Pressure mounts on US after 2 draws in World Cup qualifying matchups

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Players walked off the field dejected. Nervous American fans are in an uproar.

No, this wasn’t four years ago. This is the here and now for the U.S. soccer team, which has just two points after its first two World Cup qualifiers, three injured regulars and a team leader sent home for violating COVID-19 protocols.

A 1-1 draw at home against Canada, which last reached soccer’s showcase in 1986, caused concern and ratched pressure. Instead of a revival under coach Gregg Berhalter, the Americans are sputtering heading into Wednesday night’s game at Honduras, their third in a seven-day span. The U.S. hasn’t won a qualifier since 2013 in Central America, where it has one win and three draws in its last eight matches.

“The hole’s starting to get a little deeper,” former American defender Marcelo Balboa, now a commentator for Univision, said Monday.

Defender Sergiño Dest (sprained ankle), goalkeeper Zack Steffen (back spasms, positive COVID test) and midfielder Gio Reyna (strained hamstring) won’t make the trip. Jordan Morris, Paul Arriola and Tim Weah already were hurt before the opener.

Midfielder Weston McKennie, a member of the team’s six-man leadership council was told to return to Italy by Berhalter after violating team COVID-19 protocols. McKennie, among the top American players, was kept off Sunday’s game-day roster by Berhalter for the rules violation.

Play in the first two games was subpar. “We needed much faster ball movement. Everyone could see from the outside it took just way too long on the ball,” Berhalter said.

Some faulted the coach for waiting until the 83rd minute to make three substitutions aimed at getting a goal. Berhalter said he held off because he thought Aaronson and Pefok were among the better Americans on the field.

“I can understand how it looks like we should have acted quicker 100% in this situation,” Berhalter said.