KANSAS City, Cannes. – The men’s national football team of the United States said it wanted a tough test when it scheduled two World Cup opponents for this international window. On Sunday, the United States received just that in a 0-0 draw with Uruguay.
This was a result that, in a sense, the United States was lucky to leave. Goalkeeper Sean Johnson made a superb reflex save from a close shot by Matthias Olivera in the 63rd minute, and then the usually deadly Edinson Cavani squandered a clear opportunity in added time in the second half.
The United States had some chances, as Jesus Ferreira failed to realize several opportunities in the first half. But overall, although the tie was well-deserved given the balance of the game, it could easily have ended in a loss that would break a 25-match unbeaten run.
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Ferreira’s failure to find the back of the net will not stop the question of who will be the team’s starting striker. But it was a game in which Uruguay seemed to crush the hosts and the US attack failed as the game continued.
Some of the difficulties of the American team in attack are due to the quality of Uruguay. Later this year, La Celesta will take part in its sixth consecutive World Cup and on this day Uruguay has justified its reputation as a strong team in defense.
The many changes in the second half also did not help much for the smoothness. The fact that Ferreira’s deputy, Hadji Wright, touched the ball four times in 29 minutes of work speaks volumes about the extent to which the US attack has been fought in the last third.
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So, while US manager Greg Berhalter called the performance an “A-plus effort in tough, warm conditions,” the Americans’ end product was missing, as was the team’s quality of supply.
“We put the ball in really good positions and then we just didn’t take advantage of it,” Berhalter said. “They blocked several crossings. We got corners.
The day was not great for some players who hoped to present their arguments for more minutes in the first team. Joe Scully struggled with his defensive position in the first half and looked almost overwhelmed. He looked a little more comfortable after moving to his more usual right-back position in the middle of the second half, and while he deserves credit for staying, the search for a backup for alleged left-back Anthony Robinson continues.
Eric Palmer-Brown is another player that fans want more time to play. But he was the second-best several times, including a case of delay when Diego Rossi peeked past him and left defender Walker Zimmerman to stifle the attack with a critical block from a strike by the former LAFC striker.
Jesus Ferreira led the line for the US men’s national team against Uruguay on Sunday, but failed to find the back of the net in a 0-0 draw. Scott Winters / Icon Sportswire
Berhalter seems to be talking about all his recent calls when he said of his attackers: “There were moments and we went out a little bit, but we will continue to work with these guys.” He added: “It’s just something to build on. It was the whole idea with team performance, individual performances. We wanted the boys to set a baseline to keep improving.”
On the plus side, Weston McKenney managed to get through his 45-minute stay unharmed on his way back from a broken leg in February.
Another plus was the game of Yunus Musah. The Valencia midfielder has long brought something unique to the US midfield with his ability to dribble the ball up. But on this day, he made more use of his range of assists, especially in his association with Timothy Weah and DeAndre Yedlin on the right flank.
“Yunus is a man who just amazes me at his age what he can do, a crazy level of talent,” Berhalter said. “We have to work with Yunus on this final, the final product, the final pass, the finishing work, because it has a huge ceiling.”
In defense, the United States bent down but did not break, and it seemed that every time a mistake was made, a teammate was there to provide cover.
“I thought we did well with their runs,” Zimmerman said. “They have smart moves in the penalty area. We had a few games in which we had to slide and take good positions to prevent them from good goal opportunities. So in the end, we kept another zero against the quality opponent, so we can take that as a positive. “
In one of their last matches before the 2022 World Cup, the Americans were satisfied with a disappointing draw without results. Kyle Rivas / Getty Images
And in cases where the back line failed, Johnson was there to help. It is almost mind-boggling to think that Johnson has been on the national team’s program for 11 years. The fact that he now has only 10 games shows the difficulties he faced in trying to break through the US squad.
To be clear, Johnson is still struggling to be the third goalkeeper on the World Cup team later this year, but he hasn’t hurt his prospects; and as the year progresses, he may be the only U.S. goalkeeper to receive solid playing time. Time will tell how important this is for something.
“As a professional player who has been around the national team for some time, who has been around this group for some time, the opportunity meant everything,” said Johnson. He later added: “Maintaining a good level, good form, good rhythm, entering these camps definitely helps, so there is a smooth transition to the game today.”
The current international window is entering a new phase, with two CONCACAF League matches against Grenada and El Salvador. The competition will certainly not be so 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 insist on a more permanent presence on the team.
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