Austin, Texas – The first half was a brutal watch for those in the stands of a half -full Q2 stadium. Fighting with a suffocating evening at 96 degrees, the United States Male Male National Team was locked at 0-0 against an organized team from Saudi Arabia in its second gold group’s scene.
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino looked exasperated by his wilting team, which was slow, dull and lacking in dynamism-a contrast that striking the atmosphere in the 5-0 battery on Trinidad and Tobago in the opening of the Americans.
“We want to win, but at the same time, it is to help the players play and strike (on) the door and to say:” We can play for the national team and we can be involved in the next World Cup “”, said Pochettino after the previous victory, seeming fully confident for the next match against Saudi Arabia.
“This is what I expect. Win, and the players really believe they have the opportunity … (for) fighting for a place in the World Cup.”
With many beginners and missing key figures on this summer list, the story was defined for an attack name or an emerging fringe option (as Diego Luna) to save the day against Saudi Arabia. Instead, the star of the night – someone who knows the warmth of Texas well – was a defender Chris Richards.
Dive into a cross of Sebastian Haalter Out of a free kick in the 63rd minute, the winner of the FA Cup (with Crystal Palace) converted to give the USMNT an advance of 1-0 that he would not let slide, reserving his place in the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup with two victories of two games to open the competition.
Celebrating the goal with his wide arms and seeming to slide better than any member of the attack, Richards was not only the Savior with his goal, but also recalled the resilience that this USMNT – missing list of many key players this summer – must have at Gold Cup.
Also let’s not forget the best game of the first half, which also involved Richards. Long before his goal, Richards provided a defensive intervention in the 31st minute which was just as worthy of his score effort. His statistics, apart from the goal itself, also speak of themselves. Five clearances, two blocked shots, a 100% success rate in air duels, a 95% precision rate with its 74 assists – the list continues for what will happen as a memorable evening for the 25 -year -old player, who played football academy just on the other side of the state with FC Dallas.
But this is the good news for the USMNT. The bad news? Pochettino cannot count on one of its central defenders to save the team every game.
As superb as Richards was Thursday, we could say the opposite of most of the rest of the XI which still has a lot to prove in this Gold Cup. To come back to what Pochettino said earlier, hope was not only to succeed in international competition, but also to find more depth for the World Cup which begins in 12 months.
In a summer that lacks the headliners Christian Pulisic,, Weston McKennie,, Timothy Weah,, Giovanni Reyna,, Antonee Robinson,, Yunus And Sergiño Dest (for various reasons), the hope was that after the victory of 5-0 catchy last Sunday, the more would continue to intervene in the second group phase match.
Richards, a probable starter in a better XI, is far from that. Although many praise should rightly be launched to the player off competition Thursday, which officially helped book a place in the Channel with direct elimination, the United States has not really won a lot about new faces to be able to make their mark and challenge missing starters.
And if that continues, they may not last much longer beyond the quarter-finals.
Looking at other titles, such as Canada and Mexico, Pochettino and the rest of the teammates in Richards cannot afford to be as predictable and lethargic as they were on Thursday. They will have a final development with a group phase closer to Haiti on Sunday, but after that, the real ardent tests will emerge which will exceed the stifling conditions in Austin.
But at the very least, against Saudi Arabia, in a result which avoided a disaster of early gold cut, fans of the USMNT can be easily restored by knowing that Richards was able to extinguish the fire safely.
