USA 3 - 2 Mexico - CONCACAF Nations League Final

Discussion in 'Sports' started by CenterField, Jun 7, 2021.

  1. CenterField

    CenterField Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Hugely entertaining soccer match! Christian Pulisic scored the winner from the spot after he drew the penalty himself, and Ethan Horvath saved a last-minute penalty to secure the victory.

    Seeing Pulisic being decisive in a win for country, 8 days after he won the UEFA Champions League for club, was very nice.

    The game was marred by despicable behavior by some Mexican fans who engaged in anti-gay chants and threw numerous objects onto the field, including, causing Giovanni Reyna to need medical assistance when he was hit in the face.

    Beating Mexico and earning the first ever Nations League trophy was extremely satisfactory, especially in view of the behavior of some Mexican fans.

    USA! USA! USA!
     
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  2. Montegriffo

    Montegriffo Well-Known Member

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    Football fans are the worst.
    Fans booed England players yesterday for taking the knee to protest racism.
     
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  3. Talon

    Talon Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    HUGE win for the USMNT!

    This is a young team with a lot of upside and they might have taken a big step last night.

    Another thing that was great to see was how well their young stars Pulisic (22 yo), McKennie (22 yo) and Reyna (18 yo) played. You always want to see your best players step up in the big matches and all three scored against Mexico. Pulisic was particularly good on set pieces and it was great to see him get the opportunity to score the winning goal (which he did).

    I'm excited about this team. It looks like the new management, coaching staff and players have turned things around since the 2018 debacle, but there's a lot of soccer/football to play between now and the next WC.

    In the meantime, we're going to enjoy this victory...:beer:
     
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2021
  4. CenterField

    CenterField Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    It is interesting to notice that we now have no fewer than 10 players in our USMNT who played in the last edition of the most prestigious club competition in the world, reserved for the best of the best, the UEFA Champions League (including, of course, Pulisic, who not only played in the UCL, but actually won it, being the first male American soccer player to do so!). This is likely to be a level of international quality that is unprecedented for the USMNT, and these players are young! So, this bodes well for the future of the USMNT. Yes, the pain of the 2018 debacle may very well be behind us for good. Hey, I'm not saying that we're about to win the World Cup, LOL, but this is a good team.

    Also, it was great to see that this young team did not panic under pressure. They suffered a goal with 1 minute of play, in a defensive error, which could be enough to crush a young and inexperienced team, but they came from behind to tie the game. Then they suffered another goal, and were again behind 1-2... and tied again, then scored the go-ahead goal. This team has a lot of resilience and fighting spirit.
     
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2021
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  5. Talon

    Talon Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I think you really hit it in your last paragraph why this team may have taken a huge step on Sunday, CF. They gave up a bad goal early, played from behind most of the night and it seemed that Mexico dominated the time of possession but our boys dug in and did what they needed to gut out a win. I don't know about you, but I'm perfectly happy watching our women win pretty and our men win ugly :D.

    At the risk of sounding like a broken record I can't help but repeat how impressed I was with their set pieces, particularly corners. Pulisic's accuracy was remarkable, McKennie was all over his kicks and Reyna obviously did well positioning himself in front of the goal mouth to pick up rebounds. I think it made the difference for them in this game and if they can keep it up it will serve them well as they face better and more intense competition heading into and hopefully during the WC.

    Like I said, I'm excited about this team - I can't remember the USMNT ever having this much young high-caliber talent.
     

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