World Soccer - UK (2021-10)

WORLDSERVICE

Forlorn...Qatar’s playersaredistraughtafter concedinga late goalagainsttheUSA in thesemi-finals

inthe winoverCanada,again 1 -0.Shaq

Moore openedthescoringinthefirst

minuteof thematchbut,fromthenon,

theCanadianswerethe best teamand

justcouldn’tfindtheirwayto thegoal

ofthe always-excellentMattTurner.

Thewin secureda placein the

knockoutround,butthe roaddidn’tget

anyeasierfromthere.Schalke’s young

forwardMatthewHoppe,just oneoffour

European-basedplayersinthesquad,

unlockeda toughmatchagainst a

physicalJamaicain thequarter-finals.

TheUnitedStatesdid notperformbadly,

butitwasnotenoughtoallay doubts.

Andif theStars andStripeswere

superiortotheirrivalsinthe quarter-

finals,thesamecouldnotbesaidfor the

semis.The

opponents

wereQatar,

invitedtothe

competition,

whoarrived

withafull-strength squadandwhohad

surprisedwithanentertaining,offensive

stylethroughoutthe tournament.

During long stretchesofthematch,

theQatarisweremuchbetter,butthey

encounteredanextraordinaryTurner

inthe Americangoal,andevenhad

a penaltyinthesecondhalf,buttheir

madeupofmostlyMLSplayers.
Nobody, noteventhemostloyalfans,
thoughtthatthisteamwasin a position
towinthecompetition,especiallysince
Mexicochosetheoppositepath.Fired
upbythepreviousdefeat,coachGerardo
“Tata”Martinodecidedtobeteverything
onthe tournamentandbringhis best
availablesquad.Barringtheabsence
ofinjuredattackerHirvingLozano,and
goalkeeperandcaptainGuillermo
Ochoa,itwas,sotospeak,Mexico’s
A Teamagainst USA’sC Team.
Throughoutthecompetition,despite
makingitthroughtherounds,the doubts
generated by Berhalter’steamdidnot
cease.TheUnitedStatesopenedthe
tournament with a drawnout1-0 win
overHaiti,where an earlygoalbySam
Vines somewhatmaskedcriticismfor
notbeingabletofullycounter the
physicalgameoftheCaribbeans.
After a 6-1 victoryovertheweak
Martinique,thequestionsreturned

Victory...USA

playerscelebrate

withthetrophy

Playerofthe

Tournament...

Mexicomidfielder

Hector Herrera

Itwas,sotospeak,

Mexico’sATeamagainst

USA’sCTeam

captainHassanAlHaydossenthis effort

overthebar. Whenthematchseemed

destinedfor extra-time,Gyasi Zardes

• who, at 29,was theteam’s oldest
  outfieldplayer – finishedoffagreat
  passfromNicholasGioacchinitoseal
  theUnitedStates’tickettothe final.
  Thereawaiteda Mexicoteamthat
  wereconsidered bigfavouritesdue
  tothe experience andqualityoftheir
  players,inspiteof thefactthatthey
  hadn’tplayedparticularlywellinthe
  tournament.But theStars andStripes
  wereuptothetask.
  Despitebeingterritoriallydominated,
  appealingtoorderand discipline,Gregg
  Berhalter’sboysmanagedtolimitElTri’s
  offensivepowerandevengenerated
  thetwoclearest chancesofthematch
  againsttherun of play.TwicestrikerPaul
  Arriolacameclosetoscoring,buthe was
  prevented:first by Mexicogoalkeeper
  AlfredoTalavera,thenlaterbythepost.
  Thegameended0-0in regulation
  time,and when,afteratense overtime
  perioda penaltyshootoutseemedalmost
  inevitable,thewinninggoalarrived.Every
  timethe UnitedStateshadachance on
  setpiecestherewasa senseofdanger,
  andfinallytheUSMNTfinishedthejob
  inthatway.A fine,curledcrossbyKellyn
  AcostafoundMilesRobinson,whobeat
  Talaveratospringtheupset.
  Thiswas theUSA’s seventhtitleinthe
  GoldCup – secondtoMexico’s11 –and,
  coupledwith thetriumphinthe Nations
  League, hasswungthe pendulumagain
  towardstheAmericansideaftera
  decadeof Aztecrule.
  WithQatar 2022 justaround
  thecorner, thefuture looksbrightfor
  Berhalterandhisyoungteam.Whilein
  thealways-unstableMexico,the waters
  arebeginningtobecomemuddyinwhat,
  before thesummer, wasa honeymoon
  periodfor GerardoMartinoand the
  impatientMexicansupporters.