The last time the United States and Canada men’s national teams met, the Stars and Stripes won a match that featured many lapses in different situations. The United States took the match 1-0 with a goal as early as it was unexpected, and then it endured the constant onslaught of the Canadian eleven who sought parity by all possible means—especially during the second half of the match when they clearly dominated.
The long-suffered victory of Gregg Berhalter’s team was ultimately the best lesson these US boys had in terms of how difficult it is to achieve victories if you cannot maintain possession of the ball for more minutes throughout the game and not just the first half.
The words of coach Berhalter after the game precisely reflected his frustration because his team was not able to control the game or handle the ball in the second part of the match, and if it were not for the inoperative Canadian dominance, the story could have been written differently. The question that will be answered tomorrow at Nissan Stadium in Nashville is whether this United States team (with a little more maturity in its starting eleven) will be able to control time and possession for longer to avoid going through the same experience of that Gold Cup match. The difficult visit to the Cuscatlán stadium in the first match of the World Cup Qualifiers, which in the coach’s own words was a “learning experience” should be added to the other experiences learned during the previous game against Canada.
For its part, the Canadian team, more consolidated in its training and set-up, should try to do more of the same as it did in Children’s Park in Kansas City and not only try to maintain possession but above all go up on the scoreboard. You will have to entrust Les Rouges once again to Alphonso Davies as the fundamental piece in the creation of football. The frustrations of John Herdman—Canada’s coach—with the result of the previous game regarding little control of his team in the first half and the enormous possibility of having defeated the USA at home were anecdotes that should count as an incentive for the Canadians for this new challenge, which is even more important than the previous game as a qualifier for the World Cup.
If the attacking axis of Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic is confirmed as starter, this would add a very important element to a team with excellent young players of high level such as defender Sergiño Dest of Barcelona, goalkeeper Matt Turner who started in San Salvador, Dortmund striker Giovanni Reyna, and the great midfield talent of Juventus’ Weston McKennie.
Thus, the possible formations of both teams for the game in Nashville could be the following:
United States: Matt Turner; Sergiño Dest, John Brooks, Tim Ream, Miles Robinson, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Cristian Roldan, Geovanni Reyna, Josh Sargent, Konrad De la Fuente
Coach: Greg Berhalter
Canadá: Millan Borjan, Alistair Johnston, Steven Vitoria, Liam Millar; Junior Hoilett, Atiba, Hutchinson, Stephen Eustaquio, Richie Laryea, Alphonso Davies, Cyle Larin, Jonathan David
Coach: John Herdman
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