There was a moment in the first half, less than 20 minutes into the USA’s World Cup qualifying match in Jamaica, when American midfielder Yunus Musah gathered the ball in the middle of the field at Independence Park and contemplated. one of his favorable braking towards the opposing goal. He took down Mexico with his stamina and dribbling skills, and it was time to do the same with Reggae Boyz.
However, when Musah advanced, the ball did not happen. Field – yes, field – there are other ideas.
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It’s not always the opposing fans or the introductions or the pressure of the situation. Sometimes, it’s as simple as missing the comforts of home. For a squad that included three teenagers and was the second-youngest team the USMNT had ever deployed for a qualifying round, the inability to count the balls was one of many reasons why Jamaica was held to a 1-1 draw and scored. one more point. about its total.
“We do not consider it a disappointing result. We’re looking at it as a good result,” US coach Gregg Berhalter told reporters. “Anytime you can earn a point away from home is a good thing in CONCACAF qualifying. I want to say that very clearly.
“I think it’s only natural for the boys to have to bow because we want more, but this is a point where we can absolutely make it on the road to play.”
It’s a more precious point than American fans can appreciate. The United States could have easily lost, awarding an opening opportunity to Jamaica’s Bobby Reid and a disallowed goal by his teammate, Damian Lowe, in an 84th-minute situation. .
The United States took a 1-0 lead thanks to Timothy Weah’s creative goal in the 11th minute, which needed sweet support from striker Ricardo Pepi, two smooth moves from Weah and a left-footed finish that crossed the line. by goalkeeper Andre Blake. That was resolved 11 minutes later, however, when Jamaica’s Michail Antonio – currently third in the Premier League in goals for West Ham United – drove left in front of US midfielder Tyler Adams, stopping. and cut off his right leg and left Adams behind. He unleashed a shot from 34 yards away, sending the ball into the top right corner, just beyond the reach of goalkeeper Zack Steffen.
“Obviously, it was a rough game. Weah said. “We knew it was going to be very difficult.
“The conditions are tough, but that’s not an excuse. We wanted to do it, but it’s not there today. “
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It was difficult to reconcile this poor performance with the dazzling performance of Friday night’s win over Mexico. But combining the two gives the USMNT four points from a two-match window in CONCACAF qualifying, and still leaves it in the position of automatically earning a spot in the 2022 World Cup pitch.
The Americans currently have five points from four road games, slightly above the “home win, draw on road” standard that tends to warrant qualifying in this format. However, they are also two points behind at home because of a 1-1 draw in September against Canada. Their 15 points from 8 matches are 3 more points than they earned in all 10 qualifying matches when they failed to qualify for Russia 2018.
Reaching the standard won’t be easy. Not that it ever was.
“It’s a tough situation, it really is,” Berhalter said. “Ball control, playing is a challenge. You can chalk it up just like that. It was challenging field conditions, and the movements weren’t always clean. It’s something you can’t control.”
This is not something Musah encountered often while growing up in Italy or later England, where he trained in Arsenal’s youth program. Pristine pitches prevailed when he moved to Spain to join Valencia in 2019, and that’s what happened in Cincinnati – even in the rain – as the USMNT dominated the Mexican rivals for the title. won 2-0 and took first place in the final round of World Cup qualifying.
However, after that moment in the 18th minute, Musah seemed to give up the skill that made him such a force against Mexico. With quarterback Weston McKennie out for a yellow card suspension – and Musah muted and compatriot Gianluca Busio just a shadow of hesitation in the first game of qualifying – the Americans lacked motivation. them four days before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mHHurVMOOM
Berhalter allowed that he thought Musah was bothered by the conditions, then told Sporting News he was also bothered by a case of strep throat.
Berhalter told SN: “We can tell that it is harming him. “I don’t want this to be related to the field, I really don’t want to. It is the same for both teams. We have enough time to move the ball. It is difficult, but we have enough time. And it’s just something you have to deal with. And we’re used to dealing with that. ”
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Are they, though? The majority of the USMNT still only competed in a few top lane CONCACAF qualifiers. The apprehension was great for many of the Tuesday players. A lot of situations that could have become dire have developed because players expect balls to roll at their feet, only to watch them die and be defeated by an opponent. There were passes in the direction of teammates that lacked the speed needed, including one to Steffen that was so slow that it almost gave Jamaica another simple scoring chance.
That’s what happened in the play that set up Reid, with US right-back DeAndre Yedlin waiting too long to pursue what should have been a simple clearance. Jamaica was able to make a cross to the far post instead, where left-back Antonee Robinson attempted to clear it for the Americans. Instead, he hit Reid’s goal. What should have been a simple touch hit the crossbar because Reid panicked.
In the 84th minute, Lowe chased Jamaica’s corner right in front of goal, but he was suspended again and edged past defender Walker Zimmerman to head the ball over the bar. Berhalter said he quickly heard the whistle, so he believes Costa Rican referee Juan Gabriel Calderon has convinced his call.
“When you think about the youth of this group, the lack of experience of this group in the CONCACAF qualifiers, we are on the right track,” said Berhalter. “Just thinking about it, you don’t often hit a spot in a qualifying competition, one location is freezing cold, and the next is this tropical climate.
“Most of the continents, when they have qualifying, the weather is fine. So we’re going to go through a lot here, man. We are learning. The boys did a great job of that. We will hold our position now and focus on 2022.”
Just to be clear, what he meant was that the remaining six matches in the qualifiers would be in the new year – not “Qatar 2022”.
The Americans are not there yet. And the road to get there will be bumpy.
