Sunday night’s Concacaf Nations League final between the United States and Mexico was the craziest game I have ever seen. Period.
The game had everything on and off the field, including a fan parkouring off the Paramount+ set to evade security. The fact that a fan taking a plunge into the stands from the broadcast booth isn’t big news goes to show how nutty this Concacaf classic was.
Estados Unidos se coronó campeón de la Nations League de la Concacaf, luego de vencer a México por 3-2, en un partido que fue un verdadero remolino de emociones.
Hubo goles, múltiples llegadas a los pórticos, amagues de batallas campales, VAR, prórroga y hasta un penal perdido en el minuto 123.
A sensational, helter skelter Concacaf Nations League final between the USMNT and Mexico in Denver, Colorado, was ultimately won 3-2 by the home nation after a 120-minute match that included sensational moments of play, godawful refereeing, raucous fan behavior, five goals and a backup goalkeeper making a decisive penalty save at the death.
The story of the Reyna family is well-known on the pitch. Claudio excelled for the USMNT, winning 112 caps and playing at three World Cups, and his 18-year-old son Gio has already shown early signs of usurping his genius.
On Sunday evening, Gio scored his third senior U.S. goal in only his seventh appearance. It was his first competitive goal for the USMNT, serving as a 27th minute equalizer against Mexico in the Concacaf Nations League final.
"El Partido Que Nadie Quiere Perder", hoy tiene un nuevo capítulo. En Denver, Colorado, México y Estados Unidos vuelven a enfrentarse, esta vez para decidir al campeón de la Nations League de la Concacaf.
It’s easy to forget given the pathetic showing that followed, but the U.S. men’s national team entered the 2006 World Cup as one of the top-ranked teams in the world. The USMNT reached a No. 4 FIFA ranking in April 2006, though that fell slightly to No. 5 by the time the World Cup rolled around in Germany.
To this day, the No. 4 ranking remains the highest the USMNT has ever reached. After the 2006 World Cup, which included two defeats and a draw, the U.S. plummeted to No. 31 and has been stuck around No. 20 (plus or minus 10) in the decade-and-a-half since.
Imagine you get to ask the first American male to win the UEFA Champions League one singular question. What would you ask? Christian Pulisic is sitting there on the other end of the Zoom call staring into your soul awaiting your question. The pressure is on.
This was the situation I found myself in on Wednesday. Concacaf was kind enough to give me — an aspiring 22-year-old sports media graduate who just finished college last month — media accreditation to attend Nations League press conferences and the semifinal matches.
Still awake? The USMNT and Honduras did battle in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals for a grueling 90 minutes on Thursday with the U.S. claiming a 1-0 victory. The game featured at least five Honduras players being taken out on a stretcher (they magically healed and were quick to get back on the field). The fact that four Concacaf stretcher girls produced the most noise from the crowd is a testament to the overall performance.
The excitement around the USMNT is warranted. The quality of our young core is evident in the roll call of clubs they play for: Barcelona, Juventus, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund among them.
But the expectations have to be tempered. These players are still developing, which is also evident in the roles they play for those teams. Gio Reyna started the highest percentage of league games with BVB at 67.6%, followed by Dest with Barça (60.5%) and then Pulisic with the Blues (47.4%) and McKennie with the Old Lady (47.4%).
Fresh off his contributions in the UEFA Champions League final, Christian Pulisic is expected to start Thursday when the United States men's national team faces Honduras in a CONCACAF Nations League semifinal in Denver.
Pulisic came on as a substitute in the 66th minute of Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Manchester City in Porto, Portugal. In a prime scoring chance, Pulisic had a shot that went just wide of the left post with an opportunity to give Chelsea a two-goal lead.