men in the middle. Unfortunately, none of the forwards on the squad has the cutting edge to be the point of the sword.
In group play, the Yanks were decent, going toe-to-toe with England, a favorite to win the Cup. But the score was 0-0. They advanced on a single goal against Iran.
The American team was the second youngest at the tournament, and the future is bright for the U.S. men in soccer. People gripe about Berhalter because … people always complain about their national coaches, but his team selections were justifiable, and the squad’s strategy is about as good as it can be given the weakness up front.
So, as Christmas approaches, Americans can hope there’s a budding teen striker lurking under the tree at some U.S. home. He would be a gift to all of us.
