Ahead of the U.S. men’s national team’s first big test in a World Cup cycle where they won’t have the luxury of bypassing qualifiers, head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s most pressing concern was how the new-look USMNT would fare in hostile environments.
The team’s response to Pochettino’s inquiry was more immediate and emphatic than he could’ve realistically expected or even imagined, as the U.S. curbstomped bitter rivals Mexico 3-0 in Glendale, Arizona on Saturday in front of a largely pro-El Tri crowd.
The 80th meeting between North America’s two traditional powerhouses began as most of the previous 79 had: both teams adjusting to the occasion and taking extra care not to make mistakes. But eventually the first mistake came in the 28th minute, and it came from perhaps the most unlikely source. Raúl Rangel, who had been lauded as part of a Mexican defense that didn’t concede a goal at the World Cup until the instant classic against England in the round of 16, failed to contain Gio Reyna’s cross and instead spilled it right into the feet of Julian Hall, who made quick work of his can’t-miss chance for his third goal in as many games. Hall became the youngest American to score in each of his first three caps, and just the third to do so at any age.
Mexico, playing under legendary defender Rafael Márquez for only the third time and first against a hated rival he had tormented during his playing career, couldn’t afford to fall further behind. Santiago Giménez missed an open goal right before the half, for which Roberto “Piojo” Alvarado thought he’d made amends in the 58th minute following a rebound off a free kick. But Diego Kochen, who earned the start in this match by virtue of being the only one of the USMNT’s four goalkeepers not to concede a goal in his half of action during the first two games of the window and generally staying mistake-free, made a leaping stop to tip Alvarado’s volley over the bar. Kochen’s save showed why he is comfortably the USMNT’s best goalkeeping prospect, but the team’s highest-profile overall prospect in a decade and the one on whom this generation of players will likely pin most of its ambitions stole the headlines just a few minutes later. Cavan Sullivan, who has emerged as a bona fide superstar during the Philadelphia Union’s rapid rise in the second half of the MLS season, announced his arrival at the international level when he read and intercepted a pass from Rangel and chipped the marooned Mexico goalkeeper from far outside the box. Sullivan made history less than a week after his 17th birthday as the USMNT’s youngest-ever goalscorer, taking the mantle that Mathis Albert claimed in just the previous match.
Sullivan’s audacious chip resurrected the all-too-familiar “dos a cero” scoreline that has defined the recent history of this rivalry and marked the point where desperation began to set in for Mexico. That desperation quickly turned into rashness that dug the Mexicans into an even deeper hole, as Mateo Chávez was sent off for slapping Sebastian Berhalter in the face after fouling Yunus Musah in the 67th minute. Chávez’s red card took away whatever wind remained in Mexico’s sails; from then on, the U.S. simply managed the rest of the game and neutralized the once-fervent crowd (and even turned some of it in their favor). Malik Tillman put a bow on the USMNT’s dream night in the 84th minute and Justin Ellis shot what would’ve been a fourth straight at Rangel just a few minutes later, but by then the U.S. had long put the game out of reach.
The U.S. expected to beat Peru and Chile to open the window, so this was the group’s first true test since being torn apart by Belgium at the World Cup under controversial circumstances and immediately evaporating the momentum and goodwill they’d accumulated. While it wasn’t always pretty, it’s safe to say they passed that test with flying colors. It accomplished Pochettino’’’s two main goals of this window: evaluating the emerging talents in the player pool and seeing how those talents would respond in high-pressure situations. Pochettino spoke glowingly about the team’s bend-don’t-break mentality and how it allowed them to gradually gain control of the game after weathering the initial storm.
“I think the first half was a good lesson because we had to work together and suffer together when we weren’t playing well or in the way that we planned to play,” Pochettino said. “I think it’s so important to show that maturity…to finish the first half 1-0. In the second half, we made some changes that made it easier for us to start to play the way we wanted to play. I think we were much better in the second half; we dominated the game.”
The USMNT’s gritty young stars will get one more chance to impress this window in a match that will feature less fanfare but no less quality, against Canada in St. Paul on Tuesday. Â