ORLANDO — The United States men’s national team got through the lackluster first half to beat El Salvador 1-0 Monday to reach the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Nations League 2022-23.
Ricardo Pepi scored the goal for the Americans in the second half after a great set up by Weston McKennie. USMNT participates Mexico in the four finals of the regional tournament, where in June it will face an opponent to be determined on Tuesday – possibly El Tri.
Here are three thoughts after Monday’s game.
Pepi big winner this month
The 20-year-old forward is one of coach Gregg Berhalter’s ultimate goals ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where the three strikers on a 26-man roster have scored just one goal in four games. Pepi has every reason to feel disrespected; his goal in the World Cup qualifying helped America returns to the biggest sporting event on the planet for the first time in eight years, and after struggling a lot when moving to the German Bundesliga from the MLS team FC Dallas At the beginning of 2022, he found his scoring ability again while on loan with the Dutch club Groningen.
This month, in his first two international matches since being eliminated, Pepi has scored three goals in about 90 minutes of play. His deft finish on Monday was the best of them all:
“Honestly, it’s been a roller coaster ride,” Pepi said after the past few months. “I’m delighted to be in the squad, scoring again after missing the World Cup. I think I’ve made an important statement tonight.”
It comes at a good time. The forward position remains as volatile as ever, to the extent that much of the focus of USMNT fans over the past week has been on US Soccer’s bid to recruit the New York-born player. weapon front Folarin Balogun, who tore up France’s Ligue 1 on loan this season. Balogun, 21 years old, is also eligible to represent England And Nigeria. Landing him would be a coup, no doubt. But Pepi is still doing all he can this month to show that he deserves serious consideration for the job starting in the summer.
Miles Robinson looks like my old self
The centre-back wasn’t even dressed in Friday’s 7-1 win in Grenada; after the player predicted to start the World Cup ruptured his Achilles tendon in May last year and missed a trip to Qatar, he was still unable to complete two consecutive games in short order.
You won’t know it on Monday. Partnering with a 35-year-old veteran Tim Ram, Robinson certainly doesn’t look like someone who hasn’t played at international level in almost a year. He might even be the best American player against El Salvador.
“My Achilles feels fine,” Robinson said after the contest. “I’ve never played nervously. So yeah, it feels great. I’m happy to be back there to keep a clean sheet.”
His most dramatic moment of the night came around 1 o’clock, when he ran 40 yards back to knock down Los Cuscatlecos center front Brayan Gil deep in his own half of the field, extinguishing a potential scoring opportunity.
Ream said of Robinson: “In that recovery run, he looked like he was shot out of a rocket. “It’s impressive considering the injury he’s had. But I said earlier this week, he looks like the old Miles.”
The return of the 26-year-old only adds to the competition at centre-back, of which there are many. Ream said on Monday that he wants to continue to the 2026 World Cup, while Qatar denies Cameron Carter-Vickers, Walker Zimmerman and others all remain firmly in the mix. However, if he plays like in Orlando, Robinson will be hard to beat.
After a difficult first half, the US completed the task
Even in front of the home fans, it was always the tougher of the two March games. Americans probably still don’t believe it’s that hard. Despite having a starting line-up of seven players starting the World Cup (Daryl dyke, Gio ReynaMiles Robinson and Alex Zendejas exception), the US was not the better team in the first 45 minutes.
Sure enough, the Americans controlled the ball nearly 60% in the first half and overcame the visitors 6-1 (2-1 on target). They also showed a lack of connection and sloppiness in the ball phase.
A tactical adjustment by interim coach Anthony Hudson during the break left the hosts in a position to take advantage of their talent after the break.
“The second half we were much more compact for the most part, which allowed us to get closer to them,” Hudson said. “That just allows us to control the game a little bit more, and then you build confidence from that.”
The United States only needed a draw to advance and the result was never in doubt for the last 20 minutes or so. “We basically ran out of gas,” said El Salvador coach (and former USMNT quarterback) Hugo Perez. However, the results are a bit too close for the hosts, who will face a much tougher test in June.
Hudson would then remain at the helm; US Soccer may not have a new athletic director, whose first job will be to hire a new full-time coach, until July. It’s definitely not ideal. And at some point, the lack of a clear long-term plan can show up in the field and come back to bite Americans. While Monday’s final score was sufficient, the performance from an almost full-fledged USMNT was less than convincing.
Doug McIntyre is a football writer for FOX Sports. Prior to joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was an editor for ESPN and Yahoo Sports, and he covered the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams at various FIFA World Cups. . Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
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