KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The U.S. men’s soccer team said it wanted a tough test when it scheduled two opponents in the World Cup for this international window. On Sunday, the United States achieved just that in a 0-0 draw with Uruguay.
It was the result that somehow the United States was lucky enough to leave. Sias Johnson made a superb strike after 63 minutes with a shot straight in front of the goal after a long ball through the middle, but one of the visitors’ defenders got a foot in at the last second and warded it off for a corner.
The United States had a few chances, with Jesús Ferreira not converting a couple of chances in the first half. But overall, even though he deserved a draw given the balance of the match, he could have easily ended up with a defeat, which would have broken what is now a streak of 25 unbeaten home games.
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The fact that Ferreira does not find the bottom of the net will not do much to avoid questions about who will be the team’s starting striker. But this was a match in which Uruguay seemed to destroy the local team and the American attack faded as the match progressed.
Some of the difficulties of the American team in attack are due to the quality of Uruguay. After this year, La Celeste will participate in its sixth consecutive World Cup, and on this day Uruguay honored its reputation as a solid team defensively.
The large number of changes in the second half did not help the fluidity much either. The fact that Ferreira’s replacement, Haji Wright, hit the ball four times in 29 minutes of work demonstrates the degree to which the American attack fought in the last third.
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Thus, while the American coach Gregg Berhalter described the performance as an “A-plus effort of the group in difficult conditions, warm conditions”, the final product of the Americans was missing, as well as the quality of the deliveries. of stopped parts of the equipment.
“We put the ball in very good positions and then we didn’t take advantage of it,” Berhalter said. “We’ve blocked some crosses. We’ve got some corners. The final pass has been a bit deflected.”
Nor was it a great day for some players hoping to expose their case for more minutes on the first team. Joe Scally struggled with his defensive position in the first half and seemed almost overwhelmed. He seemed a little more comfortable after moving to his most common right-back position in the middle of the second half, and while he deserves credit for staying there, looking for a reserve for the alleged left-back holder Antonee Robinson continues.
Erik Palmer-Brown is another player that fans are asking for more playing time. But he was second best on a couple of occasions, including a late instance when Diego Rossi overtook him and went to defender Walker Zimmerman to stifle the attack with a critical block from the shot of the former LAFC striker.
Jesús Ferreira led the United States men’s team against Uruguay on Sunday, but could not find the back of the net in the 0-0 draw. Scott Winters / Icon Sportswire
Berhalter seemed to be talking about all his recent calls when he said in relation to his strikers: “There were moments and we fell a little short, but we will continue to work with these guys.” He added: “It’s just something to build on. That was the whole idea with the team’s performance, the individual performances. We wanted the boys to set a baseline to keep improving.”
On the plus side, Weston McKennie survived a 45-minute injury when he returned from a broken leg in February.
Another advantage was the work of Yunus Musah. The Valencian midfielder has long been contributing something unique to the American midfielder thanks to his ability to dribble the ball up the field. But on that day, he used his passing rank to a greater degree, especially to link up with Timothy Weah and DeAndre Yedlin on the right flank.
“Yunus is a guy who just blows me away at his age what he can do, a crazy level of talent,” Berhalter said. “We have to work with Yunus on this finale, the final product, the final pass, the finish, because it has a huge roof.”
Defensively, the U.S. leaned in but didn’t break, and it seemed like every time a mistake was made, a teammate was there to give coverage.
“I thought we were doing well with their careers,” Zimmerman said. “They have a smart move in the area. We made a couple of plays where we had to slide and put ourselves in good positions to avoid good goal opportunities. So we finally kept another zero against the opponent. of quality, so we can take it as a positive. “
In one of their last matches before the 2022 World Cup, the Americans settled for a frustrating, goalless draw. Kyle Rivas / Getty Images
And on those occasions when the bottom line didn’t come, Johnson was there at the finish line to come to the rescue. It is almost astonishing to think that Johnson has been involved in the national team program for 11 years. The fact that he now has only 10 international matches shows the difficulty he has faced in trying to break the American lineup.
To be clear, Johnson is still struggling to be the team’s third goalkeeper at this year’s World Cup, but it didn’t hurt his prospects; and as the year progresses, he could end up being the only American goalkeeper to achieve a constant playing time. Time will tell how much this counts for something.
“As a professional player who has been around the national team for a while, who has been around this group for a while, the opportunity meant it all,” Johnson said. He later added: “Keeping a good level, a good form, a good pace entering these camps definitely helps, so today there is a smooth transition to the game.”
The current international window is now entering a new phase, with a couple of CONCACAF Nations League matches against Granada and El Salvador. The competition will certainly not be as intense, but El Salvador proved to be a tough opponent during the World Cup qualifiers, and should provide a decent enough test for those players who still want to have a more consistent presence in the World Cup. equipment.