Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
U.S. men have ‘Cup’ to play for, too
CHICAGO — Remember the U.S. men’s soccer team?
It’s also playing for a trophy on Sunday, taking on Mexico at Soldier Field in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Gone from the national sports consciousness since its October 2017 loss at Trinidad and Tobago ended a streak of seven straight World Cup appearances, the men’s program is trying to regroup under new coach Gregg Berhalter.
The American women play the Netherlands in France at 8 a.m. PDT, chasing their fourth world championship, and they are livid they have to share the spotlight with the Copa America final between host Brazil and Peru at 1 p.m. and the U.S. men seeking their seventh Gold Cup title at 6:15 p.m.
“I look at it differently. I think that this is an opportunity to be Soccer Day in America,” Berhalter said. “When you think about the opportunity for the women to win the World Cup in the morning and then you get to, I think, party for half the afternoon, then you get to take a little nap, and then you get up, you go to the game and you enjoy the final of Gold Cup.”
The men have outscored opponents 15-1 in five matches, while the women have a 24-3 advantage in six.
“Our whole focus is on us,” forward Jordan Morris said. “We’re wishing them all the best, of course, and we want them to win the championship, as well, but we don’t think about that too much, just really what we can do to come out and win our game.”
He would have preferred not to play on the same day.
“Ideally I guess that would be great that they get their own focus being in a World Cup final and we’ll get our own and Copa America gets their own,” Morris said.
The U.S. is 6-4 in Gold Cup finals, beating Mexico in 2007 and losing in 1993, ’98, ’09 and ’11. The Americans won their only consecutive regional titles in 2005 under Bruce Arena and 2007 under Bob Bradley.
Morris, whose 88th-minute goal lifted the U.S. over Jamaica in the 2017 final, is among six holdovers from that roster, joined by defenders Matt Miazga and Omar Gonzalez, midfielders Michael Bradley and Paul Arriola, and forward Jozy Altidore.
Led by 20-year-midfielder Christian Pulisic, the U.S. is mostly a young team with a sprinkling of veterans and is testing 24-year-old goalkeeper Zack Steffen in a tournament for the first time. The Gold Cup has been Berhalter’s first extended time with his full player pool and the only lengthy one before World Cup qualifying starts next year.
Neither team is at full strength. The U.S. is missing right-side starters DeAndre Yedlin and Tyler Adams, plus central defender John Brooks, all because of injuries.
El Tri, in its first tournament under new coach Tata Martino, is going for its eighth Gold Cup title. It had a more onerous path to the final that included a penalty-kicks victory over Costa Rica and an extra-time win over Haiti.