Written Version: Landon, Wahl and Witty on Mexico 0, USMNT 0
Written Version: Landon, Wahl and Witty on Mexico 0, USMNT 0
Our First Totally In-Person Pod Together
MEXICO CITY — The boys got back together for our instant reaction podcast that we do after every USMNT World Cup qualifier. The written version is below with the entirety available for paid subscribers. As always, the audio version is free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Consider subscribing to GrantWahl.com here:
Grant Wahl:
Hey there, welcome to Landon, Wahl and Witty on the Road to Qatar. I'm Grant Wahl. Thanks so much for joining us. We've got reaction from Landon Donovan, Chris Wittyngham and me in person together for the first time here in Mexico City to the U.S. men's national team’s 0-0 tie with Mexico on World Cup qualifying Matchday 12. It's nice to be here in person with you all.
Landon Donovan:
It's a little weird, but it's nice.
Chris Wittyngham:
Yeah. It's bizarre that we wouldn't do this in the United States; it would be in Mexico that we would decide to meet up.
Landon Donovan:
Yeah, that's a good point, actually.
Chris Wittyngham:
It's great to look at each other in the eye, and have an actual human conversation that doesn't require me raising a finger, and, "No Landon, you go, you go." We can actually talk like people.
Grant Wahl:
Oh, I'm going to raise plenty of fingers in this conversation.
Landon Donovan:
Witty was raising some fingers during the match, that is for sure.
Grant Wahl:
The reports were, Chris, that you were a little angst-ridden during the game.
Landon Donovan:
I believe the word was enraged.
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Chris Wittyngham:
Yeah, I was fuming at halftime when Christian Pulisic didn't score that goal, yeah. No, a lot of my colleagues at Meadowlark Media and Landon got to see me be a fan tonight. And it's just, I become a different person for the two hours of watching the team in person, especially because we talk so much in the buildup about what this meant in terms of it being the last big USA-Mexico World Cup qualifier, because of the nature of World Cup qualifying changing.
And because of the nature of the rivalry changing, this kind of felt like the end of an era. And so you come out hoping to see the U.S. nick a goal. They create the chance that allows them to... Well, two chances, two chances allow them to, and they don't score either of them. So it wasn't really upset towards the U.S., because they're still in a good position at the end of the night. It's almost like a, "Oh, it was there, that Pulisic moment..." The Pulisic moment was there and he didn't seize it.
Grant Wahl:
So before you go any further, Landon, what was this like for you being a spectator at a U.S.-Mexico World Cup qualifier in the Azteca?
Landon Donovan:
It was more emotional than I thought it would be. One, just being able to watch your country play in person and on foreign soil was really interesting with the stakes as high as they were. But then just seeing the stadium from a different vantage point was just... It was kind of bizarre, but really exciting too. And I was able to, I think, just soak in everything and enjoy it. But emotionally now, I'm exhausted from the game, from the experience, all of it. But it was really fun.
Grant Wahl:
And what's our feeling here? Are we more bummed out that the U.S. didn't make history by winning the first ever World Cup qualifier at Mexico, or it’s a point, it’s potentially very useful, if the U.S. gets three points on Sunday against Panama, almost certainly going to qualify for the World Cup?
Chris Wittyngham:
I think if not for the fact that Honduras got a point earlier tonight against Panama as well, then I think this might feel a little bit different. But now the job is very clear: beat Panama on Sunday and you don't really need anything out of Costa Rica to at least get to the playoff, but almost certainly to qualify automatically as well because of goal difference. That result elsewhere allows you to just have a sense of calm now going forward. And so you aren't so angst-ridden about DeAndre Yedlin being suspended, about Tim Weah being suspended, about all the injuries, about all the exhaustion that we saw on the field tonight. And then the players have to go out 72 hours from now and play a game against Panama.
Now I presume their players are tired too. They must have given a lot in trying to get a late goal against Honduras. I will admit I did not watch that game, but the results elsewhere and the position that the U.S. find themselves in allow you to be like, "Okay, good point at the Azteca." It was worth playing all the starters, giving it a go and trying to press them early. I was surprised at how aggressive their posture was early in the game, but the results allow you to feel good about what happened tonight.
Landon Donovan:
For me, it was both. So it was a great result and a great performance. Mexico had more of the ball and dictated the game a little bit more. The U.S. were very direct, didn't really want to have possession and maintain possession for long stretches. They were pretty vertical, but they created the bigger chances. So good result, good performance, but also disappointed because it was a huge opportunity lost to win a game at Azteca.
Now in the long run, I don't think it's going to hurt the U.S. by not winning. It's not going to hurt us by not winning the game, as far as getting to Qatar. Or hopefully, given a good result on Sunday, but it was an opportunity lost because Mexico were there for the taking. Just watching Mexico live, they're just not as good as teams in the past. They're not. You can talk about Tata [Martino, the Mexico coach]. You can talk about maybe they're in a bad run of form, blah... They're just not as good. Their players are not as good. They have good players, but not like they were in the past.
Grant Wahl:
That was one of my post-game quotes or things I wrote at the final whistle was this Mexico is not very good. They're probably going to qualify for the World Cup. They're old, much older than the United States and Canada. And the World Cup itself is very much a young person's tournament, I think, because so much is required of you. I would much rather be the U.S. or Canada going into the World Cup with a younger team than I would Mexico.
Chris Wittyngham:
Are you not surprised by that though? Because I still look at names on a sheet and I'm impressed by their front three. Chucky Lozano, Tecatito Corona, Raúl Jiménez, all playing at European level. Héctor Herrera, albeit he's moving to Houston, but he's starting Champions League games for Atlético Madrid, who are in the quarterfinals. Edson Álvarez is an up and coming young player in midfield. And the rest of the squad is mostly players in Liga MX, but that's a higher level than the U.S. domestic league at the moment, until that turns around. I'm surprised that out of those parts, there isn't more because I believe in Tata Martino as a coach on the domestic level, we saw in MLS and at the international level, but... You're right. There's not a lot of threat there, but I don't really know why.
Landon Donovan:
They don't have difference makers. Raúl Jiménez is not a difference maker. Chuck Lozano is. And for me, he's the only one. But if you look at our side of the field; [Christian] Pulisic, [Gio} Reyna when he came in, [Tim] Weah can pull off a play. [Yunus] Musah can make a special play. There's some real difference makers on our team. Weston [McKennie] when he's healthy, right? But Mexico just doesn't have that. You know what else stood out to me is when you watch it live, we are so much more athletic, just physically way better than the Mexican team, way more athletic. I mean, Walker Zimmerman just climbing over everyone. He and Miles Robinson were excellent. Antonee Robinson, excellent. We were just physically-
Grant Wahl:
Jedi. [Laughs]
Landon Donovan:
Jedi, my apologies. We were just physically way more dominant than they were.
Chris Wittyngham:
To that point, Walker Zimmerman for me is the player, U.S. fans might watch him on television and he might just seem like a centerback. But then you watch him in person, and the specific way that his body leaps into the air, it carries an imperiousness that I just don't see from your average defender. He is soaring above everyone and thunderously thumps the ball away. There's an aggression to the way that he wins headers.
Landon Donovan:
He's like the top of the food chain.
Chris Wittyngham:
Yeah.
Landon Donovan:
He's just like, "Rrrah!," and he goes and gets... Seriously. It’s so impressive in person.
Grant Wahl:
He's the most improved player on the U.S. team over the past year, he has to be.
Landon Donovan:
Or has he always been, and we just didn't notice it?
Chris Wittyngham:
He, to me, is a case of so often judged for what he isn't for rather than what he is. And what he is a very good defender. What he's not, and I think where the U.S. struggled at times tonight in the times they do put themselves under pressure, is that I don't think any of that back four are above average at playing out of the back.
Grant Wahl:
That was the knock against him.
Chris Wittyngham:
And then Yedlin, the Robinsons and Zimmerman, I don't think any of them are above average or playing out. So you have a goalkeeper who's trying to play out with them, but then getting it from back to front was a real challenge at times. So I thought that they were better trying to win second balls and trying to play more direct, because that's the strength of the defenders. But I think Zimmerman is probably not in Europe right now because of his inability to play out. And I think-
Landon Donovan:
No, he could play anywhere in Europe pretty much.
Grant Wahl:
At this point, I think he could, yeah.
Landon Donovan:
He's very good.
Chris Wittyngham:
But then why isn't he?
Landon Donovan:
Maybe he doesn't want to.
Chris Wittyngham:
That's fair.
Grant Wahl:
He was on my podcast a couple months ago and I asked him this question. Thanks for listening to the pod, guys. [Laughs]
Landon Donovan:
I must have missed that one.
Grant Wahl:
He said that he's interested in going to Europe. He also realizes that he's not that young compared to guys in their late teens, early 20s, and so it would have to be the right situation. But that also decreases maybe some of the demand for him. But I think clubs in Europe have to be seeing these qualifiers, they will presumably watch the World Cup, and I think Walker Zimmerman is going to be a starter for the U.S. at the World Cup if he continues on this path. And this was a guy that was not even included on the October roster at first by Gregg Berhalter, because, like Chris says, he wasn't great in Berhalter's eyes at playing out of the back. He's worked at it. He's gotten better. And I will die on this hill: Walker Zimmerman will be the breakout mainstream media star of the World Cup for the United States.
Chris Wittyngham:
Presuming they make it.
Grant Wahl:
Presuming they make it. Why are you doing this?
Landon Donovan:
We're making it; Witty, stop it.
Chris Wittyngham:
We're not there yet! Look, we're heading towards Sunday. Panama's tired. We're tired. I shouldn't say we were. We objectively cover the United States.
Landon Donovan:
No, we're tired.
Chris Wittyngham:
Well, right. Exactly, yeah, we're tired. And the United States men's national team are tired. We don't know what Sunday's going to look like, because Panama can summon, and they bring intensity to all of the games that they play. I'm not assuming that game is going to be easy. So the job's not done yet. We took a positive step tonight with getting a draw at Azteca and Panama dropping points, but the job's not done yet. We should never again take that for granted.
But you're right. I think U.S. fans have so often clambered for, can I just have two center backs that I trust? We were talking today about the 2010 Algeria game, and we were talking about the defense. And you think of [Carlos] Bocanegra and [Jay] DeMerit, those are incredibly steady centerbacks. And you think about the winding journey the U.S. has been on to try and find guys that are that steady and solid. And I think John Brooks is not here because he's not steady and solid in the same way. He I think has a higher ceiling and brings up that level of that technical ability of playing out. But I think if you look at the centerbacks, Zimmerman and Brooks, in theory, are kind of a perfect combo in that respect.
Landon Donovan:
Yeah, and I would just say, now sitting in a coach's seat, trust is built through consistency. And now between Walker and Miles, they have been consistent for a number of games together. So why wouldn't you play them?
Grant Wahl:
There were people who thought though that Aaron Long might start in place of Miles Robinson tonight. And that was not the case. I thought Robinson and Zimmerman were fine tonight. They were effective.
Landon Donovan:
I thought they were great.
Grant Wahl:
I had no issues with how they played. I thought defensively the U.S. was good all over the field, but particularly in the back line. I do want to ask about the Pulisic missed chance, because sitter? Are we okay calling this a sitter? I am.
Landon Donovan:
No, I wouldn't call it a sitter.
Grant Wahl:
Oh, come on!
Landon Donovan:
I wouldn't call it a sitter.
Grant Wahl:
Seriously? Why?
Landon Donovan:
I don't know the exact definition; maybe we can get into it. But a sitter is you cannot miss, right? That play, I don't know. I don't follow the xG stuff like you do, Witty, but that's not a 100% chance, right? It's probably eight out of 10 for Christian, maybe nine out of 10. But a sitter is... I mean, [Jordan] Pefok’s was probably more of a sitter just because he was closer. Now, I believe that play was actually harder to pull off, having been in both situations, that's bouncing to him, it's a little awkward, there's a defender on his back. But I guess I would say for a player of Christian's quality, it probably leans more sitter, but the actual play, I wouldn't call it a sitter.
Grant Wahl:
There was a similar play though, a similar chance for Pulisic in the League Cup final against Liverpool very early in the game. In on goal, and hits it right at the keeper. And I guess the only question I've got for you, Landon, am I being too hard on Pulisic if I'm saying there's priors now, recent ones?
Landon Donovan:
I don't think there's...
Grant Wahl:
In that situation.
Landon Donovan:
Yeah, I don't think it's like a pattern. He's very good. He knows he should score there, and he should score. I'm not saying he shouldn't score. But the hardest thing to do in this sport is score a goal, and there's a reason why. And also, there's a damn good goalkeeper in the net tonight, right? So I don't know that you're being too hard on him; he should have scored. At this level, you expect a player of his quality to score, and he's not going to deny that. And I'm sure he is frustrated by it. But to say that it was this egregious miss, I think would be inaccurate.
Grant Wahl:
I do use the phrase "missed a sitter" though. I don't want to go down a rabbit hole here, but like it's... Someday we will.
Chris Wittyngham:
It's one of those things where if you're going to win this game at the Azteca, he has to score there. I remember when Jurgen Klinsmann came in, he talked a lot about, if you miss those sorts of chances in other countries, you get talked to in the grocery store the next day. And while I'm not sure that that's healthy, I think fan culture has evolved from there. But those are the moments where in a World Cup semifinal, if the U.S. don't win as a result, that's the moment that falls on top of you. Those are incredibly high stakes, high pressure moments. And I'm talking to people... "Oh, Christian Pulisic, that's the player you're watching." And that's the moment that he should be tucking away. And it feels so empty in a way, because it's just... We all know that he should score. He thinks he should score. He didn't score. What do you do other than say, "He should have scored"? But those are the moments that are going to decide more important games.
Landon Donovan:
No, you know what stood out to me is I can't remember... We've scored goals in Azteca, right? Michael Bradley's goal comes to mind immediately. Charlie Davies scored a great goal, but I don't ever remember having two clear-cut chances against Mexico in Azteca like that. Even though we didn't score, I can't remember ever having one chance like that in all the years we've played here. It was crazy.
Chris Wittyngham:
And that was the feeling that I had at halftime was like, oh, the U.S. will not have a better chance to score than that. We're going to watch 45 minutes and maybe they scrape a goal, maybe Kellyn Acosta puts in a good set piece and there's a couple headers and you scramble the ball over the line. But a tap-in, again, we can get into the nomenclature of what exactly that was, a really good chance to score, you just place it in the corner and you've scored; that does not happen away in Mexico.
And we've talked for several months about, that doesn't happen away in CONCACAF. If that kind of chance happened in Panama, I'd be like, "Oh my God, Eureka! You finally put something together to score against a team like Panama," nevermind against Mexico. And then for Pefok to have the same moment. I feel bad about the way that I'm saying that name. I feel like I'm emphasizing the fuck at the end of there.
Grant Wahl:
You are just on fire these days with anatomically correct descriptions on television broadcasts. I want to ask about the atmosphere. I had written a column like, all y'all should come to this game. It's going to be an epic bucket list type thing. This stadium here in Mexico City is tamer than it has ever been. And part of that's due to the COVID regulations. So they had limited it to 40,000-50,000, I guess. It didn't seem like it was that many.
Chris Wittyngham:
Well, I mean the lower bowl was packed. There were not very many empty seats except in the section where we were, which is not meant to be a packed section. But the actual seats... There were a lot of people there. Now-
Grant Wahl:
It didn't seem like it.
Chris Wittyngham:
Well, it doesn't go up to the sky. The way that Landon and his cohorts talk about Azteca is, it's just people going up. And that feeling is not there. So when you're staring at 30,000, 35,000 empty seats, it doesn't really look that intimidating. But the people that were there didn't really make that much of a noise. And it was funny while you were describing that, Grant, that Landon, you're making faces like, "Oh, I'm sad that it's not the same," when that obviously gives the U.S. an advantage. But there's an experiential quality to USA-Mexico that needs the Azteca to be kind of be thumping.
Landon Donovan:
They, and by they I mean whoever owns the stadium, runs the stadium, they took away every advantage that Azteca has. First of all, the game was played at night, which is much, much... I mean, it felt like you were in Southern California tonight. You didn't feel any smog. You didn't feel any altitude. I mean, we weren't running, but they just took away every advantage. We walked into the stadium two hours before, an hour and a half before, and they're playing like YMCA and Billy Joel songs. I'm like, "What the hell is going on here?" In between stoppages, they're playing music at halftime, like American songs. They're having fans hold their cell phone lighters up at halftime and doing something. I felt like I was at an NBA game or something, it was bizarre.
Chris Wittyngham:
But like a bad NBA game, like an NBA game in the '80s.
Landon Donovan:
Or like a minor league baseball game.
Chris Wittyngham:
Yes.
Landon Donovan:
It was bizarre.
Grant Wahl:
I kept waiting for the t-shirt cannon guy to come out and start shooting into the crowd. [NOTE: Friend of the show Paul Carr later informed me that there was indeed a person at one point shooting a t-shirt cannon into the crowd.]
Landon Donovan:
Totally. And also, they've done all these renovations on the stadium, so it's much more modern and it's great as a spectator, but it is not... It was not intimidating at all. At all.
Chris Wittyngham:
It's not even just... The entire side of the field behind the benches is pure luxury boxes, club lounges, areas that are highfalutin in nature. It's not meant for... And again, this is probably a good thing, but for fans that throw projectiles towards the field. You don't need to build a moat and have a 15-foot fence to separate that section from the benches. Which again, are all the atmospheric things that give advantages.
Grant Wahl:
There was a moment when Christian Pulisic went to take a corner kick, and the contrast with 2009, Landon, when you went to take a corner kick and got pelted with everything under the sun, and no one stopped it, and Christian goes over there to take the corner kick and doesn't have to deal with anything.
Chris Wittyngham:
And it took so long to take it too. It was like 45 seconds in that corner. I'm waiting for one beer to get thrown.
Landon Donovan:
It's like he was patronizing me.
Chris Wittyngham:
Yes, exactly. [Laughs]
Chris Wittyngham:
I looked over, I said to Landon... He's like, "What? This is not what you did for corners." He's like, "Must be nice. Must be nice."
Grant Wahl:
There's a famous old Roy Williams quote, the basketball coach from North Carolina who called it a wine and cheese crowd that he disliked in college basketball. I never thought the Azteca would become a wine and cheese crowd.
Chris Wittyngham:
It did though. I don't have the reference point. So I don't know what it's like on a normal night, but from a personal standpoint, I'm a little bit let down. I'm a little bit let down that even though in some ways I'm part of the problem, because I'm sat in the area where maybe rabid fans should be. But that wasn't what I was expecting. And also again, these things can happen, but you can still create an atmosphere. And the fans didn't. And I don't know if it's an apathy... And we were talking in the buildup about how the Mexican fans feel about the team right now, and how they're not totally convinced. They kind of want Tata out. I didn't realize that they were chanting for Tata Martino to be sacked during the game, but they were.
So I don't know if it's just like we're ready to be angry more than we're ready to get behind the team. But it's only really when they had threatening goal scoring chances that you heard them at all. There were no songs and chants throughout the game. They pulled out the Olé’s twice. And on the second olé, there's a ball that goes 30 yards awry out for a throw-in. There was nothing to the crowd tonight. And my feeling when I was sat there was, "Oh, this is kind of a normal game."
Now the pitch at times actually I thought played a role. There were big moments, including at the very end when I forget who was trying to clear the ball, lost their footing and it results in a chance. But it just seemed not like the away in CONCACAF tropes that we talk about; difficult playing surface, difficult conditions, difficult stadium, loud stadium, none of those things were at play tonight. That was just a normal game that you could have played in the middle of Belgium, not in the most vaunted ground that the U.S. normally travels to.
Grant Wahl:
Did you get recognized in the stadium, Landon?
Landon Donovan:
I did, yeah.
Grant Wahl:
How'd that go?
Landon Donovan:
Well, it was respectful in some cases, maybe a little over-exuberant. But for the most part, fine.
I mean, there was certainly no animosity. It kind of is a microcosm of the night. It was not nasty. It was not ugly. It was just like, everyone's just kind of like, "Eh, we're just here," and it just didn't feel like a qualifier.
Chris Wittyngham:
Yeah. If I can offer a description for your interactions with Mexico fans, it would be surprisingly kind. People we were like, "Oh, you crushed us sometimes, but I still respect you." And I was like, "What?" I was stood near you, and I was kind of ready to jump in, but not... What the hell am I going to do? But just I was concerned at how many people were mobbing you. But I think it was kind of an almost like an Instagramification of the thing, where it's like, I'd rather get my Instagram here at the Azteca than be a part of a raucous environment.
Landon Donovan:
That's a great point.
Grant Wahl:
So I don't want to get buried in scenarios here, but for this Panama game, because Panama dropped points at home tonight, if the U.S. ties even against Panama, Panama cannot catch the U.S. So that means that the U.S. is guaranteed with a tie of at least being in the intercontinental playoff for the World Cup. So that's there. But you obviously want to win the game. And if you win the game, then Panama cannot catch you, obviously. And Costa Rica only could catch you if they win by a lot of goals against the U.S. in the game in Costa Rica. And obviously Costa Rica has to win its next game as well. So a win may not guarantee qualification for the U.S. to the World Cup on Sunday, but it kind of de facto will, as long as there's not some historic awful loss at Costa Rica.
Landon Donovan:
Correct. And I really hope that Costa Rica drop points in El Salvador and we win, because there's nothing like qualifying at home. So, I'm trying to think back of all the qualifying we had. So first one was home in Boston against Jamaica. And that was very soon post 9/11, very soon after 9/11.
Grant Wahl:
The U.S. invaded Afghanistan that morning.
Landon Donovan:
That's right. I'm trying to remember '06. I can't remember, but I do remember '09, we were in Honduras and that has a special meaning, because you're on the road and there's only like 40 people there who want you to win and 40,000 who don't. But qualifying at home is so unique and so special. And actually we, in '13, it was against Mexico in Columbus.
Chris Wittyngham:
Yeah, in Columbus, yeah.
Landon Donovan:
Yeah, so that's really special. So I just hope it works out in a way that we can qualify at home in front of our fans. It's such a special feeling.
Chris Wittyngham:
And the U.S. will know what the task is because-
Landon Donovan:
I was just going to ask when the time is.
Chris Wittyngham:
Yeah. So El Salvador-Costa Rica kicks off at... I'm now on Mountain Time, because we're two hours behind, but 5 PM Eastern. And then the USA again kicks off at 7 PM Eastern. So you'll have the result, you'll know the task. And I can only imagine the lift for the U.S. players if they know, go and win this game and you qualify-
Landon Donovan:
I was just going to say that.
Chris Wittyngham:
And we get to celebrate.
Landon Donovan:
There's a massive … knowing that if you win on your end, that is such a massive advantage.
Grant Wahl:
Any final thoughts?
Chris Wittyngham:
The striker situation. So Ricardo Pepi plays for 60 minutes. Jordan Pefok comes on and neither of them really did much. And I'm just concerned now that it's not necessarily about the individuals, although the individuals, Ricardo Pepi hasn't scored a goal in five months...
Grant Wahl:
Anywhere.
Chris Wittyngham:
Right, exactly. And that moved to Germany.
Landon Donovan:
Or maybe in practice.
Chris Wittyngham:
But the move to Germany does not appear to have worked out in the short term for him. And then any of the other choices, and I'm starting to wonder if it's like a... Jordan Pefok is the top scorer in the Swiss league. Maybe the Swiss league is terrible, and that's a bad data point. But is there something systemically about, not even the fact that the players haven't scored, but Pefok has a really good chance tonight, but they don't routinely get involved. Never mind, oh, there's a slew of goal scoring chances that these guys are missing. There's not even an involvement there, that I'm starting to wonder systemically what the issue is there.
Landon Donovan:
Yeah, that's a good point. Like I said earlier, we were really direct and vertical tonight, much more than I can remember U.S. teams, especially Berhalter teams playing, and maybe that was just part of the plan. But it meant that they were very often just not involved in the game at all. And I'm thinking ahead to a World Cup, you need people who can score. It is like I said, the hardest thing to do in this sport. And we did not look like, from our strikers, I mean, Pefok had a big chance, but it didn't look like we were going to create a real chance with those guys. And that is scary. Now between Christian-
Chris Wittyngham:
That's been the case for 13 games though.
Landon Donovan:
Oh, I know. But you hope that between Weston, Christian, Gio, who looked very good tonight, Weah, Musah, you can get scoring elsewhere. But it really helps to have somebody high up the field who can just pull off a play and bang a goal in.
Grant Wahl:
My final thought was going to be about Gio Reyna, who came on as a sub in this game and had a ridiculous run that just kept going.
Chris Wittyngham:
I feel bad that we've taken this long to get to this.
Grant Wahl:
Kept going, and going-
Chris Wittyngham:
The highlight of the game.
Grant Wahl:
And going, and you're like, "What is happening here?"
Chris Wittyngham:
I saw someone on Twitter counted eight challenges before they finally dispossessed him.
Grant Wahl:
And even the Mexico fans recognized it.
Chris Wittyngham:
Yeah.
Grant Wahl:
That this was a special run and he almost pulled it off. And it would've been a freaking all-timer of a goal if he had…
Chris Wittyngham:
If he went all the way-
Landon Donovan:
It would have been the best goal in U.S history.
Chris Wittyngham:
If he nearlyassisted a goal, that would've been extraordinary. But if he went and finished it himself, my God. But I think that's why... You see those moments, particularly in person, you go, "Oh, that's why people are like, 'He might even be better than Pulisic," or just a talent that oozes out of the... You would say ooze out of the screen, but oozes out of this thing that's unfolding in front of you. It's like, "Oh, this dude is incredibly talented." And if it can be harnessed and they can find the right way to coexist with him and Pulisic, and he can get involved with the strikers, maybe help solve that problem. But that individual talent is obvious to the eye in that sort of moment.
Grant Wahl:
Individual talent, and he's got this whole junkyard dog competitive thing going that he's got some bite too, which-
Landon Donovan:
Yeah, he's got a chip on a shoulder... I didn't notice that about him until tonight. He was feisty.
Grant Wahl:
Yeah.
Landon Donovan:
And I like that.
Chris Wittyngham:
Oh yeah.
Landon Donovan:
I like that.
Chris Wittyngham:
I mean, everyone describes him. Grant, you know better than me that everyone describes him as the most competitive guy in the team that he will-
Landon Donovan:
That doesn't come off to me on TV. And then, seeing it in person, I was like, "Geez." And I love that, because I don't know if that comes from his dad or his mom, who was the better soccer player in the family [laughs], but it comes from somewhere. I mean, he's got a competitive bite. That's really good.
Grant Wahl:
Well guys, I just want to say it was an absolute pleasure doing this in person with you all. U.S. gets a point and is still looking good to qualify for the World Cup. We will do this again virtually, though actually Chris and I will both be in Orlando.
Chris Wittyngham:
In Orlando, yeah.
Grant Wahl:
On Sunday, but looking forward to it.
Landon Donovan:
It was great. Thanks guys. Thanks Grant.
Chris Wittyngham:
Thanks Landon.
This was awesome. Let's get the 3 points tonight, and finally be able to relax.