ClapThe international break continues to serve as both a blessing and a curse for football fans around the world, as we continue to battle through qualifiers and friendlies en-route to what is set to be a fascinating domestic season in leagues from Europe all the way over to North America.
Speaking of North America, we should probably touch on the one nation that continues to leave more questions than it does answers: and that is the United States. The USMNT, just a few years ago, was considered to be one of the rising stars of international football across the land. Alas, after failing to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, it’s safe to suggest that this is no longer the case.
As reported by MLS Soccer and US Soccer, they will come head to head with Uruguay this evening as they aim to negotiate an unlikely win in what can only be described as a miserable period for the national team.
Pushing back
The expectation is that they could wind up playing the kids as opposed to the old school stars that don’t appear to be taking them all too far.
They’re coming off the back of two major losses to Mexico, and the funny part is that the worst one wasn’t even the most important. The Mexicans were able to reign supreme over their neighbours in the Gold Cup final earlier on this year, which is a result that many folks had been anticipating. We personally felt like there was more cause for hope coming out of that game than we had initially anticipated, but in their friendly a few days ago, it felt like that hope evaporated.
Mexico defeated USMNT 3-0 and it was just all too comprehensive for our liking. There was no drive and no fight, and it was clear to see that they were afraid of their opposition.
One step at a time
Now, as we look ahead to this game, we feel like it’s really important for the squad to put in some kind of inspirational performance. Uruguay, as former winners of the World Cup and one of the greatest South American teams ever, are a great benchmark for the kind of point USMNT want to be at by the time their 2026 World Cup hosting duties roll around.
We aren’t going to pretend like their hopes and dreams for that tournament will hinge on one friendly game, but in terms of the ‘step by step’ of what they’re trying to accomplish, we would love nothing more than for them to shock the world and pull a positive result out of the bag.
In order to do so the boss needs to be more experimental, and he also can’t be afraid of Uruguay. They hardly lit the world on fire as they crashed out of the Copa America at the quarter-finals against Peru earlier on this year, and their golden generation seems to be slipping away with each and every passing game.
The time is now to strike.
