A MIRACLE MONDAY?
So much is at stake for USMNT vs. Uruguay: the perception of the team and likely Berhalter's future
Christian Pulisic and his USMNT teammates face a tough task. (Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)
By Michael Lewis
The U.S. men's national team has been with its backs to the wall before, but perhaps not always with this much at stake.
On Monday, the Americans will try to secure a win against Uruguay to reach the quarterfinals of Copa America.
If they don't, hysteria will soar to new heights in the U.S. soccer universe.
Online, many speculate is the job of head coach Gregg Berhalter is on the line.
And there is the embarrassment of a host failing to reach the knockout of a tournament, especially with a much bigger competition and prize looming in two years - the World Cup.
There is precedent for a U.S. coach getting a pink slip after losing an important tournament game on American soil.
Several weeks after the USMNT dropped a confounding 4-2 defeat to Mexico in the final of the 2011 Concacaf Gold Cup at the Rose Bowl, U.S. head coach Bob Bradley was axed. It should be noted that Sunil Gulati, then the U.S. Soccer president, wanted Jurgen Klinsmann, to run the team. Klinsmann was named to succeed Bradley.
What will the powers that be at U.S. Soccer decide about Berhalter's fate?
Your guess is as good as mine. There is much to consider, such as paying for the rest of his contract. And if the U.S. Soccer federation brings in a high-priced, high-profile coach such as Jurgen Kloop of Liverpool fame, that deal would likely demand millions more to be spent. And how would that affect the contract of Emma Hayes, the new U.S. women's national team head coach. Aren't the federation's top men’s and women’s coaches supposed to be paid the same?
This is purported to be the golden generation of the USMNT. Players like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Serginho Dest were supposed to make a difference.
They have, up to a point. (You might say that Weah has made a difference in the wrong direction).
If the USA can't qualify for the second round in a tournament that is on its own soil and losing to a Concacaf side, what exactly would be the outlook for 2026, when a much larger competition, the World Cup, will dominate the news, sports and otherwise, in two years time?
An early elimination will cast a doubt about this team to many observers, especially, general sports fans who don't necessarily follow the national team or soccer on a regular basis. Those sports fans are the ones you want to turn into soccer fans.
And how to you accomplish that?
By winning.
In 1999, the U.S. women's national team captured the hearts of many Americans by capturing the Women's World Cup in dramatic fashion, a shootout win over rival China. It certainly didn't hurt that the team was full of stars, superstars and personalities that many people could relate to. It also certainly didn't hurt that Brandi Chastain pulled off her jersey in celebration, a signature moment in American soccer and sports history.
The men don't have to win a World Cup to be successful.
In 2026, it would be doing well in the group stage and reaching the knockout round and even the quarterfinals. Anything after that is whipped cream with a cherry on top.
Six years ago, Croatia finished second in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and the country gave the team a parade, as 5.5 million people cheered on their heroes in Zagreb..
As for the U.S. pulling off back win, or should we say, a miracle, well, it has happened before.
We all know about what transpired in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in 1950, when the U.S. stunned England in a group-stage match, 1-0. The Americans didn't get out of the group, but the result remains one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
In 2010, facing a do-or-die moment at the death of what was a scoreless tie with Algeria in the final group game of the 2010 World Cup, Landon Donovan's dramatic goal in stoppage time lifted the U.S. from being dead in the water to the top of the group.
And there is another contest that might not get as much publicity, but it definitely demonstrated the resolve of the team.
After losing its opening two matches of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, the USMNT needed to defeat Egypt by a 3-0 score and get some outside help as well.
Guess what?
The team did exactly that.
Without any revisionist history, here is my story that was posted on BigAppleSoccer.com on June 21, 2009:
AGAINST ALL ODDS
U.S. pulls off miracle, downs Egypt, 3-0, reaches Confederations Cup semis
RUSTENBERG, South Africa -- As soccer miracles go, it probably doesn't get any more improbable than this.
Left for dead by many of its supporters and soccer fans after Wednesday's embarrassing performance against Brazil, the U.S. National Team pulled off one of the most unlikely results in American soccer history if not in recent international soccer on Sunday night.
Needing two results to go a certain way to advance out of Group B, the U.S. recorded a 3-0 victory over Egypt. Coupled with Brazil's 3-0 victory over Italy, the Americans will get an opportunity to play European champion Spain in the semifinals in Bloemfontein on Wednesday.
The odds of that happening? 100-1? 1,000-1? 10,000-1?
“Big surprise, but we knew we were capable of this,” captain Landon Donovan said. “Now we have a difficult game ahead of us and a very big match.”
Former Westchester Wing Charlie Davies, Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey scored for the Americans, who were scoreboard watching all night at before a less than capacity crowd at Royal Bafokeng Stadium. The Egyptians (1-2) made the U.S. sweat as Wael Gomaa sent his six-yard header over the crossbar in the 90th minute.
The Americans' chances of surviving to play another day in the competition were slim and none. The U.S. (1-2) advanced on goals scored (four) over 1-2 Italy (three), the third tie-breaker.
“I wasn’t aware there was a possibility of getting through,” said Dempsey, who connected for the decisive goal in the 71st minute. “It was only after the coach mentioned it to us. We really just wanted to end on a good note.”
Donovan, a member of the 2002 World Cup team that advanced to the quarterfinals, said this result was bigger.
"I can't imagine many times that something like this has happened," he said. "To have advanced out of a group with Brazil, Italy and the African champions is phenomenal. And no one can take it away from us."
Even the players thought they were headed home. “But this morning we woke up and thought, you never know what can happen, so let’s go out and play a good game and try to score the first goal," Donovan said.
After the 3-0 loss to Brazil, fans filled message boards calling for the head of coach Bob Bradley and heavily criticizing the team.
"All the [expletive] experts in America, everybody who thinks they know everything about soccer, they can all look at that score tonight," said the coach’s son, midfielder Michael Bradley. "Let's se what they say now, all right? Nobody has any respect for what we do, for what goes on in the inside. let them all talk now."
Bradley wasn't finished.
"You play Brazil and Italy," he said. "Breaks don't go your way. We play down a guy for 90 minutes out of 180 minutes against two of the best five teams in the world. It's not easy. We didn't for one second feel sorry for ourselves. We didn't give up. We kept running, We kept fighting. We did the same thing tonight. So what goes on in the team the last two or three days? Nothing different. Guys get ready for the game. Guys believe in one another. Guys are ready for 90 minutes to go out and run and fight and give everything they have for the next guy, put their heart and soul on the field."
The U.S. played an inspired game from virtually the opening kickoff.
"We had nothing to lose and everything to gain," Donovan said.
Under head coach Bob Bradley, the team then went on to play 120 minutes of the best soccer an American team has displayed, stunning Spain, the No. 1, ranked team in the world, 2-0, in the semifinals and then taking a two-goal advantage over Brazil at halftime. The Brazilians rallied for three unanswered goals in the final half to pull out a 3-2 triumph.
It's incredible when a team is given a second life or chance.
Now, I realize Uruguay is not Egypt. The South American side has plenty of firepower and top-flight talent in the likes of Darwin Nunez, midfielder Federico Valverde, and a 37-year-old Luis Suarez coming off the bench, among other lethal weapons.
Can the USA pull off another miracle?
Looking from the outside, it doesn't look good.
Saying that, I have seen this team be resilient and find ways to survive, if not thrive.
But given the degree of difficulty, there is very little, if any room for error this time.