There’s been a lot of negatives said about Gregg Berhalter in this past week – about his tactics, his man management, his team selection, the whole lot. All of it was on display against Jamaica in an ugly match that the United States barely escaped from.
But you gotta give him credit: Berhalter knows how to beat Mexico.
He did it again tonight. Despite fans and former USA players calling for his job, the manager whose re-hire was deemed a controversy gifted a massive morale boost with a 2-0 victory over the Americans’ biggest international rivals. Dos a cero, once again.
Berhalter’s decision to start Adams, a player recovering from injury, was scrutinized. Adams repaid the manager by scoring a rocket of a goal from over 30 yards out to send AT&T Stadium in Arlington into hysterics.
At least a few people questioned whether or not Gio Reyna should have been brought into the team despite his lack of minutes at Nottingham Forest. That minority of critics was silenced when Reyna cleaned up a second chance effort to double the lead for the USMNT.
‘It never gets old winning titles with your country,’ Reyna said with a smile after the match.
Tyler Adams’ wonder strike put the US ahead leading them to a Nations League title
Adams is seen jumping into the arms of his national team manager, Gregg Berhalter
This United States team won the country’s third CONCACAF Nations League title
This result will likely not change the minds of anyone deeply in the ‘Berhalter Out’ camp. They’ll point to some very clear facts that will reduce the quality of the win.
Yes, this is a bad Mexico team – it’s been a bad Mexico team for a while, quite possibly the worst in the history of the nation.
Yes, Jaime Lozano is the third person to manage Mexico in a span of just over a year in a black eye for the Mexican Football Federation.
Yes, Mexico hasn’t beaten the United States since a 3-0 victory at MetLife Stadium all the way back in September of 2019.
But give Berhalter this small credit: when people were saying that he didn’t deserve the honor of coaching the United States men’s national team, he delivered his nation a trophy – their third Nations League crown in three attempts.
They almost didn’t get there. A loss to Jamaica seemed to be on the cards ever since the Reggae Boys took advantage under a minute into the Nations League semifinal game the Americans played on Thursday.
Throughout that entire match, the USMNT struggled to make an impact. They couldn’t break through the back line, their shots seemingly ineffective, their passing wayward, their runs and play in the box disastrous.
But with the last kick of the game, a header from Miles Robinson deflected off Jamaican forward Cory Burke and into his own net to level the game and force extra time.
Gio Reyna scored with a brilliant volley to go up 2-0 over their rivals in the second half
Berhalter, whose benching of Reyna at the World Cup led to a scandal, hugs the player
Victory followed thanks to a pair of goals from Haji Wright – who took advantage of the exhausted Jamaicans to advance to the final.
There were changes from that squad. Berhalter, realizing that he couldn’t start without a holding midfield presence, turned to Adams to start the match alongside Reyna after both came on as substitutes.
The Americans clearly had the advantage from the outset. Adams’ strike was a long time coming but was a magnificent shot that sent fans into hysterics.
Even with Adams off in the second half, the United States didn’t relent. A wonderful chance was cleared – but not far enough. Reyna saw his opportunity and took it one time past Ochoa. That infamous scoreline, Dos a Cero, came back to haunt Mexico once again.
The match got testy in the second half – with Mexico’s Edson Alvarez (L) getting a yellow card
Homophobic chants sounded when Matt Turner kicked the ball – leading to two stoppages
The fans didn’t take to that well. Last year in the Nations League semifinals, when the Mexican team was losing badly, fans began chanting homophobic slurs when the American keeper had a goal kick. Despite it happening dozens of times, it took referee Ivan Barton a long time before he ended the match with roughly three minutes remaining.
Flash forward to tonight. Down by that scoreline, scenes of Mexican fans leaving the stadium were met with those same chants.
Referee Drew Fischer stopped the match twice as a result of the embarrassing display.
Before he had the chance to do so a third time, the match ended. Full time. Dos a Cero again, as the Americans firmly planted themselves atop CONCACAF with a seven-game unbeaten streak.