Tag: U.S. men’s soccer team

After waiting six years to see the U.S. men’s soccer team in town again, Philadelphia soccer fans got their money’s worth on Saturday.

Gio Reyna scored in the fourth minute and assisted Folarin Balogun’s winner in the 71st to give the Americans a 2-1 win over Paraguay, extending their unbeaten run this fall to four games.

Reyna was the man of the hour from the moment the lineups came out. This was his first U.S. game since the Concacaf Nations League final four in March and his first start since last year’s Copa América group stage finale. It also was just his fifth start of the calendar year in any game for club or country because of injuries and bad form.

Reyna leapt to meet Max Arfsten’s cross after a corner kick got broken up. The 23-year-old attacking midfielder with so much unfulfilled talent ran to the corner flag, pointing to the U.S. crest on his jersey along the way, and his teammates joined him for a big group hug next to the TV cameras.

Paraguay equalized just over five minutes later with a lightning-fast and impressive play. Junior Alonso hit a long ball down the left flank for Miguel Almirón — after Reyna waited too long to press — and the Atlanta United star hit an inch-perfect first-time cross. Alex Arce was right on time, and slammed the finish past a frozen Matt Freese.

Almirón might have been an inch offside when the pass was played, but he otherwise left Joe Scally in the dust — in Scally’s first U.S. game since the Nations League flop. Arce then easily beat Miles Robinson, who has been a regular under manager Mauricio Pochettino but isn’t a surefire starter.

The Paraguay fans in the bipartisan crowd of 17,221, many of whom arrived early to tailgate, were thrilled.

After that, the game settled down for a while, and fans could observe how the U.S. was trying to play.

Pochettino set out a lineup that looked on paper like the 3-4-2-1 he’s used lately, but it had some wrinkles. Arfsten, who played left wingback, sat a bit deeper than usual, while right wingback Sergiño Dest pushed up so high that it often looked like he was an attacking midfielder.

The result looked at times like a 4-2-3-1, with Scally as the right back, Medford’s Brenden Aaronson in a central attacking midfield role, Dest to Aaronson’s right, and Reyna to the left — though Aaronson and Reyna had the freedom to switch places.

Folarin Balogun led the line up top, Cristian Roldan and Tanner Tessmann were the central midfielders, and Tim Ream and Robinson stood at centerback.

It was a fluid setup all in all, and it produced some entertaining soccer.

The starting lineup stayed intact until the 67th minute and was just as lively as the first half. Aaronson was on the ball a lot, and Dest ripped a shot from atop the 18-yard box that Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill tipped over his bar.

That shot was Dest’s last action, as he and Scally departed for Diego Luna and Alex Freeman. The swaps shifted the U.S. formation to a traditional 4-2-3-1, with Freeman at right back and Luna, Reyna, and Aaronson in the attacking midfield roles from left to right.

Balogun struck for the lead in the 71st, after first intercepting a loose pass forced by Juan Cacéres. Roldan and Luna forced it with some hustle, and when Balogun got the ball he held it up to spring Reyna down the left flank. Reyna returned the favor with a square pass that was deflected but fell right for Balogun to finish.

Four minutes later, Pochettino sent in three more subs: Ricardo Pepi for Balogun at striker, Timothy Tillman for Reyna in attacking midfield, and Aidan Morris for Roldan in the center.

Freese made his big save for the night in the 78th, denying a long-range blast from Almirón.

After the ensuing corner kick, the U.S. went down the field, and Pepi should have made it 3-1 in front of an open net. But he was off-balance receiving it, and by the time he turned to his favored right foot, Paraguay’s Gustavo Gómez had raced to the goal line to block the shot.

The last U.S. sub was Sebastian Berhalter for Aaronson in the 80th, and the hometown hero got a big ovation from the crowd on his way out.

Things got dicey from there for the U.S., including a deflection off Arfsten right on 90 minutes that rolled inches wide of Freese’s far post.

Just over a minute later, a brawl erupted by the benches after Gómez and Freeman briefly argued over who would claim a dead ball on the field. Gómez put Freeman in a headlock, which sparked a melee that ensnared both teams’ active players and benches, coaches included. It was a sight rarely seen in soccer, but especially in a friendly without official stakes.

Referee Cristhofer Corado of Guatemala dished out a few yellow cards, and would have been well within his rights to end the game there instead of waiting out the announced four minutes of stoppage time. But play did resume, and the clock ran to 96 minutes when the final whistle came.

The U.S. now heads south to play another South American foe, Uruguay, in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday (7 p.m., TNT, Universo).

Long before U.S. men’s soccer team manager Mauricio Pochettino unveiled a 3-4-2-1 formation for his players, outsiders debated the possibility.

Though the program went decades without playing that way, the rise of high-flying outside backs like Sergiño Dest made the idea start to sound sensible.

But since Pochettino made the switch in September, Dest hasn’t gotten to play in the new setup much. He was a second-half substitute in the momentum-turning win over Japan, then had to miss October’s games because of an injury.

That makes this month’s games crucial for the 25-year-old, who plays his club soccer at Dutch power PSV Eindhoven. The odds are good that fans will see him play a major role Saturday at Subaru Park when the U.S. faces Paraguay (5 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62).

“Yeah, I feel like it’s really important,” Dest said at Friday’s practice in Chester. “Because the rosters are a little bit different. For me personally, because I was injured, I didn’t really have that much time to play with everyone, the players that I didn’t know before. It needs time.”

Dest has historically played on the right side of a four-defender setup with both club and country. The right wingback spot ahead of three centerbacks isn’t too different, but as with any tactical change, there are subtleties.

“It’s a little bit different, but obviously, that’s the way we play at the moment, so I feel like you have to adapt to that formation,” Dest said. “For me personally, I’ve always been an attacking outside back, so I feel like it’s not that hard. But you still need some time.”

Dest can also play on the left side, as he did against Japan. That could matter even more if longtime starter Antonee Robinson can’t overcome his longstanding knee issues. A combination of Dest and Tim Weah (who’s out injured right now) as the wingbacks would be quite dynamic — though with plenty of defense needed between them.

“Now is a good opportunity for him,” Pochettino said. “I think we have good players in that position [in this squad] like Alex Freeman and Joe Scally, that are very competitive and they can play in different [roles]. Sergiño is more offensive than defensive — he needs to improve in defensive areas — but I think it’s a great opportunity for us to know him, to see the capacity to adapt to our demands that are completely different for his club, or were in the past year. “

Whatever Dest is asked, he made it clear he’s ready to answer the call.

“I always want to play for the national team,” he said. “I feel like it’s an honor to be here and to fight for my spot. I always wanted to be here, but to have some extra training and some extra rest between some games, especially after the injury I came from, I think it’s also not bad, especially with the long season we still have ahead.”

Gio Reyna in the spotlight

While local fans will obviously be focused on the four Philly-area products on this squad, many eyes nationally will be on Gio Reyna’s return to the squad. The talented young playmaker had been on a downward slide for a while, but has finally started to trend back up in the last few weeks.

If he can make an impression in these two games, it will be a big deal in his quest to make a second straight World Cup team.

Reyna hasn’t spoken with the media yet this week, but veteran U.S. centerback Tim Ream had praise for Reyna’s work in practice.

“He’s not really letting the challenges overseas seep into camp, which is great to see,” said Ream, who wears the captain’s armband under Pochettino as the squad’s most experienced player. “He’s speaking up a lot more in the trainings, in terms of, ‘OK, I’m seeing this, what are you seeing?’ He’s really getting involved in the understanding of the movements and what we’re doing in the buildup and in the defensive shape.”

Ream said he has observed a better mentality in Reyna, too. That has long been a question about the attacking midfielder, dating back to the scandal with former U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter at the 2022 World Cup.

“I feel like he’s more in tune and more focused on the field than I’ve seen in the past, which is a great thing,” Ream said. “And I think whether it was injury or other things that were going on, I think his focus is so much greater now, and that’s a good thing.”

The mention of “other things” didn’t need further detail. Just last month, Reyna talked about it with the Associated Press, and his lack of contrition did not go over well.

This U.S. squad is the first one where Reyna has worked with Sebastian Berhalter, Gregg’s son. Gio’s famed father, Claudio, was as close as could be with Berhalter until the scandal erupted.

Pochettino was asked whether the subject had come up between the sons, and he said it has not.

“I hear some things, but for me it’s not important, because in front of everything is the national team,” he said. “I cannot judge, I cannot take decisions from the past. … Now it’s a completely different environment. And what I saw from day one — good synergy, good teammates — I think the interaction and the communication is fantastic.”