Series update
Indians lead 2-0
Game 3: 7:30 tonight, at New York
TV: Fox Sports 1
Radio: WXZX-FM (105.7)
On Friday night, as Ohioans tuned in to watch Game 2 of Indians-Yankees, which was something else, and as central Ohioans surfed to Game 1 of the Blue Jackets’ season, which was something, the U.S. men’s soccer team played one of its most important games of the year and sent a message up and down the Western Hemisphere.
Let us pause here to pay homage to Anthony Wood (no relation to Bobby), the inventor of the digital video recorder.
If Crew coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter used his DVR, he used it on baseball, or hockey, or Hawaii Five-0. It was the soccer game he watched live and, unlike most American fans who followed on social
media or got caught up with the highlights, he was not surprised by the one-sided result.
“I wasn’t particularly concerned about them,” Berhalter said Saturday. “I had a lot of confidence in these guys, and in Bruce Arena as coach. Bruce put it well: This team has matured together, and it has done well to get back on track.”
The U.S. dominated throughout and throttled Panama 4-0 before a rabid crowd of 25,303 in Orlando City Stadium. It not only was a convincing victory, it also was hugely important as CONCACAF qualifying for the World Cup comes down to its very last leg this week.
With one game to play, Mexico already has clinched first place in the region. Costa Rica has all but clinched second. The top three in the hexagonal are guaranteed entry into the 2018 World Cup, to be played in Russia. The fourth-place team will be submitted to a two-leg, international play-in, against Australia or Syria.
Last month, the U.S. lost 2-0 loss to Costa Rica at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey (and tied on the road in Honduras). The U.S. headed to Orlando in desperate need of a victory to have a chance of extending their string of eight consecutive World Cup appearances. It came out of Orlando in control of its own destiny.
The U.S. (3-3-3, 12 points, plus-five goal differential) leapfrogged Panama (2-3-4, 10, minus-2) into third place in the region. The Americans’ next game — their last of the hex — is against last-place Trinidad & Tobago at Ato Boldon Stadium in Trinidad on Tuesday night. Barring something unimaginable, a tie will be good enough for the Americans to punch a ticket to Russia.
“It won’t be easy” Berhalter said, “but we should be able to come out of it with at least a point.”
Berhalter can say “we” in this context. He had 44 international caps with the USMNT. He finished his playing career under Arena and started his coaching career as an assistant under Arena. He is as American as any other New Jersey native, be it The Boss or Kellyanne Conway, and he is on the short list of nativeborn coaches who might one day hold the reigns of our national team.
Berhalter was happy to see a heavily partisan crowd in a jam-packed American stadium propelling the home team to dominance. He was particularly pleased to see Christian Pulisic, 19, highlighted in what was an all-around, extraordinarily sound team victory.
“Pulisic stands out — not just in the U.S., but internationally — as an extra-special player,” Berhalter said. “He is one of those guys who can go change a game as an attacker, the way Landon Donovan did. Still, Pulisic is special, and at such a young age.”
For all of that, Berhalter’s keel is decidedly even. Qualifying is just another hurdle in the cycle. He will watch the U.S. live Tuesday night, and if he has his DVR running, it will be to record “This Is Us.” Or something.