Two up-and-comers made the most of their first U.S. national team appearances
Gregg Berhalter’s debut as U.S. national team coach went about as well as he could have hoped. Not just because of the three-goal victory, and shutout in the 3-0 win against Panama, but because of how a young group looked comfortable and confident playing in a new system they were still in the process of learning.
The USMNT created chances, and though the Americans missed several of them in the first half, the fact so many of them came, and kept coming in the second half, was a testament to how well the group had taken to Berhalter’s system. That offensive production, coupled with a strong defensive performance, made it a good overall result to build on as Berhalter looks to put his stamp on the program.
It was a good night for new faces, led by Djordje Mihailovic and Nick Lima, but also for the team’s longest-serving player, Michael Bradley, who showed that he is still very much a player who will have a part to play in the new World Cup qualifying cycle.
Here are five takeaways from the USMNT win against Panama:
Drawing small crowds for January friendlies isn’t a new phenomenon, but Sunday’s sparse crowd at State Farm Stadium was embarrassing even by those standards.
It was the latest in a long-lasting trend of U.S. home friendlies that are either poorly attended or attended more by opposing fans than USMNT fans. Complaints about high ticket prices and lack of marketing has dogged U.S. Soccer’s handling of friendlies for several years, but prices for tickets to Sunday’s friendly weren’t exorbitant.
The fact it was a low-profile opponent, and the fact it was a USMNT squad without European-based players, didn’t help drive interest in the match, but it is still a safe bet that the same friendly would have drawn significantly better in some other markets.
Ultimately, Glendale was chosen for its convenient location relative to the USMNT’s home base for its January camp in Chula Vista, California. While that is understandable, the decision to play Sunday’s friendly in a cavernous NFL stadium was silly when drawing more than 10,000 was always going to be difficult.
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