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The U.S. men’s national team’s Copa America dream ended with a lack of fight and intensity from the players and that theme continued on Saturday in the program’s first match following the summer failure.
Mikey Varas’ squad fell 2-1 at Children’s Mercy Park to CONCACAF rivals Canada, suffering their third-consecutive defeat and fifth overall this calendar year. Despite a much improved effort after halftime, the Americans started the match slow and ultimately were sloppy at times in possession.
Errors from Tim Ream and Johnny Cardoso led to a pair of Canada goals scored by Nashville SC’s Jacob Shaffelburg and Lille’s Jonathan David. Second-half substitutions such as Aidan Morris and Luca De La Torre showed promise, but ultimately it wasn’t a good enough performance yet again from the USMNT.
“The mentality is on the players, they know it,” Varas told reporters. “We speak the truth to each other. I love those guys. But they know that mentality to fight, to run and to sacrifice, I can’t do that for them. That’s on them.
“I’m not a psychologist, so I don’t know,” he added. “I felt that the trainings were intense. They were aggressive. But when the game comes, you gotta get going. And the players are the ones that bring that. Coaches can only get you so far from a mentality perspective.”
Varas was selected as interim head coach during the September window as U.S. Soccer continued to try and lock down its long-term coach for the program. A former USMNT U-20 head coach and assistant coach on Gregg Berhalter’s staff, Varas is familiar with the squad and the style of play that they are familiar with.
However, the lack of intensity and overall pride on Saturday is a worrying sign for the USMNT, who have suffered three-straight losses for the first time since 2015. Veteran defender Tim Ream, who challenged his teammates’ intensity after the program’s Copa America elimination in July, once again echoed…
Source link : https://sbisoccer.com/2024/09/usmnt-lacked-fight-intensity-in-shocking-loss-to-canada
Author : Larry Henry Jr
Publish date : 2024-09-08 14:14:34
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