On Thursday night, the Concacaf Nations League starts, and the men’s national team of the United States will try to make it six consecutive games in which they haven’t lost to Mexico. Although traditionally these two sides have been closely matched, the United States has had the upper hand recently, with El Tri not having won a match since 2019. The Red, White, and Blue have won prizes twice during this streak, and a victory against Mexico would send them searching for more. The only place to see the action is Paramount+.
On any other night, forward Folarin Balogun’s potential opportunity to make his USMNT debut would be the major focus of the game. The youthful striker for Arsenal, who played for Reims last season and scored 21 goals there, formally declared for America earlier this month, forgoing the opportunity to represent England. He instantly becomes the most talented starter for the USMNT and, barring a major catastrophe, one of the first names on the roster.
The United States will also have a new manager in control for this encounter as B.J. Callaghan will assume the reins temporarily. Despite this, the team’s preparation after Anthony Hudson’s resignation has not changed. Antonee Robinson, a defender, emphasised that “not much has changed from a player side.” It’s crucial to keep in mind that although though Callaghan is the team’s second temporary manager since the World Cup, both he and Hudson served as assistants under Gregg Berhalter and are familiar with the group. This doesn’t mean that the two are necessarily the same kind of coaches as Berhalter, but it does help the players adjust as they wait for the selection of a long-term head coach after the Gold Cup.
The aim is obvious as we wait for it. Take Mexico down. Here are our plotlines, information on how to watch the game, and more:
How to watch and the chances
Location: Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada; date: Thursday, June 15; time: 10 p.m. ET; live stream: Paramount+
Storylines
The United States acknowledges the issue at hand and that they can’t get too far ahead of themselves before the game, despite their team’s domination against Mexico. The acquisition of Folarin Balogun to the team will aid the assault, but Robinson discussed the approach to the rivalry game.
“We don’t necessarily need to outperform Mexico. Naturally, we want to win today, and that is the objective for every team we face in competition, stated Robinson before to the game. They’re merely a squad that is now preventing us from reaching the championship game to take home another trophy. We must do all in our power to outperform them on that particular day. However, if we don’t play up to par, it’s a knockout game. We need to find a way to succeed and dig, and sometimes that means doing things that way.
There are times when you want a football club to go in and attempt to win a match, even if it could be more entertaining to watch a swashbuckling attacking side at all times. However, a balance also has to be achieved, and playing not to lose is part of it as well. Here is when Robinson’s past with Fulham starts to come through. He is correct; the USMNT must find a way to win since it is a knockout competition. It may not be nice, but as long as they reach the final, it won’t matter.
Mexico: In order to prepare for this match, El Tri has been participating in friendlies since the majority of Liga MX players are in their offseason and need to come back in shape. This week, they engaged in combat with Cameroon and Guatemala. Cocca, who is unbeaten in both of them, is demonstrating that Mexico can score goals now, but the squad hasn’t decided on a system that will allow the United States freedom to manoeuvre throughout the game. Mexico still starts with a back five, but depending on who is used, things may change in the attack and the midfield. Raul Jiminez and Hirvilg Lozano are two players who Cocca won’t have.
The two have departed the team to rejoin their clubs, along with a number of other players, making Cocca’s work that much more difficult, especially because Mexico is projected to win this tournament and defeating the US and Canada is now the biggest challenge.
Prediction
As Balogun scores his first goal for the national team by sinking their main adversaries, the United States will continue their undefeated streak.
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