HAMILTON, Ontario — The USMNT lost to Canada 2-0 in the 10th game of the 14-match World Cup qualifying Octagonal on Sunday, leaving the U.S. with 18 points and Canada in first place with 22. Here are my three thoughts on the game:
• One sequence of U.S. mistakes made the biggest difference. Even though the U.S. had advantages in possession (64% to 36%) and shots (13 to 8), it was a series of preventable U.S. errors that led to Cyle Larin’s seventh-minute goal that ended up being the game-winner. (Sam Adekugbe’s late goal came as the U.S. pushed forward to find an equalizer.) Keeper Matt Turner’s goal kick up the middle went straight to a Canadian player, and the U.S. back line didn’t advance as far forward as it should have. Then Canada went straight up the gut and worked a good one-two while the U.S.’s Miles Robinson stumbled to let Larin in on goal. The coup de grâce was Turner, whose shot-stopping is usually his forte, not doing better to stop Larin’s attempt. And for all the U.S.’s possession in this game, the lack of quality in the final third was striking. The U.S. depends on Christian Pulisic more than anyone else to produce that quality, and it just wasn’t there on Sunday. On a field that was only 70 yards wide, Pulisic made it seem even narrower by continuing to drift in too much centrally instead of staying out wide left before cutting in on the ball. It’s not just on Pulisic, obviously. Surprise center-forward starter Gyasi Zardes didn’t have any good chances on goal—why did U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter not start Ricardo Pepi?—and Brenden Aaronson needed to do better on his terrific shot opportunity in the second half.
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