The two games the U.S. men’s national team played leading up to the CONCACAF Gold Cup were ominous, first a 2-1 loss to Turkey and then a 4-0 thumping by Switzerland that did not inspire much confidence. For the national team, it was a seldom-seen four-game losing streak, with all four losses at home.
But the Gold Cup, the regional championship, has gone much better, and even if some of the team’s better players aren’t on hand, new faces have emerged, new candidates for spots on the team have made their cases.
The next test for the national team comes Wednesday night at sold-out Energizer Park, when the Americans face Guatemala in the semifinals of the Gold Cup, the highest-stakes U.S. game to be played in ӣƵ in more than 30 years. The U.S. advanced past Costa Rica in a dramatic penalty-kick shootout on Sunday.
With a win over the decidedly underdog Guatemala team, the Americans would face the winner of another David vs. Goliath match, Mexico vs. Honduras, which will also meet Wednesday in Santa Clara, California.
“It’s the togetherness that we’ve created and fostered,” said Tim Ream, the veteran center back and captain of the U.S. team who played at St. Dominic High and ӣƵ University. “I think with the two friendlies that we had, it could have been a not-great situation going into the Gold Cup, and to be honest, I think everybody used it as a learning experience and a moment to understand what it would take to come together and what it would take to play in the tournament, survive and continue to move on. And I sit back and look at these guys and in the game, in the changing room, at meals and just the bonds that are being created in such a short amount of time. I don’t think you can speak about it enough, and it’s something that maybe not necessarily we’ve had enough of in the past, and to see guys just getting along and having fun is so good to see.
“And I said it after the game the other day to a few of the guys, watching them work for each other in moments, in heated moments, in moments like Malik (Tillman) having their guy come into his face and watching everybody rush in. It’s such a, it may sound weird, but that’s an enjoyable thing to see, because I think it shows that OK, finally, we’re a group of guys that we’re going to push back. You’re not going to push us around. And we have the personalities in here, and to see them all jelling together, that’s been nice to see.”
Even if the quarterfinal with Costa Rica that got the U.S. to ӣƵ goes into the books as a tie, it was a significant performance for the Americans. The U.S. conceded an early penalty kick and trailed 1-0. Tillman missed a PK that would have tied the game, then the U.S. got goals from Diego Luna and Max Arfsten to take the lead, only for Costa Rica to tie the game in 71st minute. The game then went to penalty kicks, where U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese, making a solid push for the top goalkeeper spot that has belonged for some time to Matt Turner, made three saves as the U.S. advanced.
“I think when you look back on our performance, you’ll see a really resilient mentality,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “Max Arfsten, to come out and give up a penalty and then come back and have an assist and a goal is a great mentality and shows the team spirit. Malik Tillman, after getting fouled pretty hard, steps and takes the penalty and misses but still makes amazing plays in the game, and obviously Matt Freese, unbelievable in the penalty shootout. So many guys with valuable experience throughout that game and it sets us up for success in the future.”
The United States has reached the final of the tournament in 12 of its 17 editions to date, so this is familiar territory for them but not so much for Guatemala. This is only the second time Guatemala has gotten this far, the other being in 1996. Guatemala has never reached the final. Guatemala finished second in its group to Panama and then tied Canada and advanced on penalty kicks in its quarterfinal. Guatemala, ranked No. 106 in the world by FIFA (the U.S. is 16th), has only one win over the United States in its past 23 meetings, a 2-0 win in a World Cup qualifier in 2016 in Guatemala City.
But this year’s Gold Cup has seen some upsets. In addition to Guatemala eliminating Canada, on the other side of the bracket, Honduras beat Panama on PKs. (If the game is tied after regulation Wednesday, it will go straight to penalty kicks with no overtime.) Canada and Panama had both won their groups and were considered to be the teams looking the best in group play.
“It’s going to be very difficult,” said U.S. coach Maurico Pochettino. “They’re very good, very well-organized, very great coach, very good players. I see this as a big challenge for us.”
There are two interesting names on the Guatemala roster. Rubio Rubin played seven games with the U.S. national team but also was eligible to play for Mexico and Guatemala and, after dropping off the U.S. radar, used a one-time international switch to play for Guatemala. Aaron Herrera played with the U.S. under-20 and under-23 teams and one game with the full national team before switching to Guatemala.
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