By Tommy Kane

Published: July 8th, 2019

The United States Men’s National Team lost a close one to Mexico, 1-0, on Jul. 7, 2019, in Chicago, IL. It was the 2019 Gold Cup Final, the much-anticipated match between the States and their arch-rivals.

This came on the same day that the United States Women’s National Team defeated the Netherlands, 2-0, in the 2019 World Cup Final. Unfortunately, the men could not reciprocate a championship on U.S. Soccer day.

It was both U.S. coach, Gregg Berhalter’s, and Mexican coach, Tata Martino’s, first competitive final. Both wanted to solidify their place in North American soccer.

Huge Chance Missed

The game started off well for the Americans. They seemed to allow Mexico to control the pace of the game, but they didn’t let them dominate it. The U.S. had their fair share of chances in the first half.

The most notable chance came early, where Jozy Altidore missed the net at point-blank range. If he would have gotten it on the net, he would have gotten it past Mexican keeper, Guillermo Ochoa. This turned out to be a huge crusher for the Americans, as the game ended up being 1-0 in Mexico’s favor.

Christian Pulisic and Paul Arriola also had some good chances, but couldn’t capitalize on any of them.

As the half went on, Mexico started to pick up pace and steam. They were controlling the possession, which they wanted to do and it was expected of them. The Americans planned on getting on the counter-attack to strike a few goals.

Headed Out and Mexico Wins

Mexico came out of the gates in the second half and got shot after shot on American keeper, Zack Steffen. Luckily for him, most of the shots went above the net and out of play. Still, a Mexican goal was certainly looming.

A critical moment then arose for the U.S. It was a corner kick opportunity that could have turned into the first goal of the match. About an hour in, the corner was taken and after a few volleys, the ball found Jordan Morris. Morris shot the ball and it was going into the net, but a Mexican defender got his head on it and saved the game for Mexico. Yet another opportunity missed by the Stars and Stripes, but this time Mexico stopped it themselves.

In the 73rd minute, the first goal was scored and it turned out to be the game-winner. Jonathan Dos Santos (shown above #6) got his head on the ball and knocked it off the top crossbar and into the net, giving Mexico the only goal and the 1-0 lead late in the second half. Mexico rejoiced, knowing that it would be tough for the Americans to get back in the game.

With a few minutes left in the match, the States had their final chance to tie. It was yet another corner, something that they got frequently in the match but couldn’t convert. It was volleyed around and Michael Bradley got on the ball, he tried to cross it and find an American striker who shot the ball. It failed and was blocked before it got a chance to go in the net. If the block wasn’t there, surely the United States would have tied the game and sent it to extra time, where the game would have been in anyone’s hand.

It was a tough one for the Americans to endure when the final whistle blew, especially one so physical and a bit dirty on the side of the Mexicans. Losing to Mexico is never fun, especially when the Gold Cup Final is on the line. Nonetheless, Mexico played a much better brand of soccer that night.

Jozy Altidore after missing the open shot.

The Americans had five shots on net, while Mexico had seven. As expected, Mexico controlled the ball 58% of the time. Mexico won their eighth Gold Cup Championship, a record. The U.S. is behind them with six titles.

The Berhalter Experiment

It was a tough pill to swallow for Americans, but the greater picture shows a pretty solid Gold Cup run. Huge defeats against Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, a convincing victory over Jamaica, a team that always gives the U.S. difficulty. These are examples and steps of what the United States could become as a soccer team. Remember, Berhalter was experimenting with players for the Gold Cup.

People want Berhalter fired so quickly and I don’t understand why. He and the U.S. have won five straight matches before losing to Mexico in the final, all while conceding one goal against Jamaica. Two goals conceded in the tournament in total. The teams are not high-caliber, but that is impressive compared to results from other Gold Cups. And, everyone is just getting better at soccer because the game is growing in almost every nation.

We saw great performances from Pulisic, Arriola, McKennie, Boyd, Aaron Long, and Steffen. There are probably a few more that had a pretty solid Gold Cup run as well. Some of the experienced veterans had an opportunity to play as well, like Bradley, Altidore, Omar Gonzalez, and Gyasi Zardes. They didn’t all play stellar, but this will give Berhalter an idea of who needs to stay and go.

One thing that was confusing was that the captaincy was being passed from player to player each match. I understand that they want to try out other players, but consistency could have been a good thing during a competitive tournament. Friendlies are there for situations like that.

The bottom line is that the U.S. team looks to be going through a new phase, and like it or not, this could be a positive one. This loss to Mexico will just make the team stronger, and it will be interesting to see where they will be come the 2022 World Cup and especially the 2026 World Cup in America.

Well, that’s it for the United States National Teams this summer in terms of competitive matches. It was fun to watch both teams excel in their respective tournaments. Although it did not end with the result wanted for the Men, we saw a great fight from the team. The future is bright!

GO USA!

Match Stats Against Mexico

Video Highlights Against Mexico