U.S. kept out of net again
Last tuneup for World Cup a scoreless draw
The United States will limp into the World Cup, and not just because of all the Americans’ injuries.
The U.S. played a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night at Murcia, Spain, that was somewhere between unimpressive and alarming.
After managing no shots on goal in Friday’s 2-0 loss to No. 24 Japan, the U.S. got just two against the 53rdranked Saudis in the Americans’ final tuneup match. Among its last seven games against World Cup-bound nations, the U.S. has one win, three losses and three draws, getting shut out six times.
“We’re playing tentative,” said U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter, who plans to announce his 26-man World Cup roster on Nov. 9. “It’s nervy times. People are worried about being on the roster or not, and it’s a difficult moment.”
The two results will do little to quiet criticism of Berhalter, who left Jordan Pefok, John Brooks and Tim Ream off this roster.
Forwards Ricardo Pepi, Jesús Ferreira and Josh Sargent combined for five touches in the opponents’ penalty area during the two matches, according to Opta.
“We had a better performance than last game,” Pepi said. “We all have to go back to our clubs, take care of our own business, and we’ll all be ready.”
Oft-injured Gio Reyna came off in the 30th minute because of muscle tightness. Christian Pulisic was among four changes, returning to the depleted U.S. lineup after missing Friday with an unspecified injury.
Pepi had a team-low 13 touches and no shots before Ferreira replaced him in the 59th minute.
“It was tough for Ricardo. He didn’t get much service. He didn’t get many chances,” Berhalter said. “So it’s really hard to evaluate players when they’re not getting opportunities.”