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Youthful USMNT hope to continue upward trend in Gold Cup quarters vs. Jamaica
By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer
Like most things, how one believes this absurdly inexperienced, almost entirely second-string version of the United States men’s national team has fared in the CONCACAF Gold Cup so far depends largely on perspective.
The pessimists, many of them no doubt still triggered by the USMNT's epic failure to reach the 2018 World Cup, see a team that should have produced more convincing group-stage victories against Haiti and Canada than the pair of narrow 1-0 wins they managed without nearly 20 top European-based regulars involved.
The optimists, on the other hand, cite the facts that the U.S. topped a group that contained an almost full-strength Canadian squad and were one of two teams at the regional championship (along with Costa Rica) to go 3-0 in the first round while scoring the most goals of any team and owning the best goal differential.
They’ve pitched two shutouts and allowed just one goal — from the penalty spot — heading into Sunday’s quarterfinal against Jamaica (10 p.m. ET, FS1). And they’ve done it with a group of young pros with virtually no meaningful international experience to speak of.
Given all that, it isn’t surprising to learn which side of the argument U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter falls on.
"When you think about the youth that we have competing against these other teams’ strongest rosters," Berhalter told FOX Sports ahead of Sunday’s match in Arlington, Texas, "we’re doing something right."
The 6-1 drubbing of Martinique on July 15 featured the youngest U.S. lineup on record for a competitive match, with an average age of 23 years, 84 days. But perhaps the more eye-popping stat that night was this one: The starters averaged just five caps.
That wasn’t necessarily by design. Sure, Berhalter and his staff wanted to use this Gold Cup to give some of the fringe players crucial reps against the teams the Americans will meet when World Cup qualifying kicks off in September. But he was not banking on three of the most experienced members of the squad — Paul Arriola, Reggie Cannon and Walker Zimmerman — going down with injuries before or during group play.
"It’s certainly not how we drew it up," Berhalter said. "But when injuries happen, it’s very much a ‘next man up’ mentality to see who can perform and thrive in this environment. The level of competitiveness is going to be increased in knockout games, and those are the kind of conditions that we need to expose these guys to for World Cup qualifying."
As satisfied as he is with his team’s performance so far, it’s not as if Berhalter doesn’t see room for improvement. While the U.S. backline has been stingy despite losing defenders Cannon and Zimmerman, scoring chances against Canada proved hard to come by. The one U.S. shot on net was Shaq Moore’s goal in the opening minute.
Defenses figure to be similarly stingy in the knockout stage. And it’s not clear how Berhalter will deploy his attackers, with Daryl Dike, Matthew Hoppe, Gyasi Zardes and possibly 17-year-old Cade Cowell — who was summoned Tuesday to train with the team and could be added as an injury replacement (presumably for Arriola) up to 24 hours before Sunday’s contest — vying for minutes up top.
"In the Canada game, we played with two strikers, and we’ve never done that before," Berhalter said. "There was this natural lack of cohesion in the performance because of that."
A mid-match switch to a five-man backline blunted the Reds’ onslaught. That’s another benefit of this Gold Cup for the U.S.: the chance to test-drive tactics before qualifying begins. Berhalter has already shown a willingness to mix up schemes this summer; in June’s rousing Nations League victory over rival Mexico, he surprised El Tri with a 3-5-2 setup. "It’s really important to have the ability to play different formations established in the group," the coach said.
In the big picture, what really matters is making it to Qatar 2022. Still, "I haven’t said once to the group, ‘This is your opportunity to make a World Cup qualifying team,’" Berhalter said.
"It was very intentional how we planned the roster for this tournament. We wanted to give guys international experience. The message for this group of young players is to continue to improve, learn what international soccer is about. And despite the fact that we’re fielding such a young team, they’re performing to good levels. I’m proud of them for the way they’ve played so far."
One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
