The United States was clearly second-best after a 2-0 defeat to Canada north of the border that left the USMNT with plenty of work still to do to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
But head coach Gregg Berhalter didn’t share that same assessment at the end of the 90 minutes in Hamilton, Ontario and with four matches remaining in qualifying.
The USMNT boss felt that the United States “dominated” the match against Canada and that it was only missing the end product. He shared his analysis with media following the match with several points that are sure to have fans talking.
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What did Gregg Berhalter say after the loss to Canada?
Gregg Berhalter was direct from the start of his postmatch press conference, highlighting what he believed to be the positives of the performance.
“I think it was an entire team effort that was outstanding,” Berhalter said in his opening remarks. “We asked them to be dominant, we asked them to embrace the conditions, embrace the physicality of the opponent, and I think we did that and more.
“It’s hard for me to remember a more dominant performance away from home that didn’t produce a result. The result hurts. The performance doesn’t hurt. I’m proud of the guys and the way they competed.”
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“It was a dominant away performance without a win.”
Canada seemed to assert its physical and tactial dominance on the match, absorbing pressure to little harm while Jonathan David and Cyle Larin countered with blitzing breakaways when the space was available. They bullied Christian Pulisic, Sergino Dest, and every U.S. ball carrier, as the referee let the teams play.
But again, that’s not how Berhalter saw it.
“They couldn’t handle our physicality, that’s plain and simple,” Berhalter continued when asked about the physical style of play from Canada. “We were running them all over the pitch. When you look at duels won, when you look at our pressing, they were having a very, very hard time dealing with what we were giving them.”
Unfortunately, when you look at the duels, it doesn’t back up Berhalter’s statement. The United States held a whopping 64% possession, but with that, they only only managed success on 69/139 duels, including 19/43 aerial duels and 15/28 dribbles, and the U.S. still managed to commit 15 fouls to Cnaada’s 12. All told, Canada somehow managed to produce four shots on target to three for the U.S. That’s anything but “dominance” anywhere on the field.
While Berhalter recognized the quality of Canada’s players in attack, he separated their efficiency from the overall play exhibited by Les Rouges. Here was Berhalter’s take on the game put forth by his opponent, which was physically and tactically superior for large stretches of the match:
“I don’t think they dominated much of anything,” Berhalter said, “but one thing that separates Canada from the rest of the group is the quality of their strikers to finish a small amount of chances.”
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Despite 64 percent possession and a 13-8 shot advantage – two statistical categories in which the United States emerged superior – the USMNT managed just four shots on target and 0.87 expected goals. There was nothing “dominant” about the USA’s attacking threat, which produced just one truly clear-cut chance, as Weston McKennie’s header at the end of the first half was brilliantly saved by Milan Borjan.
Otherwise, there was little to savor from the match in its entirety. McKennie looked energetic, but he was unable to link up with the attackers in dangerous ways. Christian Pulisic again struggled to create opportunities for himself or others. Gyasi Zardes, surprisingly given the start up front instead of the electric Ricardo Pepi, was wholly ineffective. Even the back line struggled, with Miles Robinson spun around on Larin’s opening goal.
Speaking of the opening goal, the United States seemed shell-shocked by the early home advantage, with the raucus crowd at a high energy level and the United States in panic mode early. But Berhalter would not be drawn into anything other than positivity after a comprehensive border rivalry defeat.
“It’s one of those goals that, besides the scoreline, it didn’t impact the game too much,” Berhalter said. “We were on it, we were dominating, we were playing with a lot of physicality, a lot of speed in our play. Canada had a very hard time getting in a rhythm.”
Berhalter did show a glimmer of realism, stating “In terms of the finishing, I don’t think we created that many clear-cut chances that we should have finished off, so I don’t think today was an issue of poor finishing.” But he went right back to his original theme. “Overall, again, when we talked about what we needed to do win this game, we checked almost all the boxes we needed to, and that I’m pleased with.”
There’s still a great chance that the United States will qualify for the World Cup given the way the CONCACAF standings have shaken out, but at this point, there remain more questions than answers heading towards the big dance this winter.
USMNT team news
Berhalter also gave worrying updates on the status of two injured United States stars.
Tyler Adams limped off in the 69th minute, replaced by Kellyn Acosta and grabbing at his right hamstring. Berhalter confirmed that Adams has a “slight hamstring strain,” and despite his assertation that they are still assessing his status, it’s very possible that Adams plays no part in the final qualifier in this window. His presence is needed in the final push, and having him healthy for the March qualifiers is essential.
Worse off was Chris Richards, who came off the field with 10 minutes to go despite Berhalter having used all five available substitutions. That left the United States a man down for the final push.
It was for good reason. According to the head man, Richards could be dealing with a broken foot, which would leave him out of action for a significant amount of time. “Chris is likely out with a foot injury, maybe broken, we have to get the x-ray.”
Finally, Berhalter said that Walker Zimmerman was held out of the match against Canada with a hamstring problem, but said he would be available for the Honduras match to round out the window.
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