For both the USMNT and Canada, the Nations League third-place match has nearly as much at stake as the tournament finale
LOS ANGELES – In an unexpected way, Mauricio Pochettino and the U.S. men's national team actually got exactly what they were looking for: a competitive game with real stakes. Canada, CONCACAF Nations League, Sunday – only the kickoff will be in the afternoon local time, not the prime-time slot.
This won't be a tournament final – rather, the third-place game. There will be no trophy to lift. The USMNT's 1-0 loss to Panama in the semifinals Thursday ensured that. It also ensured that, for the first time in this competition's four-year history, someone other than the U.S. will be the champion – either Mexico or Panama.
Tough pill to swallow.
Yet … this isn't a normal third-place game. These are typically after-thought affairs, a chance for rotation after a deflating defeat. Not this time. This game is suddenly pressure-packed, with nearly as much on the line as the tournament finale – or perhaps more. Both the U.S. and Canada have so much to prove, so much to show after their semifinal defeats.
The U.S. will need to show something different. They were flat and uninspired against Panama, despite all that was at stake. They can't afford that again. Pochettino will likely make changes, but there is a question of who and how many. He'll need Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie his stars to help his team play their way out of this self-inflicted mess.
"I think that game didn't describe and doesn't describe how we are as a team, as individuals, as players, as coaches, as a U.S. men's national team," Pochettino said. "For different reasons, that can happen, but we need to improve.
GOAL takes a look at five key storylines as the USMNT take on Canada at 6 pm ET at SoFi Stadium.
Getty ImagesGio Reyna, Diego Luna and creating
In the second half of Thursday's loss, it became glaringly obvious: the USMNT needed a creative spark. Panama were making the game narrow and spaces were getting tighter. The USMNT was going to need to find a way to play through a wall, to thread a needle to get their goal.
To their credit, they did twice. Patrick Agyemang had two opportune looks on goal, but couldn't put either home. The chances were there, but without someone to jump on them – someone such as Gio Reyna or Diego Luna. Both have their drawbacks: Reyna's lack of form and Luna's lack of experience.
At that point in the game, though, the risk would have been worth the reward. The U.S. needed someone on the field who was willing to try things, with Pochettino saying players "need to trust that they can make a mistake and that the mistake is to not try again. For me, that is the most important. People that take risks is what we want, what we love – and we cannot play football without risk."
Winning the possession battle, which the USMNT overwhelmingly did, means little without scoring.
"It's like we played without goals, but the objective is to score," Pochettino said. "We prepare and we attack the opponent and that's about finding the possibility to go after it and scoring. We really enjoyed keeping possession and playing and playing and playing, but we didn't score."
Pochettino admitted that he was prepared to turn to both Reyna and Luna in extra time – but a Panama goal in the 94th minute ensured that the USMNT never got there.
He should have made the switch earlier. With Panama struggling to threaten, the U.S. had four central midfielders on the field in various spots and none were consistently creating. The double pivot of Tanner Tessmann and Tyler Adams wasn't necessary. The introduction of Jack McGlynn made some sense, but he didn't solve the problem.
Pochettino said that you can expect to see Luna and Reyna on Sunday, and rightfully so. Both have a point to prove and both will offer something that the U.S. was sorely lacking. It's too late to change that outcome, but Pochettino will hope that one of those two can make an impact against Canada.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe need for goals
While the ability to create goalscoring chances is crucial, actually finishing those chances is even more important. The USMNT lacked that on Thursday, too.
There were a number of opportunities against Panama, and if any one of them had gone the USMNT's way, it would be a different discussion. It was a perfect combination of wastefulness and bad luck.
"I don't want to say that you don't care, but I think you take it in a more relaxed way," Pochettino said of the approach. "I think that game, we all felt that the opportunity would appear and that we would score and win the game and we celebrate and go to the final on Sunday. I think that was the feeling on the pitch, for you, for players, for us.
"That is the wrong feeling because you need to score, you need to be aggressive. You need to score two, three, four and then, OK, maybe relax in the few minutes. But, until then, that was a problem."
Josh Sargent had two of those chances, one off the post and one ruled out due to an offside call long before he hit the back of the net. Patrick Agyemang had a one-on-one saved before then flipping a Christian Pulisic pass up and over the bar. Four looks at goal, any of which could have booked the USMNT a spot in Sunday's finale against Mexico.
Now they're against Canada, who have a clinical striker of their own in Jonathan David. Sargent has been fantastic for Norwich, but that clinical finishing has been absent from his USMNT game for years. He hasn't scored since 2019 in a U.S. shirt. It would be a damn good time to get one. As for Agyemang, this was his third cap and you give him credit for making an impact off the bench.
One of the strikers needs to step up – and that explicity means scoring. Goals are a striker's currency, and the USMNT can't afford to have their forwards remain broke through Sunday.
They could also use a jolt from Pulisic, who completed just 23 of his 35 passes, had just one shot off blocked away and failed to create a chance against Panama.
"Just lacking a bit of aggressiveness and creativity in the final third," Pulisic said after the match. "We're still building our identity. This is a tough loss. We've won this tournament a couple of times now and it didn't go our way this year, but we just have to keep going from here."
ImagnA decision in net
Let Tony Meola explain it.
"That ball can't end up in the back of the net," the former US goalkeeper said on CBS after Thursday's match. "I look at the angle Matt Turner took and… yes, the pace of the shot, not going to take anything away from the goalscorer, but in this moment, at this time, Turner is a bit tucked in there [at goal] and… his feet are planted and he doesn't have that explosion. I'm not blaming Turner, but those are moments where you have to find a way."
Meola offered a theory as to why Turner couldn't quite find a way – his lack of playing time at the club level. It's no secret that Turner hasn't played much this season. After months of this conversation, it's time to ask: should Turner continue to start?
Pochettino, ultimately, is the one to make that call. He has Patrick Schulte and Zack Steffen in the team, and both will feel they've done enough to earn this chance. Turner, though, has history on his side. It would be harsh to rule him out based on one tough goal. Turner will have much to prove if he is given the nod again.
Getty ImagesContaining Canada
This may be a third-place match, but that doesn't mean it will be easy. Canada is a team that is at an entirely different level than Panama, which means Sunday's game will look very different.
While Panama were content to sit back and pick their spot, Canada will certainly believe they can play with the USMNT. They have reason to. They beat the U.S. 2-1 last September after finishing fourth at a Copa America in which the USMNT got grouped. The 2-0 loss to Mexico Thursday was frustrating, yes, but Canada had their chances and left SoFi Stadium feeling hard done by VAR.
Of the two teams, Canada are arguably more dynamic. Alphonso Davies is incredible. Jonathan David is the best striker in CONCACAF. Cyle Larin is a proven weapon, while newer faces like Ismael Kone and Moise Bombito are coming into their own. You can't fall asleep against Canada. They will punish an opponent much more viciously than Panama can.
"The U.S., from what I've heard from the camp, is internally disappointed with the performance," said Canada boss Jesse Marsch. "The media here in the U.S. has been very aggressive about how disappointed they were in this team and now have turned a little bit and put it towards the players.
"We would be foolish if, based on those two factors, we don't expect a hard, real game and a big response from the USMNT. That being said, our guys are excited. we're excited about the challenge."
For the USMNT, that challenge is going to be difficult. Canada will also be feeling pressure to prove themselves on the road to 2026. This is a measuring stick for both, and whoever loses will have a lot of thinking to do.
