If fans look back on this era of the United States men’s national team as a turning point, one image will stand above the rest.
The picture, already immortalized on t-shirts, shows forward Christian Pulisic silencing the crowd of mostly Mexican fans at Empower Field at Mile High during the final of the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League. The star of the national team stood confidently with one finger to his lips while an exuberant group of young, talented players crashed in around him.
“I remember the Nations League final clear as day,” defender Reggie Cannon said. “I think it was an amazing environment because playing in those hostile conditions and then being able to pull a trophy out is just the best feeling as a group.”
THE USMNT LEADS 🇺🇸
CHRISTIAN PULISIC FROM THE PENALTY SPOT 🎯
IN EXTRA TIME. AGAINST MEXICO IN A FINAL 🤯#USAvMEX (via @CBSSportsGolazo)pic.twitter.com/9cKeqEt9b6
— Yahoo Soccer (@FCYahoo) June 7, 2021
It was a moment of relief, triumph and unbridled joy for a group carrying the burden of a battle most were not present for – the failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“The past failures aren’t their fault, 2018 is not on them. But they will be judged based on that because it’s the U.S. men’s national team,” Herculez Gomez, former USMNT forward and co-host of ESPN’s “Futbol Americas,” told Pro Soccer Wire.
“Whether it’s fair or not, they have this burden to carry, and they have to pull that failure out of the minds of the U.S. men’s national team fans, pundits and even pundits from other national teams, because the way this team is viewed – the way U.S. soccer is viewed – will depend on them in this World Cup.”
Now, a year later, the United States embarks on a Nations League title-defending run with a different goal ahead – one that is a precarious mix of team effort and individual competition.
While the 2021 Nations League final was a launching point into a successful World Cup qualifying campaign, the early stage of this year’s tournament will be used to evaluate the best combination of 23 players (or 26 if FIFA approves a proposal to expand the roster) to succeed in Qatar this November.
A trial run for World Cup qualifying
It had to be Pulisic to score the 114th minute penalty against Mexico’s veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, giving the USMNT the victory and inaugural Nations League trophy in 2021.
A week removed from becoming the first American man to play in and win a UEFA Champions League final, Pulisic was shedding the ghosts of Couva with a new group of players writing their own story.
A month later, the USMNT – composed of almost an entirely different group of players – collected its second regional trophy, winning the Gold Cup with a last-minute set piece goal from center back Miles Robinson against, who else, Mexico.
Both tournaments acted as springboards for World Cup qualifying later that fall.
“Each tournament was a stepping stone in the right direction for us. The Nations League was a stepping stone for us to go into the Gold Cup and have a great result, and then go into World Cup qualifiers,” midfielder Kellyn Acosta said. “I think we are using each of our opportunities to grow as a group.”
After the blow of missing the World Cup, an early lesson for the current group came in a humbling 2-0 loss to Canada in October 2019 in the Nations League.
“The game in Canada that we lost, it was a real wake-up call for us as a group as to how difficult these games are and not to take anything for granted,” Berhalter said. “And specifically the amount of intensity that we need to bring to each and every game.”
The U.S. bounced back with a 4-1 win at home against Canada a month later and finished atop the group stage with a 4-0 win over Cuba.
And then 2020 hit. After just one friendly against Costa Rica, the U.S. and the rest of the world was put on pause by the emerging Covid-19 pandemic. The subsequent round of the first CONCACAF Nations League was pushed to summer 2021, adding to an already congested schedule that included the Gold Cup and qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Having the Nations League and Gold Cup back to back provided Berhalter with the ability to use two completely different squads in two major regional competitions. As a result, a program-high 29 players earned their first World Cup qualifying cap during the road to Qatar.
“A lot of MLS guys got their opportunity when it came to the Gold Cup to be able to cement themselves in this World Cup squad building on that Nations League win,” Cannon said. “That group set the standard, and it’s been carried out ever since.”
A balanced approach
Sports, and specifically soccer, are not always about results. Though the U.S. came away champions twice in two months, the bonding experience from those tournaments also flowed over into World Cup qualifying and now World Cup preparations.
It has taken those games and a massive group of players to pick up the pieces from a lost World Cup cycle.
“They’re in a Lord of the Flies-type of mentality of kids governing kids,” Gomez, who made a World Cup roster in 2010 after missing all of qualifying and missed the 2014 World Cup due to injury, said. “Nothing taken away from Gregg Berhalter, but Gregg came in, and out went the Jozy Altidores. Out went the Michael Bradleys and Geoff Camerons, the Matt Beslers and Omar Gonzalezs.
“In came players like Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson, Zack Steffen, Timothy Weah, etc. And [Berhalter] empowered them: ‘This is your team. We’re gonna get through this together.’ There’s something to be said for that. So that unity is there.”
Now that World Cup Group B is set, after Wales defeated Ukraine in a playoff match to fill the final spot, the U.S. can officially start planning for the tournament.
They played top-25 FIFA ranked Morocco and Uruguay in two June friendlies before Friday’s Nations League game against Grenada in Austin, Tex. – a major drop-off in competition from international-caliber talent like PSG defender Achraf Hakimi of Morocco and Benfica forward Darwin Núñez of Uruguay.
While the opponent is not a World Cup-qualified team, the moments that happen between games and on the field will help Berhalter find his November roster. It has created a delicately balanced environment where players are playing alongside one another in games but competing in training for a coveted ticket to Qatar.
“A word to kind of describe it is like ‘frenemies,’ right?” Acosta said. “Where we’re friends off the field, but on the field, we’re competing. I’m bringing it, you’re bringing it, and I think that’s positive.”
Cannon and fellow right back DeAndre Yedlin – the only player currently in camp who has been to a World Cup – are battling for the same position. Barcelona defender Sergiño Dest maintains a grip on the starting role but was not in the June window camp due to injury.
“[Sergiño is] messaging me,” Cannon said. “We’re competing for a World Cup roster spot, but that doesn’t mean that the relationship has to deteriorate.”
For Berhalter, June has been another chance to see how players work together and which matchups work best. But it hasn’t made the final decision any easier from an emotional standpoint.
“I’m pretty confident that … the players that do make [the World Cup roster] will be just as upset for the guys that don’t make it as the guys that aren’t. That’s how tight this group is,” Berhalter said. “It’s going to be very difficult for us as coaches to pick the final slot. And all of us are going to be sad when we have to tell a player that he’s not going to be part of this World Cup.”
Friday’s game in Austin (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, UniMás, TUDN) is an oddly timed send-off of sorts for the team, but it’s far from the final stretch before the World Cup. After Grenada, the United States travels to El Salvador for the competitive environment at Estadio Cuscatlán, and then the team will play two final friendlies at away locations in September.
“Right now, I see the group is pulling together,” Berhalter said. “They pull in the same direction.”
This article first appeared on USA Today Sports+