One team in Kansas City played with identity, purpose and intensity – and it wasn't the U.S.
KANSAS CITY — It's difficult to boil down a 90-minute soccer game to one takeaway, but Saturday's clash between the U.S. men's national team and Canada really is that easy. Canada has their coach in Jesse Marsch. It's a team that has identity, purpose, fight and belief. It's a team with a clear direction all working for the same cause.
Right now, the USMNT has none of those things. And, until Mauricio Pochettino arrives – as expected – that's the situation.
This camp was all about treading water until his arrival but the USMNT sunk quite a bit on Saturday. A 2-1 loss to Canada was never really that close. From the opening whistle of the friendly, it was Marsch's Canada that looked like the dominant force that the U.S. expects to be in this region.
The USMNT is nowhere close right now. It's a team that needs to do a lot of soul-searching, with or without Pochettino. The malaise this team is isn't coach-specific; it's been going on for some time.
"It's something that that I think we need to get back to: really taking immense pride in wearing the jersey," Tim Ream admitted. "That's not to say that we aren't proud to wear the jersey, but I think there's a certain standard that we need to hold ourselves to and we haven't been doing that. That's on us as individuals, as players, and it has to come from within. You can't coach intensity. You either have it or you don't, and you either bring it or you don't, and we haven't been bringing it."
Added USMNT leader Christian Pulisic, "It's something that we have to fix, but I really don't have an answer."
The USMNT still has one more game to right wrongs and find that intensity. They'll face New Zealand in Cincinnati on Tuesday and they'll have to be better – much better. If not, this camp will have been one big waste at a time when the U.S. can't afford for that to happen.
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