The United States struggled against El Salvador in their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Thursday. With this narrow victory of 1 to 0 in their pocket, not very reassuring in the circumstances, the Americans will have to prepare to face Canada.
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Only one goal was finally enough to defeat the Central American country, that of Antonee Robinson in the 52nd minute of play. However, El Salvador held Gregg Berhalter’s troops in check for long minutes and the Americans were sorely missed of opportunism.
“There was too much space between our lines; we weren’t able to make the next play after a pass and we didn’t impose pressure, analyzed the head coach in a press conference after the match played in Columbus. Our ambition to play in front and go behind them is what we lacked for 90 minutes. We had it sometimes, but in the end, I think we could have done much better.
All in all, the United States have amassed three points and remain within striking distance of Canada, who sit atop the CONCACAF qualifying group. The maple leaf will also be the next opponent of “Team USA”, Sunday, in Hamilton.
“The result is that we are still in a great position for World Cup qualification. The three points at home were vital and we had them”, rejoiced Berhalter.
Back to game
Several team members had not played a competitive game for two months. In addition, the last international window was in mid-November, which may have had an impact on the chemistry of the group. The United States had played a friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in December, but with a totally different formation.
“Everyone is at a different stage, some guys are in preseason, some guys are adjusting, like me,” Robinson said. And it’s our first game since the last window, so we couldn’t open the valves after such a short preparation and play impeccably and win 6-0.”
Decidedly, El Salvador has understood how to play spoilsport against the American giants. In September, the small country snatched a null verdict from them.
Want to figure it out
A great story of this Canada-United States clash will be the opposition between forwards Jonathan David and Timothy Weah, who both play in Lille, France. There is a very beautiful friendship between the Canadian and the American, but it will be time to put it aside on Sunday.
“He’s my guy. I love seeing him succeed,” Weah said. He’s a great guy and one of my best friends on the team. He plays really well and that pushes me to work even harder. My ‘brother’ and I are competitive and we’ve been waiting for this game for a long time.”
“Both teams have punching power and we will have to play the right way. We have what it takes to get the job done, ”he concluded about the ambitions of the American selection.
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