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USMNT 2, Mexico 0: Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna score in Nations League final stopped by homophobic chants

James Brown

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The United States men’s national team won its third consecutive CONCACAF Nations League final with a 2-0 victory over Mexico at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Tyler Adams opened the scoring just before halftime with a long-range shot in his first start for the United States in about a year and a half, while Gio Reyna added the United States’ second after providing two assists in the semi-final vs. Jamaica.

The match was stopped twice at the end after discriminatory chants were heard.

Here are our key takeaways…

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The song persists

As the match approached the 90th minute with the United States leading 2-0, fans could be heard shouting a discriminatory word at goal kicks that world governing body FIFA, CONCACAF and the Mexican federation have worked to eradicate. After each instance, a message was read over the stadium’s public address system in English and Spanish reminding fans of the federation’s policy regarding that chant.

As the screams persisted after goal kicks by American goalkeeper Matt Turner, Canadian referee Drew Fischer finally moved on to Step 1 of that anti-discrimination protocol, which requires that the match be stopped, that offenders be removed from the stadium and that the game is resumed.

When it appeared the match was over, with some fans even directing chants at Mexican goalkeeper Ochoa, Fischer once again paused the proceedings rather than ending the match, which the referee can also do per protocol.

GO DEEPER

The continuous struggles of the Mexican Federation to combat homophobic chants

Before Turner could take the final shot of the game, 40 seconds into the second break, the referee ended the game as fans filed out of the stadium.

CONCACAF, the governing body of football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, condemned the chants and added in a statement: “It is extremely disappointing that this matter continues to be an issue in some matches, particularly in the context of the next two years. presenting a tremendous opportunity to grow the sport in our region.

“We will continue to urge fans to support their teams in a positive manner and with respect for rivals and all participants in the game.”

jon arnold

Tyler Adams, from long distance

After two hamstring surgeries and a lot of rehab work and waiting, Tyler Adams left for the United States for the first time in 478 days. However, while the midfielder continues to work to regain full fitness, he was still limited, and American coach Gregg Berhalter was only able to play him for 45 minutes.

He used every last detail.

As the first half approached stoppage time, centre-back Tim Ream ran onto an errant corner and moved the ball towards Tim Weah, who found Weston McKennie further wide. McKennie then slid the ball towards Adams, who was about 30 meters from Guillermo Ochoa’s goal. Adams took a touch and then launched a right-footed rocket through the legs of Mexican midfielder Erick Sánchez and beat Ochoa to score an emphatic first goal.

Even before his great goal, Adams had made his presence felt in the middle of the field, blocking the path of opposing defensive midfielder Edson Álvarez when the West Ham United player took the ball early and dropped back to help the United States pass out of bounds. pressure when Mexico striker Henry Martin tried to win the ball from the American centre-backs.

Still, the goal, Adams’ first goal from outside the box, will be what everyone remembers from the performance.

“I’ve been training by passing him balls to hit from 30 yards… I’ve never seen him hit a ball like that,” Jesse Marsch, Adams’ former club coach, said on the Paramount+ broadcast.

Not a bad way to make your mark in 45 minutes of play.

jon arnold

Reyna’s interesting role

It’s fair to say that Gio Reyna loves the CONCACAF Nations League.

After scoring in the 2021 final and assisting on both goals in last year’s final against Canada, Reyna found the back of the net with a shot in the second half of this year’s final to double the USMNT’s lead.

However, Reyna spent parts of the first half taking deep possession on the left side trying to initiate the United States’ buildup from that deeper position. He is a similar role to that played by Weston McKennie, who often had the ball in that space in the World Cup against England and in several other USA matches, including the semi-final victory over Jamaica.

Most of Reyna’s touches in the first half came away from the offensive third, and the decision to place him in that role drew some criticism at halftime from CBS analysts, including Marsch, who was a candidate for the coaching job. from the United States last year. and former American forward Charlie Davies.

“I just don’t understand why we do all these complicated rotations and to me they were putting players in positions that don’t access their best qualities,” Marsch said. “We decided to put (Reyna) almost in a setup position as a left center back, and what you’ll see is that he doesn’t even look that comfortable… he’s making passes that Tyler Adams could easily make, that Tim Ream could easily make, something that players who have less quality than him can easily achieve. I think what makes Gio special is when you put him on the field and in tough spots where he has real options ahead of him to make meaningful plays.”

The United States had a pretty decent control of the game in the first half, and were finally rewarded when Adams scored with a laser. Reyna became more involved on the field in the second half, although Adams’ goal changed the way Mexico had to approach the final 45 minutes. Reyna’s position higher up the field allowed him to take advantage of a poor clearance by Mexico and volley into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.

Reyna, starting a competitive match for the first time since November 1, 2023, was replaced in the 79th minute by Yunus Musah as the United States looked to close out the result.

Pablo Tenorio

The results will decide

For nearly 90 minutes during Thursday’s semifinal against Jamaica, it felt as if the United States’ Nations League campaign would be seen as a disaster. The team never shook off the pain of conceding at the start of that game, and seemed unable to even formulate a possible response until well into the second-half break. In most cases, a late equalizer would cause the TV pundits to tear up their talking points and simply acknowledge the chaotic decider for the spectacle it was.

Not Clint Dempsey.

“That was stressful,” Dempsey said minutes after Cory Burke’s own goal. “To be honest, I haven’t really seen the United States play well since the last CONCACAF Nations League. And before that, the last time I saw them play well against England in the World Cup. I just haven’t been impressed with his game. They seem tired today. “We’re still in this, but man, it was almost panic stations.”

Sunday’s victory in a third successive Nations League extends an impressive record against Mexico in recent years, but those looking for style in this version of the national team would be forgiven for being disappointed by this window.

Five years ago, discussing Berhalter’s approach to the role focused on a style of play; Buzzwords like “verticality” were in vogue, and play patterns were carefully analyzed to track the program’s progress. However, since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, those marks are less obvious. This is what experts like Dempsey and CBS Sports colleague Jesse Marsch have focused on when questioning Berhalter’s credentials to lead this team to the Copa América and, ultimately, the 2026 World Cup.

This is life as an international manager in his second term. Poor results that a cycle ago would have been dismissed as “teachable moments” are now graded on a pass/fail basis. There is (almost) always a previous performance in a tournament that serves as a benchmark, and just meeting or exceeding those milestones will be enough to surpass a potential alternative on the sideline.

Berhalter’s players continue to support him. Having won another League of Nations and once again asserting his dominance over the region, there is indisputable evidence that the project is on the right track. At this point, either Berhalter’s team will continue to rack up wins (and thus justify a more pragmatic approach than some would like from these players) or they won’t. Only then is there an open question that needs an answer.

We will check it again during the Copa América.

Jeff Rueter

(Photo: Omar Vega/Getty Images)

By James Brown

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