USMNT rides calmness to latest "Dos A Cero" triumph over Mexico

25/03/2024 13:32

Majority of the head-to-head showdowns between the U.S. men’s national team and Mexico have been filled with aggressive tackles, altercations, and anger, but Sunday’s latest victory for Gregg Berhalter’s men saw them play conservatively and confidently.

Goals from Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna helped the Americans lift their third-straight CONCACAF Nations League title in a 2-0 “Dos A Cero” win at AT&T Stadium. The result extended the USMNT’s unbeaten run against El Tri to seven matches across all competitions, continuing a recent dominance against their southern neighbors.

It also marked a great Nations League conclusion for the USMNT heading into this summer’s Copa America tournament against CONMEBOL’s finest.

“Today was a final and you could see the guys are super focused all throughout the day,” Berhalter said postmatch. “To me, we knew what type of game it was going to be and that was important. We wanted to maintain calm and play our football and credit to the guys because I think the intensity stayed in a really high level for the whole game and that was really important, especially against Mexico.”

“That was what we were focused on,” Berhalter added about the USMNT’s focus to register a three-peat. “It doesn’t happen too often. I think in North American sports in the last 50 years, pro sports, it’s probably happened six times, so it’s rare. And congratulations to the guys. Congratulations for playing a great final.”

After a lackluster showing against Jamaica in last Thursday’s semifinal round, the USMNT delivered a strong shift all-around on Sunday night. Adams’ second-career international goal was a stunner and one that not many USMNT fans probably expected to decide the outcome between the two sides.

Reyna’s finish proved to be a backbreaker for Mexico and was the latest positive moment for the eventual Player of the Tournament. After struggling to find his rhythm in England with Nottingham Forest, Reyna now has a strong international window under his belt to try and build off of in the final two months of his club schedule.

“I think he [Reyna] had a great performance, 75 minutes, and he hasn’t had that much game time in a while,” Berhalter said. “And for him it was just a mental thing. He was determined to grind through it and power through it and I thought he was doing really well. And you see it got to the point, right where we’re going to take him out, where he actually did cramp up and it was evident that he needed to come out. But I think all tournament long over the last two games, I think he did a great job.”

“Something along the lines that he was proud of me,” Reyna said about Berhalter’s postmatch comments for him. “It was a long night. A lot’s been happening since the game, man. I couldn’t tell you word for word, but it was just something nice.”

Defenders Chris Richards and Tim Ream excelled on the back end, while midfielder Weston McKennie led by example in the heart of the USMNT’s formation. Haji Wright, Christian Pulisic, and Tim Weah didn’t get on the scoresheet, but did their jobs in working tirelessly in the final third and connecting with their teammates throughout the match.

It was a professional performance from the USMNT and one that will certainly be remembered for some time. Berhalter is hoping that his team replicates Sunday’s performance on a consistent basis, knowing that bigger opportunities are coming in 2024 and beyond.

“For me it’s really focusing on that type of performance every game and that’s what it’s going to take to be successful at an event like the World Cup,” Berhalter said. “But I know the guys in the last World Cup, as soon as they got to camp, it was like focus, focus, focus. They were on it. And same thing in this camp as the camp went on…For me it’s about really taking advantage of every single opportunity we have because before we know it, 2026 is going to be here.”

The USMNT will be joined by Uruguay, Bolivia, and Panama in Group C of this summer’s Copa America.