USA 4-1 Canada
The US Men’s National Team control their destiny in the Concacaf Nations League as a win against Cuba will set the Yanks to a semifinal berth for the first year of this new tournament.
The Americans needed to have their back against the wall to finally deliver a fine outing against their north rivals Canadians. A month after losing 2-0 in Canada, the USMNT players were criticized and needed to respond in front of their fans.
Coach Berhalter comments on the win:
“To me, the difference was that we were ready to overcome anything, the guys were focused and ready to overcome. You saw that right from the start of the game.
There were some real big criticisms of the group. It was a perceived lack of effort, a lack of heart. You couldn’t mention that today at all. The way the guys were fighting for each other, the way they had their back, the amount of effort that was put in. …To me, the difference was that we were ready to overcome anything.
I understand that everyone has a job to do, and my job is to coach the national team. I understand they are parallel paths. There’s the path of getting results, and there’s the path of developing a really young team. Sometimes, those paths go in different directions, and you don’t always get the results, but the development is still there. And the progress with the team, you know you’re still pushing for that. I think we all stayed calm in these last two weeks and just focused on our jobs.”
