A lot of negative things have been said about Gregg Berhalter this past week: about his tactics, his man management, his team selection, all of that. All of this was demonstrated against Jamaica in an ugly match from which the United States barely escaped.
All of those concerns have their merits. But even if you’re the die-hard ‘Berhalter Out’ person, you’ve got to give him credit: the man knows how to beat Mexico.
He did it again tonight. Despite calls from American fans and former players for his job, the coach whose rehiring was considered controversial gave his team a huge morale boost ahead of the Copa America with a 2-0 victory over their biggest international rivals. Two to zero, once again.
Berhalter’s decision to start Adams, a player recovering from an injury, was closely scrutinized. Adams repaid the coach by scoring a spectacular goal from more than 30 yards out to send AT&T Stadium in Arlington into hysterics.
At least some people wondered if Gio Reyna should have been brought into the squad despite his lack of minutes at Nottingham Forest. That minority of critics was silenced when Reyna capitalized on a second-chance effort to double the USMNT’s lead.
“It never gets old to win titles with your country,” Reyna said with a smile after the match. Later that night he would be honored as player of the tournament.
Tyler Adams’ wonderful goal put the United States ahead and led them to a Nations League title
Adams is seen jumping into the arms of his national team coach, Gregg Berhalter.
This United States team won the country’s third CONCACAF Nations League title
This result is not likely to change the minds of anyone who is deeply in favor of “Berhalter Out.” They will point out some very clear facts that will reduce the quality of the victory.
Yes, this is a bad team from Mexico; has been a bad Mexico team for a while, quite possibly the worst in the nation’s history.
Yes, Jaime Lozano is the third person to coach Mexico in a period of just over a year with a black eye for the Mexican Football Federation.
Yes, Mexico hasn’t beaten the United States since a 3-0 victory at MetLife Stadium in September 2019.
But you have to give Berhalter this little credit: When people said he didn’t deserve the honor of coaching the United States men’s national team, he gave his nation a trophy: its third Nations League crown in three tries.
They almost didn’t arrive. A loss to Jamaica appeared to be on the cards since the Reggae Boys took a lead of less than a minute in the Americans’ Nations League semifinal match Thursday.
Throughout that match, the USMNT struggled to make an impact. They couldn’t break the back line, their shots seemed ineffective, their passing capricious, their runs and their play in the box disastrous.
But on the last shot of the game, Miles Robinson’s header deflected off Jamaican striker Cory Burke and into his own goal to level the game and force overtime.
Gio Reyna scored with a brilliant volley to make it 2-0 over his rivals in the second half
Berhalter, whose expulsion of Reyna in the World Cup caused a scandal, hugs the player
The victory came thanks to a pair of goals from Haji Wright, who took advantage of the Jamaicans’ fatigue to advance to the final.
There were changes to that squad. Berhalter, realizing that he could not start without a midfield presence, turned to Adams to start the match alongside Reyna after both came on as substitutes.
The Americans clearly had the advantage from the beginning. Adams’ goal was a long time coming, but it was a magnificent shot that sent the fans into hysterics.
Even with Adams out in the second half, the United States did not relent. A wonderful opportunity was cleared, but not enough. Reyna saw her opportunity and took advantage of it once past Ochoa. That infamous score, Two to Zero, came back to haunt Mexico once again.
The match became tense in the second half: Mexican Edson Álvarez (left) received a yellow card.
Homophobic chants rang out when Matt Turner kicked the ball, leading to two stoppages.
The fans didn’t like that. Last year, in the semifinals of the Nations League, when the Mexican team was losing heavily, fans began chanting homophobic slurs when the American goalkeeper took a goal kick. Even though it happened dozens of times, it took a long time for referee Ivan Barton to end the match with about three minutes left.
Fast forward to tonight. At that scoreboard, scenes of Mexican fans leaving the stadium were greeted with those same chants.
Referee Drew Fischer stopped the match twice due to the embarrassing performance.
Before he had a chance to do it a third time, the match was over. Full time. Two to Zero again, as the Americans firmly planted themselves at the top of CONCACAF with a seven-game unbeaten streak.
As Sergiño Dest sprayed champagne on his teammates in the locker room, the Americans celebrated their achievement, knowing that a much tougher test awaits them this summer.
