Feeling the Heat down at The Office and the Cold up at Icetca
The US had their best performance ever since Gregg Berhalter took ever as coach when they beat Mexico 2–0 on Friday, November 12th. Surely, this team would ride the high from this result and play well against a Jamaican team they beat 2–0 back in October, right? Well, it’s safe to say CONCACAF is always full of surprises and we were reminded of how Jamaica is a tough place to visit.
This young US squad is very talented but still relatively inexperienced at the international level. There are things you see and deal with on the road in CONCACAF that you simply won’t encounter in another part of the world which can be intimidating and something you overlook. This team seems to be comfortable when playing at home and ready to go in the big games. That doesn’t seem to always be the case when they go on the road and play an opponent on paper they should probably beat.
You knew the first game against El Salvador would be tough since it was the first game for this young squad and the Salvadorans showed they are a team to watch out for in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The game ended in a disappointing scoreless tie. The next road game was in Honduras which found the US against the wall at first after falling behind 1–0. The second half was a US romp as the Americans scored four second half goals against a tired Honduran squad that had no answer. Panama has become a tough place to visit and with head coach Thomas Christiansen getting the most out of a surprising Panamanian squad, you knew this game wouldn’t be easy. Even then, a questionable lineup and game plan lead to a flat US performance and Panama took advantage to win 1–0.
The US rid themselves of those woes by winning the next game against Costa Rica and then followed up with a complete performance vs Mexico. However, a visit to Jamaica’s National Stadium, known as The Office, was next. The US actually won on their last visit there in 2013, but it’s not a venue many teams have success in. A combination of the local climate where Jamaica’s heat and humidity are a factor plus having to play a tough Jamaican squad that usually features a lot of strength and speed makes for an uncomfortable visit to a tropical paradise.
The US got off to a good start as they were pressuring the Jamaican goal and their efforts were rewarded by Timothy Weah scoring in the 11th minute to give the US an early lead. The US continued with pressure and created some other chances that forced goalkeeper Andre Blake to make some key saves. Everything seemed to be going right until Jamaica’s Michail Antonio found some space and fired a rocket shot past goalkeeper Zack Steffen. After this, the game was never the same as the US seemed to be unsettled by the sudden Jamaican goal. The constant pressure ended and Jamaica started to become more comfortable on the field to the point where they started creating more chances.
Bobby Reid received a ball in the area thanks to an Antonee Robinson mistake, but he fired the shot over Steffen’s goal. Berhalter tried to give the US another push by sending in Pulisic in the second half. Pulisic gave a good effort but the team was flat compared to the game vs Mexico and there wasn’t a click or even a clear scoring chance that was created. Damion Lowe seemed to have given Jamaica the lead in the 84th minute when he scored on a corner kick, but the referee determined he fouled Walker Zimmerman in the process so the goal was waved off. Replays showed there didn’t really appear to be a foul as the contact was minimal if there was any, so the US caught a huge break. The teams didn’t do any more damage to each other and the game finished in a 1–1 draw.
When the US has a bad result, the blame is quickly thrown at coach Berhalter’s way. However, I don’t think that’s the case as he didn’t make any questionable lineup decisions and the team seemed to be aware of the game plan. They simply didn’t execute and had a flat performance. It looked pretty bad after a very good outing vs Mexico only a couple days before. It’s clear going on the road against a team the US should beat still appears to be very tough on this young, inexperienced squad. Hopefully, this is something time will fix as they get more used to these kinds of matches. Additionally, Jamaica always plays the US very tough and especially recently. Even when the US wins, it’s usually after struggling to break through Jamaican lines as coach Theodore Whitmore has figured out how to make things difficult for the States.
Elsewhere in CONCACAF, El Salvador jumped to a quick start as they took an early lead in Panama. That would the last highlight of the night for the Salvadorans as Panama ran all over them the rest of the game. The only reason El Salvador went to halftime with a lead was due to the heroic saves of goalkeeper Mario Gonzalez. In the second half, Panama finally broke through and came back to win 2–1. Panama’s good form continues under coach Thomas Christiansen and they have made playing at their home stadium Rommel Fernandez not only uncomfortable for visitors, but a place you feel lucky to come out of alive. In Costa Rica, the Ticos took the lead in the first half but were then submitted to pressure by Honduras, who needed a good result after blowing 2–0 lead to Panama a couple days before. Honduras finally tied the game up in the second half thanks to Romell Quioto and the game appeared to be up for grabs. Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas made some huge saves and Gerson Torres scored a late winner to keep the World Cup dream alive for the Ticos.
The heavyweight matchup between Canada and Mexico closed out the evening in frigid Edmonton. Pregame pictures showed a stadium and field that was completely covered in snow. Game time temperature was 19 degrees which made the Commonwealth Stadium’s nickname more appropriate: the Iceteca. Canadian coach John Herdman made a big change and started Alphonso Davies as a forward instead of his usual fullback position. Herdman clearly noticed how the US used pressure and speed to their advantage against Mexico and wanted to try use Davies up top due to his explosive pace. The first half was devoid of many scoring chances as both teams struggled to find their place on the field due to the conditions. Mexico seemed a bit more connected at times and put together some passes, but never threatened the Canadian goal. Canada seemed a bit too excited at times and couldn’t string more than two passes together. They were unable to take advantage of their speed and the conditions as the slippery field opens up opportunities to shoot at the goal from distance as the goalkeeper will have a hard time stopping strong shots on goal more than usual.
It appeared the game might remain scoreless going into halftime until Alistair Johnston stole a ball in the midfield. Johnston had a couple options to pass but decided to shoot on goal. Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa will tell you he could’ve done better with his attempted save, but he spilled out the ball in front of him where Cyle Larin pounced and scored to give Canada a lead going into halftime. On a night when it seemed like pretty soccer wasn’t something you’d see much of, guts and effort appeared to be the keys to victory. Canada showed more of it leading up to halftime and this continued in the second half resulting in the Canadians being awarded a free kick close to the Mexican goal. Stephen Eustaquio sent in a cross that left Ochoa in no man’s land as it was in his area but Cyle Larin made a good run to the point where Ochoa remained at bay to stop a possible shot on goal. Larin beat him to the spot and doubled the lead for Canada.
Mexico didn’t really start making plays until later in the second half when time was running out. The interesting thing is that Mexico made Canada earn their win as they scored a goal to make it an interesting final couple of minutes. Canada has a very solid team, but other than Alphonso Davies, their weakness is their very slow backline. Whenever teams have had a shot to go right at them, they’ve been pretty successful but the midfield and Davies have done a good job of dictating the pace of the game to not put their backline in tough spots. However, Mexico almost pushed Canada all the way to a tie, as Jorge Sanchez appeared to have possibly tied the game on a corner. However, replays showed that the ball hit the line right as goalkeeper Milan Borjan stopped it and kept it from crossing almost miraculously. Mexico made another push but was unsuccessful and the final whistle blew on all around solid night for the Canadians.
Canada’s win pushed them to the top of the standings and it gave them their first win over Mexico since the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup. At the time, that was a huge upset but that was far from the case in this situation as Canada played Mexico tough in two recent games and had wrestled a tie down in Mexico City. Canada remains the only unbeaten team in the region and they appear well on their way to the World Cup, which could end up a 36-year drought of not qualifying. Herdman has done a great job of utilizing the assets he has as he always seems to press the right buttons to get the results he needs from this team.
That ends the 2021 portion of the CONCACAF final round of World Cup Qualifying. From the beginning, I said Mexico, the United States, and Canada would be top three, but I didn’t expect Canada to be at the top of the standings at any point. They could very well collapse, but Canada has too solid of a squad and a coach that understands his team too well for that to happen. The United States has their 3 toughest road games left as they have yet to visit Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica. I don’t think the States will have any issues qualifying as I see them winning all their remaining home games, but it’ll be important to see how this young, talented squad that struggles on the road performs in the venues they have to visit as this will tell us a lot of how they could possibly perform on the big stage if they qualify for the World Cup. Even with all the issues Mexico is facing, I find it hard to believe they won’t qualify as there’s too much talent, they just need to find the right starting lineup and bench players to be the fine-tuned machine they can be. The final round always finds a way to be exciting and come down to the final matchday and I have a feeling that’ll continue this time around. Make sure to watch the game and catch my recaps after they happen. There’s a lot to look forward to.
