NASHVILLE — The doubt surrounding the U.S. men’s national team has been constant since it lost to Trinidad and Tobago in October 2017 and failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. The questions about the program and its future come in waves, peaking after certain moments and calming thanks to others. But the first performance-assessment tool really didn’t arrive until last month with the start of the Concacaf Gold Cup, the first competitive matches for Coach Gregg Berhalter and his staff.
The Americans surged through the group stage, with prolific goal-scoring against lower-tier opponents in the first two games and their only lackluster night coming in a 1-0 win over Panama using a lineup of reserves. They have now won their first five games of the tournament, including a 3-1 win in a semifinal here Wednesday night against Jamaica.
The performance against Jamaica, the best team the United States has faced in an official setting since Berhalter took over in December 2018, showed promise. Just three days before, the national team defeated Curaçao in the quarterfinals, but the 1-0 result left concerns about how this group would fare against tougher opponents. The game against Jamaica eased some of those worries: The Americans started with high intensity, weathered a 90-minute lightning delay, fended off a late comeback attempt and, perhaps most notably, leaned on standout nights from their young stars, Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie.
“You look at some of these young guys, real difference-makers like Christian and Weston, they’re fearless,” Berhalter said after the game. "I think they have a good mentality. I think they’re very good soccer players. They give you solutions.”
And they’re both part of the national team’s future — in the short term in the pursuit of a Gold Cup title by defeating Mexico in Sunday’s final and in the long term as this program continues through a fresh World Cup cycle.
Consider the national team’s run in the knockout round of this tournament: Against Curaçao, the only goal came on McKennie’s header off Pulisic’s cross. Wednesday, the two combined for all three scores.
McKennie notched the opening goal on a strong sequence that began with Michael Bradley’s long pass and continued through two other teammates. Early in the second half, McKennie found Jordan Morris, who fired a shot at Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake. The ball bounced off Blake’s hands and to Pulisic, who tapped in the score. McKennie and Pulisic celebrated with a choreographed handshake.
“The system that we have, we're all connected,” McKennie said, before explaining how he had a sense for where Morris would be on the play that led to Pulisic’s first score. “We make it very predictable for ourselves, not for the opponent, but predictable for ourselves on where our options are and where we can play the next pass. It makes it easier on us.”
Late in the game, as Jamaica threatened to equalize, Pulisic scored again on a rebound off Jamaica’s goalie, this time following a shot from Paul Arriola.
McKennie and Pulisic also create space for others — or, in Pulisic’s case against Jamaica, spin to break free from a defender on the sideline. They’re gaining understanding of their roles in Berhalter’s system, and McKennie played some of his best soccer with the national team Wednesday night.
“He’s getting better every game,” Bradley said. “I think he’s getting more comfortable. … The experience that he and I are getting playing together over the course of a few games has been good in terms of understanding each other, the partnership, what it means on certain days, playing to each other’s strengths.”
As for Pulisic, the Chelsea-bound 20-year-old said this was “not at all” his best performance under Berhalter, adding that his decision-making could have been better and he lost balls too often. Pulisic still scored twice, and he has stood out as the national team’s best player throughout the tournament.
The Americans will shift their focus to Mexico, the favorite to win the Gold Cup, and will soon see how their abilities in this new system fare against El Tri. But they will do so now with a bit more confidence. McKennie said the Americans want to play Mexico, mirroring the crowd’s “We want Mexico!” chant that began after Pulisic’s second goal.
Asked whether Wednesday’s showing against Jamaica marked his team’s best performance to date, Berhalter paused.
“I think it’s difficult to say,” he said, then mentioned how the staff never stops looking for areas to improve.
But there were certainly positives to be taken from Nashville. Berhalter called the game “a step in the right direction.” For now, all these next steps — starting Sunday against Mexico — include these two young phenoms. And for the United States, that’s a reason to set aside a bit of the doubt that may still linger.
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