Latest news with #GreggBerhalter
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
How the US men's national team values diversity, even in the Trump era
Los Angeles will be in the spotlight during the 2026 World Cup. It's where the US men's national team will begin their World Cup campaign, and it's where they'll wrap up the group stage. It's a city in the news lately due to the Trump administration's deployment of Ice and the national guard, but it's also a metro area synonymous with diversity. This US men's national team, more than ever, reflects that diversity. 'It's not that there's a record or anything of how many minorities have been on the national team before, but I feel like this has been the most diverse generation of national team,' said center back Chris Richards, who is poised to be a leader along the backline for the US next year. Advertisement Related: Christian Pulisic says questioning his commitment to US is 'way out of line' During most periods of the USMNT's modern history, Richards saying this would be a political non-factor. But today, as the Trump administration openly discourages talk of diversity in public life, it means something. Against the backdrop of polarization at home and mounting pressure to make a deep run at the World Cup, a team mostly based abroad has been careful about commenting on social and political issues in the United States. Diversity, though, remains foundational. 'When we had Gregg [Berhalter] as the coach, and we had to pick our anchors for our team, and we talked about picking 'diverse' as one of those anchors, we started to look around the room, and you really start to realize how every single person on our team comes from such a completely different background,' said midfielder Tyler Adams, who captained the US at the 2022 World Cup. 'It was the first time I started to realize, 'Wow, we just have a very, very diverse team.'' Advertisement Adams and others mean 'diversity' in the truest sense of the word: Age, race, culture, birthplace; it is seemingly all there, in one roster. 'This team is a microcosm of what the United States is,' said Tim Ream, who at 37 is the oldest player by far on an otherwise young and mid-career team. 'It's representative of the entire country. So many backgrounds, different cultures, different ways of doing things, different beliefs, and that's OK, and we all get along just fine.' Adams, who is black, wasn't really thinking about diversity as a kid growing up in Wappingers Falls, New York. He's biracial, raised by his mother (who is white) and eventually his stepfather (who is also white) along with his three stepbrothers, who he refers to as his father and brothers. Looking back, Adams said he had a lot of black friends and a reasonably diverse school, but his youth soccer environment was different. 'A lot of white kids play soccer in the neighborhoods I grew up in,' said Adams, who noted that youth national teams provided an early, eye-opening experience. Advertisement 'A lot of the kids that were getting called in from California obviously have a Latin [American] background. And right away you could tell how diverse just America in general is,' he said. 'It was a really cool thing. You become friends with people that on the west coast that you may have never met through the game, and you start to understand a little bit of the culture and why they fall in love with the game, why you fall in love with the game, and how your geography kind of dictates that.' St Louis, the New York area, and California are historic hotbeds of soccer in the US. Former US defender and notoriously opinionated pundit Alexi Lalas recently reiterated his view that the men's national team could be better served by being more 'exclusive' and concentrating player development resources on such hotbeds. But to do so would be to exclude Birmingham, Alabama – Richards' home town. The Crystal Palace defender says he was typically the only black player on his team growing up before he joined the FC Dallas academy. During 2022 World Cup qualifying, he noticed how much the national team had changed. Related: For the USMNT, a successful summer is harder than ever to define Advertisement 'I remember at one point it was Antonee Robinson, Mark McKenzie, myself, and Sergiño Dest, and I was like, 'Oh, this is like an all black back line,'' he said. 'Zack Steffen was in goal … Weston [McKennie] was playing in the midfield, we had Timothy Weah on the wing, Yunus [Musah] was playing. So that's eight starters right there that are black, and we were just like, 'This is kind of crazy.' Me personally growing up, I never saw it. I know Yunus probably did because he grew up in London, but for me, it was really rare. I never experienced something like that until playing with the national team.' Richards didn't really think about the diversity of the national team when he was younger. Today, hesaid it gives inspiration to his little brother, and his best friend. 'His dad was like, 'You have no idea how big this is, not just for kids in Birmingham, but kids of color in Birmingham,' Richards said. 'It's something that they never had seen on TV and something that they never really aspired [to] because they'd never seen it before.' When it comes to political expression, November 2020 was a turning point for the US men's national team. After the Covid-19 pandemic had precluded the full squad from convening for a year, much of its emerging, European-based talent was on display in a 0-0 draw against Wales. So too was the team's diversity: ten out of the 11 starters were black or Hispanic, with four born and raised abroad. Advertisement Their participation in the social justice movement was also beginning to emerge. In their first game since the murder of George Floyd and ensuing protests that prompted messages of social justice solidarity throughout the sports world, the players and coaches wore jackets emblazoned with the words 'Be The Change' across the front. On the back, they had the space to send their own personal message. 'Whether you supported what was going on or not, it was the time to stand with your principles,' Richards said. 'So some people put different messages on the back of their jackets, and whether it was a Black Lives Matter quote, whether it was just an equal rights thing, we all have something that we stand for.' Eighteen months later, under the banner of the 'Be The Change,' the team sent a very direct message to Congress regarding gun legislation and wore orange armbands in a friendly against Uruguay to raise awareness. Related: Pochettino turns to an unlikely savior for USMNT's struggles: MLS Advertisement Weighing in on a social or political issue like this is the product of extensive dialogue and consensus, but with the spotlight on soccer in the US shining brighter and overlapping more with politics, it will be more challenging for American players to keep their distance or calibrate their response. On Wednesday, Weah and McKennie were among the members of Juventus invited to the Oval Office on the eve of their Club World Cup opener in Washington DC (Weah later told reporters that he had no choice but to go). With McKennie, Weah and others as a backdrop, Trump answered all sorts of questions from the press. At one point, he turned to them to ask if a woman could play for Juventus – a reference to the culture war surrounding the battle over transgender rights. None of the visitors took the bait. 'I was kind of like, I just want to play football,' said Weah, whose father is the former president of Liberia and Ballon D'or winner. Ream and Adams both underlined that the US team isn't having deep discussions about politics at the dinner table during their limited time together. If commentary is to come from the team, they said, it can't be counter-productive, engendering awkwardness or discord. 'If I'm going to say something, I'm going to say something because I feel like it can bring people together and bring people closer,' Ream said. Advertisement And while athletes today have their own megaphone at their fingertips, sharing their opinion or engaging with others on social media carries plenty of risk. 'It's gonna get misconstrued one way or another so there's no point,' Adams said. Adams also stressed that ultimately, technology can only compensate so much for physically being on the other side of the Atlantic, where he and other players spend most of their time during the club season. There's a disconnect from the reality back home that is increasingly difficult to digest. 'It's an interesting time we're living in,' he said. 'A lot of decisions that are made almost seem like they just happened in a blink of an eye. It's hard to fathom sometimes exactly what's happening and have a complete understanding.' Advertisement The US men's national team's naming of diversity as one of its pillars didn't seem out of the ordinary in 2020. Now, five years later, the backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion, accelerated by a second Trump administration, has changed the landscape. It is intertwined with the administration's immigration policy, built by Trump's deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. To him and others in the administration, the concept of diversity as a strength on its own is a political statement – the very thing the team tries to avoid without full buy-in and a lot of thought and collaboration among the group. 'Within the last few years, particularly the last year, it's been a very tough time for the country. With change, with the new president, with things like that,' Richards said. 'I felt like we were moving forward with certain things, with uplifting minorities. And I feel like in the last few months, it's felt like it's gone backwards.' At the moment, the US appreciate their diversity but don't feel the need to celebrate it publicly. In camp they're curious to learn about each other's lives, and let their performances elicit pride in their identity. 'When you play well, you're like, 'Look at that team. Look how diverse.' You take so many positives away from what our team stands for,' Adams said. 'So that's important as well, and we'll get back to that way, because that's what makes us great.'
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
How the US men's national team values diversity, even in the Trump era
Los Angeles will be in the spotlight during the 2026 World Cup. It's where the US men's national team will begin their World Cup campaign, and it's where they'll wrap up the group stage. It's a city in the news lately due to the Trump administration's deployment of Ice and the national guard, but it's also a metro area synonymous with diversity. This US men's national team, more than ever, reflects that diversity. 'It's not that there's a record or anything of how many minorities have been on the national team before, but I feel like this has been the most diverse generation of national team,' said center back Chris Richards, who is poised to be a leader along the backline for the US next year. During most periods of the USMNT's modern history, Richards saying this would be a political non-factor. But today, as the Trump administration openly discourages talk of diversity in public life, it means something. Against the backdrop of polarization at home and mounting pressure to make a deep run at the World Cup, a team mostly based abroad has been careful about commenting on social and political issues in the United States. Diversity, though, remains foundational. 'When we had Gregg [Berhalter] as the coach, and we had to pick our anchors for our team, and we talked about picking 'diverse' as one of those anchors, we started to look around the room, and you really start to realize how every single person on our team comes from such a completely different background,' said midfielder Tyler Adams, who captained the US at the 2022 World Cup. 'It was the first time I started to realize, 'Wow, we just have a very, very diverse team.'' Adams and others mean 'diversity' in the truest sense of the word: Age, race, culture, birthplace; it is seemingly all there, in one roster. 'This team is a microcosm of what the United States is,' said Tim Ream, who at 37 is the oldest player by far on an otherwise young and mid-career team. 'It's representative of the entire country. So many backgrounds, different cultures, different ways of doing things, different beliefs, and that's OK, and we all get along just fine.' Adams, who is black, wasn't really thinking about diversity as a kid growing up in Wappingers Falls, New York. He's biracial, raised by his mother (who is white) and eventually his stepfather (who is also white) along with his three stepbrothers, who he refers to as his father and brothers. Looking back, Adams said he had a lot of black friends and a reasonably diverse school, but his youth soccer environment was different. 'A lot of white kids play soccer in the neighborhoods I grew up in,' said Adams, who noted that youth national teams provided an early, eye-opening experience. 'A lot of the kids that were getting called in from California obviously have a Latin [American] background. And right away you could tell how diverse just America in general is,' he said. 'It was a really cool thing. You become friends with people that on the west coast that you may have never met through the game, and you start to understand a little bit of the culture and why they fall in love with the game, why you fall in love with the game, and how your geography kind of dictates that.' St Louis, the New York area, and California are historic hotbeds of soccer in the US. Former US defender and notoriously opinionated pundit Alexi Lalas recently reiterated his view that the men's national team could be better served by being more 'exclusive' and concentrating player development resources on such hotbeds. But to do so would be to exclude Birmingham, Alabama – Richards' home town. The Crystal Palace defender says he was typically the only black player on his team growing up before he joined the FC Dallas academy. During 2022 World Cup qualifying, he noticed how much the national team had changed. 'I remember at one point it was Antonee Robinson, Mark McKenzie, myself, and Sergiño Dest, and I was like, 'Oh, this is like an all black back line,'' he said. 'Zack Steffen was in goal … Weston [McKennie] was playing in the midfield, we had Timothy Weah on the wing, Yunus [Musah] was playing. So that's eight starters right there that are black, and we were just like, 'This is kind of crazy.' Me personally growing up, I never saw it. I know Yunus probably did because he grew up in London, but for me, it was really rare. I never experienced something like that until playing with the national team.' Richards didn't really think about the diversity of the national team when he was younger. Today, hesaid it gives inspiration to his little brother, and his best friend. 'His dad was like, 'You have no idea how big this is, not just for kids in Birmingham, but kids of color in Birmingham,' Richards said. 'It's something that they never had seen on TV and something that they never really aspired [to] because they'd never seen it before.' When it comes to political expression, November 2020 was a turning point for the US men's national team. After the Covid-19 pandemic had precluded the full squad from convening for a year, much of its emerging, European-based talent was on display in a 0-0 draw against Wales. So too was the team's diversity: ten out of the 11 starters were black or Hispanic, with four born and raised abroad. Their participation in the social justice movement was also beginning to emerge. In their first game since the murder of George Floyd and ensuing protests that prompted messages of social justice solidarity throughout the sports world, the players and coaches wore jackets emblazoned with the words 'Be The Change' across the front. On the back, they had the space to send their own personal message. 'Whether you supported what was going on or not, it was the time to stand with your principles,' Richards said. 'So some people put different messages on the back of their jackets, and whether it was a Black Lives Matter quote, whether it was just an equal rights thing, we all have something that we stand for.' Eighteen months later, under the banner of the 'Be The Change,' the team sent a very direct message to Congress regarding gun legislation and wore orange armbands in a friendly against Uruguay to raise awareness. Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer after newsletter promotion Weighing in on a social or political issue like this is the product of extensive dialogue and consensus, but with the spotlight on soccer in the US shining brighter and overlapping more with politics, it will be more challenging for American players to keep their distance or calibrate their response. On Wednesday, Weah and McKennie were among the members of Juventus invited to the Oval Office on the eve of their Club World Cup opener in Washington DC (Weah later told reporters that he had no choice but to go). With McKennie, Weah and others as a backdrop, Trump answered all sorts of questions from the press. At one point, he turned to them to ask if a woman could play for Juventus – a reference to the culture war surrounding the battle over transgender rights. None of the visitors took the bait. 'I was kind of like, I just want to play football,' said Weah, whose father is the former president of Liberia and Ballon D'or winner. Ream and Adams both underlined that the US team isn't having deep discussions about politics at the dinner table during their limited time together. If commentary is to come from the team, they said, it can't be counter-productive, engendering awkwardness or discord. 'If I'm going to say something, I'm going to say something because I feel like it can bring people together and bring people closer,' Ream said. And while athletes today have their own megaphone at their fingertips, sharing their opinion or engaging with others on social media carries plenty of risk. 'It's gonna get misconstrued one way or another so there's no point,' Adams said. Adams also stressed that ultimately, technology can only compensate so much for physically being on the other side of the Atlantic, where he and other players spend most of their time during the club season. There's a disconnect from the reality back home that is increasingly difficult to digest. 'It's an interesting time we're living in,' he said. 'A lot of decisions that are made almost seem like they just happened in a blink of an eye. It's hard to fathom sometimes exactly what's happening and have a complete understanding.' The US men's national team's naming of diversity as one of its pillars didn't seem out of the ordinary in 2020. Now, five years later, the backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion, accelerated by a second Trump administration, has changed the landscape. It is intertwined with the administration's immigration policy, built by Trump's deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. To him and others in the administration, the concept of diversity as a strength on its own is a political statement – the very thing the team tries to avoid without full buy-in and a lot of thought and collaboration among the group. 'Within the last few years, particularly the last year, it's been a very tough time for the country. With change, with the new president, with things like that,' Richards said. 'I felt like we were moving forward with certain things, with uplifting minorities. And I feel like in the last few months, it's felt like it's gone backwards.' At the moment, the US appreciate their diversity but don't feel the need to celebrate it publicly. In camp they're curious to learn about each other's lives, and let their performances elicit pride in their identity. 'When you play well, you're like, 'Look at that team. Look how diverse.' You take so many positives away from what our team stands for,' Adams said. 'So that's important as well, and we'll get back to that way, because that's what makes us great.'
New York Times
11-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
One year from a home World Cup, USMNT with fanfare has fear of being a flop
It is hard to recognize the optimism that existed around this U.S. men's national team when it left Qatar in December 2022. Talk of a supposed 'golden generation' has been lost amid the chaos of the last two and a half years. Consider what has transpired since: The Reyna family drama and ensuing investigation. Gregg Berhalter's rehiring. The early Copa América exit. Berhalter's firing. Mauricio Pochettino's hiring. The Nations League losses in March. A Gold Cup summer that has devolved into barbs traded between alumni, current players – and yet another soccer parent. Advertisement Meanwhile, the U.S. has lost four straight matches for the first time since 2007. Given the significance of what's on the horizon, Tuesday night's 4-0 loss to Switzerland was arguably the lowest feeling around the program since the U.S. lost to Trinidad & Tobago in 2017 and failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. This team's supposed ascension into the home 2026 World Cup now feels more like a tailspin. The question is whether the U.S. will find its way out before it's too late. Thursday marks one year until the U.S. opens its home World Cup in Los Angeles. Time is running low. 'It's going to go by quick,' U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams said. 'To think it's already been three years since the last World Cup and we are only a year out from the next one, time definitely flies. I wouldn't say we are quite in a transition period, but we're probably in a little bit of a learning period. We've had to adapt to different things, new principles, new players coming in, getting familiar with each other, finding out each other's tendencies and finding the best way to succeed on the field and I think that always takes a little bit of time. … Understanding the responsibility we have and what it's going to take, I think everyone will be prepared for that moment.' As the 365-day countdown begins, the focus is on two areas: Is Pochettino the right coach to get the maximum out of the squad, and is this player pool good enough to justify the hype? When Pochettino arrived last September, the charming Argentine with the most impressive coaching resume in the history of U.S. Soccer looked like the answer for a program that appeared to be lacking in motivation. Things are decidedly less rosy less than a year later. Pochettino has spent the past few months either publicly addressing a perceived lack of desire and drive in the U.S. team, or defending his own fit within the culture of American soccer. Advertisement In an expansive interview last week with famed broadcaster Andrés Cantor on his radio network, Fútbol de Primera, Pochettino's answers revealed plenty. For one, it was clear Pochettino was aware of the talk around both him and the team itself, including some — most notably former U.S. coach Bruce Arena — who questioned whether he understood American soccer culture. 'I think when you're a national team coach, you need to know your environment, you need to know the animals you coach, and we're lacking that,' Arena said on a podcast hosted by former U.S. stars Landon Donovan and Tim Howard. 'If you're an American coaching the U.S. team, you know the culture, you know the pride and how important the national team is. I think when you bring in somebody from the outside, they don't understand it, especially in our country, because we're so different.' Those comments understandably seemed to chafe Pochettino. 'It's like (Carlo) Ancelotti arriving in Brazil now, and you can say to him: 'Well, an Italian in Brazil who doesn't know how to dance the samba, right? And how is he going to adapt? He doesn't know Brazilian culture.' That would be disrespectful, right?' Pochettino said. 'And it would be underestimating a coach like Ancelotti. The same in this case. Pochettino arrives in the United States. How could I not know what the culture is? First of all, the country's idiosyncrasies, and then the player, right? From here, it's clear that we're super prepared, like any other coach who coaches in different countries. 'When people talk about culture, it sometimes makes me laugh. No, because I say: What does that mean? That we don't know the culture. That we need to change the culture. That it's culturally different. I've been playing football for as long as I can remember. I started playing soccer when I was in my mother's womb, right? And then my whole life I've been with a ball here [close]. Like this. Always. That's the only culture I know, which is soccer. Which is global. Which is worldwide. We have many things in common. Maybe you were born in one place, I was born in the other, but whoever loves this sport, it's the global culture. We can't explain it easily by saying: It's the culture, that I don't know or understand the culture. No. Soccer, when it's played and the ball starts rolling, is one. There's no more.' Advertisement In relative terms, Pochettino has had very little time with the full national team. He took over in September and had windows in October and November with the full group, and then the Nations League in March. Player injuries are out of his control, but this camp, which was supposed to be his first full month with the core group, has turned into what feels closer to a January training exercise than a must-win setting. At the same time, Pochettino has been given more leeway by the fan base. And he also selected the roster that's going to the Gold Cup. Yes, 10 players were unavailable for various reasons, but Pochettino opted against available and more reputable players like Josh Sargent, Tanner Tessmann, Joe Scally and Alejandro Zendejas. Those decisions blew up in his face against Switzerland. And that result alone showed that it was the wrong choice for this Gold Cup. Pochettino is losing valuable time with the depth players who are ready to actually help this team next summer at the World Cup rather than the experimental MLS-heavy group that's currently in camp. Pochettino hasn't backed off his comments that there needs to be change within the team. His focus so far this summer has been on getting increased desire and fight. The effort has to be there ahead of anything. That wasn't there in the first half against the Swiss. Pochettino's discussion about the problems with Cantor were also revealing. He talked about things that were 'taken for granted in the team' and that it 'didn't have that defiance or that unity' in moments of adversity. The selections this summer were as much a read into that as anything else. 'We lacked that resilience, that ability to have leaders, to have defiance, to go out and compete knowing that the opponent was competing,' Pochettino said. 'I think the biggest disappointment is that, right? Because we played against Panama, we were better, yes, but we lost. Why? Why did we lose? Because we didn't compete in the way that's required, at this international level. The same with Canada. Canada wasn't better than us either, but we lacked that extra edge. When you don't have that extra edge, not everything can be solved; tactics don't solve everything.' Pochettino pointed to Manchester City's losing streak earlier this season and noted that these types of funks can bring down even the best teams. Winning starts with the desire and fight, essentially. Not even Pep Guardiola's tactics can protect against those key attributes. Advertisement If the U.S. is going to get things straightened out in time for next summer's tournament, it will start here — with Pochettino's ability to figure out the group and to inspire better performances. But, maybe for the first time since the start of World Cup qualifying in 2021, it feels like there are real questions about who exactly will make up that group of players the U.S. will count on at its most important tournament since 1994. U.S. center back Walker Zimmerman gave the slightest of shrugs as he answered the question about what this program needs to do to get on the right track ahead of the 2026 World Cup. 'Ultimately, I think if you ask anyone to write down 26 names for next year, there'd be a lot of spots that people would objectively say are available,' Zimmerman said. It was a statement of fact. It was also a telling truth for a U.S. program that, when it left Qatar, felt as if it was on a historic upward trajectory with a home World Cup on the horizon. Many, including Berhalter, believed this was a special group of players. There was hope that they might be capable of putting together a special run in front of home crowds. One year out from that World Cup, the memory of that hope has faded. This U.S. team is struggling. A group stage exit from the Copa América led to Berhalter's firing. Yet that alone hasn't fixed a thing. Pochettino's Gold Cup group is a cry to find depth — and maybe a handful of players who can push for starting jobs. It's an important task. The U.S. needs more competition in the group. It needs its stars — maybe not Christian Pulisic, but players like Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah and Tyler Adams — looking over their shoulders. It needs hungry players to balance the ones who feel their place is secured. The Gold Cup will give some a chance to push the program's stars – at least in theory. 'We as players have to recognize that and take this opportunity that we have each and every day of training, each and every camp that we get called into to try and be one of those spots,' said Zimmerman, who started multiple games at the 2022 World Cup but is trying to fight his way back into the team. 'And when you set that tone individually and that goal for yourself, and now you have everyone who's in camp trying to do the same thing, that level is going to go up. You want us to be more competitive, more feisty on the field? Well, that starts in training, and that starts with us getting on to each other, on your team, against the opponent. It's just a great challenge, and that's what we have to do to make sure we keep elevating.' Advertisement The loss to Switzerland made clear some players just aren't at the level. The focus has to narrow for Pochettino beginning with the fall friendlies. Right now, this U.S. team is thin. Outside of Pulisic, Antonee Robinson and Chris Richards, it's tough to say which players have gotten decidedly better since 2022. If they are going to truly compete at the World Cup – to go beyond getting out of the group and galvanizing the nation with a deep knockout run – they'll need more progress this year, both for individual players at their respective clubs, and also in seeing some new faces come through the program. The results in the friendlies leading into the Gold Cup didn't inspire a ton of confidence as it pertains to the latter. Nevertheless, U.S. Soccer has shoved all of its chips into the middle of the table. The federation uplifted and promoted the stars of this program. It made an enormous bet by hiring Pochettino. It's all behind the belief that 2026 can be special. Failing to meet the moment would be a massive missed opportunity. And one year out, there is as much work to do as ever before. (Top Illustration: Eamonn Dalton/The Athletic; John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF, Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images, Luiza Moraes/USSF/Getty Images)
Forbes
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
If Pochettino Wanted To Lower USMNT Expectations, Mission Accomplished
Even accounting for the far-from-first-string lineup that Mauricio Pochettino's U.S. men's national team fielded in Tuesday's 4-0 defeat to Switzerland, the optics were troubling. A Swiss team less than a year removed from a Euro 2024 quarterfinal appearance badly exposed a U.S. side that looked like it had barely trained together and sprinted out to their final margin of victory by the 36th minute. Had it been a tournament setting where goal differential mattered, the European visitors might have been even more cruel on their hosts in search of more goals after halftime. When it was all over, the Americans had suffered a fourth consecutive defeat – and arguably their worst yet – for a first time since 2007, under a star manager who was supposed to provide the solution for a team most believed had underachieved at the 2024 Copa America under previous boss Gregg Berhalter. And amid anger and disbelief, there may also be a sense of acceptance among the U.S. fan base that maybe this generation of players we once believed was uniquely talented just isn't actually that good. In the long view, perhaps that's the best possible development for this group a year out from the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil. Through the modern era of the program (from the 1990 World Cup onward), USMNT has always functioned best as an underdog without weighty expectations. The 1994 team also dealt with the pressure of being a host nation, but did so as decided Cinderellas in a group that included Colombia, Romania and Switzerland. Even less was expected of the 2002 group that reached the quarterfinals despite a Group of Death draw that included Portugal, co-host South Korea and Poland. The teams that has higher expectations either fell completely flat (see 1998, 2006) or merely met expectations without exceeding them (see 2010, 2014, 2022). So whether or not it was Pochettino's plan to evaluate fringe talent knowing the competitive results would suffer, it may ultimately suit this group's competitive aims if they can escape the golden generation moniker before next June arrives. A look at other national teams who endured a similar period suggests the label is often a curse as much as a blessing. Belgium is probably the most well-known recent example. Despite a collection of talent that was considered worthy of contending for major international trophies, the Red Devils only got beyond the quarterfinals once between three World Cup and three European Championship appearances from 2014-2024. Before that was the England national team of the early 2000s that also hit consistent roadblocks at the quarterfinal threshold (at best) between 2002 and 2016, and even failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championships. You might even argue Argentina failed to capitalize on an elite generation of players during their prime. Those like Javier Mascherano and Gonzalo Higuain had aged out of the Albiceleste by the time Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria won the Copa America and World Cup in back-to-back years, fueled by a much younger supporting cast. There's also the reality that the non-soccer-fan American public may have an easier time relating to a roster that is labeled an underdog. Many of the great international sporting triumphs in American team sports history have involved that us-against-the-world element, from the Miracle on Ice team that shocked the Soviets and captured the gold medal and uip at the 1980 Winter Olympics, to the Magnificent Seven that became the first women's gymnastics squad to earn the team gold at the 1996 Summer Games. This isn't to suggest anything as intentional as Pochettino sabotaging current results to temper future hopes. If anything, the performances owe from the Argentine's insistence on seeing as much of the American talent pool on the field in a competitive match as is possible in the short window of time he's been afforded. But as bad as this current freefall feels now, there will come a point when the course reverses, and there's no reason that can't occur within the final year of buildup to the tournament. As important as it is to be good, sometimes it's even more better to have good timing.
The Guardian
11-06-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
First-half debacle dooms USMNT in 4-0 loss to Switzerland in friendly
The United States gave up four goals in the first half and looked unprepared for next year's World Cup, getting routed by Switzerland 4-0 in a friendly on Tuesday night as the Americans lost their fourth straight game for the first time since 2007. Dan Ndoye scored in the 13th minute, Michel Aebischer in the 23rd, Breel Embolo in the 33rd and Johan Manzambi in the 36th. The Americans have lost four consecutive home games for the third time and first since 1988. Switzerland won its third straight match and extended the US winless streak against European opponents to eight games since 2021. Fans at Geodis Park booed loudly as the US gave up four goals by the 40th minute for the first time since 9 November, 1980, at Mexico and the first time ever at home, according to Opta. Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer after newsletter promotion The match was played one year and one day before the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the US starts. Going into their Concacaf Gold Cup opener against Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, the Americans are 5-5 under Mauricio Pochettino, who took over after a first-round elimination last year's Copa America led the US Soccer Federation to fire coach Gregg Berhalter. Ndoye burst behind Nate Harriel to run on to a through ball for the first goal; Manzambi dribbled past Max Arfsten along the endline to leave Aebischer with a tap-in for the second; goalkeeper Matt Turner spilled Ricardo Rodriguez's shot to leave Embolo an open net for the third; and a mix-up when Quinn Sullivan passed to Sebastian Berhalter as the former coach's son slipped created a giveaway that led to Manzambi's first international goal. The US had not lost four straight games since a five-game skid in 2007. The Americans were missing Christian Pulisic (wanted time off); Yunus Musah (personal reason not disclosed); Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna (headed to the Club World Cup); Antonee Robinson, Tyler Adams and Folarin Balogun (injured); and Sergiño Dest (regaining fitness). Turner played his first game for club or country since 23 March. Berhalter started in his debut, and Brenden and Paxten Aaronson became the fourth set of brothers to start for the U.S., and the first since George and Louis Nanchoff in 1979. Pochettino made nine changes from Saturday's 2-1 loss to Turkey, keeping only Arfsten and midfielder Johnny Cardoso. The U.S. made five changes to start the second half and Damian Downs made his debut in the 75th minute.
