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Happy Monday and boy does it feel like the Monday-est Monday in a while for all you USMNT fans out there. James Benge here, primed to bring you up to speed with what has been a dramatic week of Nations Leagues CONCACAF and UEFA. Let’s go.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Monday, March 24
🌎 WCQ: Cote d’Ivoire vs. Gambia, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🌎 WCQ: England vs. Latvia, 3:45 p.m. ➡️ Fox Sports 2
Tuesday, March 25
🌎 WCQ: China vs. Australia, 7 a.m. ➡️ beIN Sports Connect
🌎 WCQ: Nigeria vs. Zimbabwe, 12 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🏴 League Two: Port Vale vs. Barrow, 1:30 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🌎 WCQ: Bolivia vs. Uruguay, 4 p.m. ➡️ Fanatiz
⚽ The Forward Line
🇺🇸 USMNT in crisis
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It is 445 days until the United States kick off their World Cup campaign at SoFi Stadium, the scene of the latest disaster to afflict this team, the so-called Golden Generation who failed to finish in the medal positions of a four team competition. Having blown their title defense on Thursday in a tight 1-0 loss to Panama, Mauricio Pochettino’s side were sent to fourth place in the 2024-25 CONCACAF Nations League with a 2-1 defeat to Canada. Once more this was a relatively close encounter where the breaks didn’t seem to favor the USMNT, not least when a deflection landed Tani Oluwaseyi’s way to open the scoring in the first half.
Then again, this side which bestrode CONCACAF for the last five years was supposed to be good enough that it would not to have to worry about the breaks going in Canada’s favor. Their talent has long been hailed to the rafters. With that comes an expectation from the old guard that they blend their technical skills with the right attitude. Landon Donovan put it bluntly on social media — “I’m so sick of hearing how ‘talented’ this group of players… Talent is great, pride is better” — and the man who shares his status as USMNT record scorer saw similar problems. Here’s what Clint Dempsey said after the match:
- Dempsey: “You would hope that they would get up for this game, that there would be more pride to try to get things back on track and get this fanbase behind them… They need to fight for [the American Outlaws]. Things are not good right now. Everybody’s starting to turn on each other a little bit. When I was on the field I gave you everything I had.”
That assessment rings with some of the concerns that Pochettino had after the Panama defeat, the “automatic pilot” that had clicked in for some of his players in a game they must have expected to win. Christian Pulisic offered a similar perspective, for Panama Thursday’s game had been “their everything.”
It is easy to see why this is such a compelling explanation for the USMNT. Attitude might not be changed with the flick of a switch, but you can address it in the time left between now and the World Cup. If anything, host status at a major tournament tends to fix some issues automatically. No one wants to be among the first ushered out of a party they’re hosting.
What about if the solution isn’t so easy though? The USMNT have just been downed by the sort of legitimate European star — Jonathan David — that they only have a handful of themselves. There are a few Americans starring on faltering Serie A giants and a couple of others getting good minutes for good upper midtable Premier League sides. That’s hardly a much deeper talent pool than the rest of CONCACAF, let alone the teams who will be jetting in from across the world next summer.
What if the real problem is that many of the bright young things of the 2022 World Cup have spent the past two-plus years atrophying at club level? Pardeep Cattry asks exactly that:
- Cattry: “Some, like Christian Pulisic and Antonee Robinson, are easily amongst the best players in their leagues. Many of the players, though, are squad players for their club teams and a notable handful like Matt Turner and Gio Reyna have struggled for years to earn regular playing time. There’s a real argument to be made that their inconsistency has stunted their growth and that this promising group has not actually made meaningful strides since the 2022 World Cup.”
That will be the fear that keeps Pochettino up at night. There might be time to fix the attitude and temperament of this squad but the player pool is what it is. On the evidence of the Nations League, the World Cup looms menacingly near on the horizon.
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🔗 Midfield Link Play
🇪🇺 UEFA Nations League serves up smorgasbord of thrillers
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Meanwhile in Europe, well, where to even begin? Three of the two-legged Nations League quarterfinals went to extra time, two ending in shootouts, while the other game saw Germany gamble with a four goal aggregate lead that they nearly threw away.
Portugal vs. Denmark seems as good a place as any to start. You’ll never guess which ageing star managed to make the tie all about him, for good and bad. Three minutes into cap No.219 Cristiano Ronaldo was handed the chance to cancel out Rasmus Hojlund’s siu-celebrated first leg goal from the spot, but he struck as tame a penalty as he ever had, setting the scene for 117 more minutes of chaos.
The Al-Nassr forward would get his goal in the second half, turning home the rebound from Bruno Fernandes’ shot at a crucial moment, drawing Portugal level in the tie again. More goals were to come before extra time, Francisco Trincao proving to be his side’s hero with an 86th minute equaliser and a goal in the 95th that finally put Roberto Martinez’s men ahead across the two legs. One more from Goncalo Ramos and Portugal were bound for a summer semifinal in Munich where they will face hosts Germany.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side looked to have progress all wrapped at half time in Dortmund, the second of three goals coming when Jamal Musiala pounced off a quickly taken corner while Gianluigi Donnarumma was too busy remonstrating with the referee. The four goal aggregate lead Germany built for themselves was ultimately too much for Italy to overhaul but they really went close, a brilliant Moise Kean double setting the Azzurri up for a late charge. That included one penalty being ruled out by VAR and another converted by Giacomo Raspadori in the 95th minute, too late for Italy to complete what would have been a remarkable comeback.
Spain and France will face off in the other semifinal having overcome the Netherlands and Croatia from 12 yards out. Naturally a win for La Furia Roja was enlivened by more Lamine Yamal brilliance, teed up by a gorgeous pass by 19 year old Dean Huijsen, born in Amsterdam but raised on the Costa del Sol. That’s one that got away for the Dutch. As for events in Saint-Denis, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise were their customarily excellent selves as France overturned a two goal first leg deficit to take Croatia to a penalty shootout. It is usually on those occasions that Luka Modric et al find a way past the big boys. Not this time. Josip Stanisic missed. Dayot Upamecano hit.
Now the stage is set for four elite sides to face off in Germany early in June.
🔗 Top Stories
⚽ Time for change: After a trying week for the USMNT, here’s all the fallout from on the ground in Inglewood.
🗣️ Legends have their say: Thierry Henry is “worried for the USMNT when it comes to the World Cup” and Taylor Twellman is wondering if the US would even make it if their place weren’t guaranteed. Here’s some of the best reaction from our CBS Sports panel, legends of the US game and more.
🇺🇸 USMNT player ratings: A lot of fives, a few fours, some surprising sevens: how the players rated in defeat.
🏆 Mexico back on top: Glory for Mexico in Inglewood, carried to the title by star forward Raul Jimenez (called it). He caught up with the Golazo crew amid the celebrations.
❌ Nations League Final marred: The showpiece finale of the competition was, however, marred by anti-gay chants that resulted in the match being delayed just before the final whistle.
🇮🇹 Coaching change at Juventus: After eight months of relentlessly unwatchable football, Thiago Motta is out at Juventus. Former Lazio and Marseille coach Igor Tudor is stepping into the dugout in Turin, where a Champions League spot hangs in the balance.
🏴 First impressions at Wembley: An utterly adequate start to life for Thomas Tuchel, who will have learned plenty from his side’s 2-0 win over Albania.
😲 No Club Leon at CWC: Remarkable news from Friday as FIFA announced that Club Leon would be banned from the Club World Cup. A replacement team is yet to be confirmed.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- UEFA World Cup qualifiers: England vs. Latvia, Monday, 3:45 p.m.
- 💰 THE PICK: Harry Kane to score two or more (+188) –- The goals might not have flowed as Tuchel would have liked in his first game in charge but there were plenty of encouraging signs in Friday’s win, not least the volume of shots that came the way of the England captain. If Kane can get four shots against Albania it’s perfectly plausible he’ll get a few more against Latvia. One thing we know about the Bayern Munich striker is he’s not one to go easy on the minnows, expect him to add a few more to the record 70 he already has for his nation.
For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don’t miss out on CBSSports.com’s betting home page.
📺 What’s on CBS Sports Golazo Network
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⚽ Call it What You Want (Monday and Thursday): A weekly podcast where Jimmy Conrad, Charlie Davies and Tony Meola cover all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States. You can catch the show streaming live on YouTube every Monday at 1 p.m. ET and Thursday at 6 p.m. ET.
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