USA vs New Zealand preview: Bouncing back from Canada loss
The dismal results keep coming for the United States Men’s National Team. First, there was a 5-1 hammering against Colombia. Then there was the group-stage exit at the Copa America. Now, there’s a 2-1 home loss to Canada in a friendly that featured an interim head coach. It is just the second time ever that Canada has beaten the US in the US.
Because of these performances, morale among US fans is close to an all-time low. Just over 10,000 fans showed up to Children’s Mercy Park to watch that defeat against Jesse Marsch’s Canada This could not be happening at a worse time as the World Cup in the US is less than two years away. Only the possibility of Mauricio Pochettino is keeping the fan base from crumbling entirely.
Embarrassing loss to Canada
The most recent loss in the run of results was as dreadful as it was predictable. Canada was the better team from start to finish. They out-worked and out-hustled the Americans and were first to every ball.
The US duly fell behind after less than 20 minutes and then found themselves down 2-0 less than 15 minutes into the second half. Luca de la Torre got the Americans on the board shortly after that, but it was too little, too late. Jesse Marsch got his revenge on US Soccer. He went on to add some salt to the wound by saying that he would far rather coach the Canada national team than the USMNT side which is in disarray at the moment.
Preview: USA needs a positive result against New Zealand for morale
It might not amount to much, but the USMNT has a chance to bounce back when they play New Zealand. A win against the Kiwis would help stop the run of dismal results from continuing. It could also serve as the perfect springboard to officially announce Pochettino was the new coach.
New Zealand is a little bit of a familiar foe to the US. Their U23 team was in the same group at the Olympics as the Americans this summer. Darren Bazeley has called in 22 players for a pair of stateside friendlies. They played their first game against Mexico and fell 3-0 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
The 22-man roster features New Zealand-based domestic players, guys at smaller European clubs, and several players from American teams. Three of the 22 players (all defenders) are based in the US: Michael Boxall of Minnesota United, Bill Tuiloma of Charlotte FC, and Finn Surman of the Portland Timbers.
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Game notes
Kickoff in the USMNT’s second friendly of the September international window is on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, OH, is hosting the contest between the United States and New Zealand. Tuesday’s game will be the fifth USMNT game in Cincinnati since 2019. It is the side’s fourth game at TQL Stadium since 2021.
Viewers in the United States can watch English-language coverage of the game on TNT. Universo has those wanting to watch in Spanish covered. Coverage is also available on streaming via Max, Fubo, Peacock and more.
PHOTOS: IMAGO.