Despite losing 2-1 at Trinidad and Tobago on Monday, the United States men's national team have qualified for the 2024 Copa America due to winning the two-legged Nations League quarterfinal tie 4-2 on aggregate. They'll also move on in the Nations League semifinals which will take place in March of 2024 in Dallas.
Sergino Dest received back-to-back yellow cards in the 39th minute, earning a red card and sending the USMNT down to 10 men. The first yellow was for kicking the ball away while the second was for dissent as Dest lost his cool, even blowing the ref a kiss. Tim Ream and Gio Reyna did their best to calm down the situation but it was too late as the second yellow had already been issued.
Thanks to scoring an away goal via a header from Antonee Robinson in the first half, Trinidad would've needed to score five during the match but after Joe Scally entered, the USMNT were able to withstand their attack. It was still a disappointing end to the international break despite advancing in Nations League. They'll now be without Dest for the first leg of the semifinals.
"It is concerning, it's not what we want to represent. It's not who we are as a group," Berhalter said in regards to Dest's red card.. "We pride ourselves on staying mentally disciplined, battling through any type of decisions whether they're good decisions or bad decisions we're supposed to keep going and responding in appropriate ways and that obviously wasn't the right response."
"Sergino did apologize to the group and he said that it's not going to happen again and we as a team, the players, and the staff need to hold him accountable, because it's inexcusable and we were very firm with our words after the game, he put a number of guys in jeopardy and made a number of guys do a lot of work in this weather and it's inexcusable."
Those are strong words from Berhalter who, while he mentioned the growth that Dest has gone through, knows there's a long way to go. Scally will likely be the person who comes in but Dest is still critical to what the team can do in Nations League.
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Due to the 2026 World Cup taking place in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the USMNT need as many competitive matches as possible. They won't need to go through World Cup qualifying which means that Copa America will be a great time to test themselves against the best teams in the world. The USMNT need to learn how to cope with talent like Argentina and Brazil and it'll also be a test for Berhalter as well. If he's not able to get out of the group stage, there is a chance that the USMNT could move in a different direction coaching wise two years before the World Cup.
Not that this exorcises the demons of missing the World Cup but the USMNT went into Trinidad, lost 2-1 and still qualified for Copa America and advanced in Concacaf Nations League. Sergino Dest was sent off in the first half and the match spiraled into chaos but all you can do is advance and they did just that.
While it's weird that the defensive midfielder wasn't needed earlier in play, he'll at least get to close out the last three minutes of stoppage time.
We're in just hold on territory. While it would be good for the USMNT to score another goal, they can't sacrifice defense to do that being down a man.
This may get a little sweaty... Trinidad has never scored three goals on the USMNT and this could be the time that the record is broken but they need three more goals to advance in regular time due to the USMNT scoring an away goal.
It won't be pretty but the USMNT just has to avoid a heavy defeat here.
Joe Scally entered for Gio Reyna and Trinidad immediately responded with quite a strike and things are level. Trinidad will still need four more goals to advance but they have to start somewhere.
Gio Reyna and Tim Ream are trying to calm him down before he gets a second yellow card but it didn't come fast enough as the USMNT are now down to 10 men. If they are to advance from this round, they'll have to play their match without the right back. The first yellow was for kicking the ball away and the second seemed to be for comments after.
It was a header in the box from Sergino Dest and Robinson has now scored in back to back games.
Nathaniel James puts a shot on target as Trinidad were able to create a chance on the counter. It shows why the USMNT does need to be wary despite their lead.
Right out of the gate the USMNT are firing shots on target and seeming more direct of out of the gate.
It's time for the anthems as the game will get underway shortly.
The USMNT won't wait until the 82nd minute to open the scoring in this game as they roll to a comprehensive victory. Pick: Trinidad & Tobago 0, USMNT 5
Everyone may not be in the starting XI but this is who I have my eye on tonight
Kevin Paredes: Almost assured a spot on the Olympic roster in 2024, Paredes has an opportunity to show what he can do as he looks to translate club form to the international stage. While Paredes didn't have a good showing in the first leg against Trinidad, part of the goal of building up a young player is by keeping faith in them after a small setback. Extremely talented, it is a good chance to see how he improves with match experience and time in training under Berhalter.
Lennard Maloney: While a defensive midfielder may not be needed in the match, with McKennie unavailable, Yunus Musah will likely push higher up allowing Maloney to show what he can do in the center of the park. The role as Adams' replacement is wide open so seeing what he has in Maloney needs to happen sooner than later for Berhalter.
Folarin Balogun: While Balogun has been excellent in his short time with the USMNT, he needs to gain chemistry with other wingers who aren't Weah and Pulisic. Isolated at times in leg one, this is a time with more training where similarly to Paredes, it will be good to see what has changed. At this stage, most of the USMNT players have been playing together for years but as Balogun gets more minutes under his belt, off-ball runs will only get better as he knows where his teammates want to be.
While the USMNT still needs to qualify, the 2024 Copa America will start in Atlanta and end in Miami. Fitting locations with U.S. Soccer headquarters heading to Atlanta and Argentina building a training center in Florida, the new home of Lionel Messi. The other venues have yet to be announced.
The best way to make sure that the USMNT scores as many goals as possible is by playing all of their goal scorers and that's just what Berhalter is doing to get the match going.
USMNT: 1-Matt Turner, 2-Sergiño Dest, 3-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 5-Antonee Robinson, 6-Yunus Musah, 7-Gio Reyna, 9-Ricardo Pepi, 11-Brenden Aaronson, 13-Tim Ream (Capt.), 14-Luca de la Torre, 20-Folarin Balogun
Substitutes: 18-Ethan Horvath, 21-Gaga Slonina, 4-Chris Richards, 10-Alex Zendejas, 12-Miles Robinson, 15-Paxten Aaronson, 16-Kevin Paredes, 17-Malik Tillman, 19-Joe Scally, 22-Lennard Maloney, 23-Kristoffer Lund
Result of leg one: United States 3, Trinidad & Tobago 0
The United States will advance if: They avoid losing by more than two goals
While losing in Trinidad would be a disastrous result for Gregg Berhalter and the USMNT, it is reassuring to know that even without Weston McKennie for the second leg, there is room for error. An early goal would send the USMNT cruising to the finish line.
Trinidad will advance if: They win and overturn a three-goal deficit
To say that it's a tall task for Trinidad would be an understatement. Not only will they be without Noah Powder who was red carded in the first leg but Trinidad have also never scored more than two goals facing the USMNT. History can always be made but it certainly isn't on Trinidad and Tobago's side here.
While this is a chance for some rotation without Weston McKennie, don't expect a weakened lineup from Gregg Berhalter who has no plans to rotate. Despite winning the first leg 3-0, the USMNT will still want a better performance this time around after not scoring until the 82nd minute of play. On the bright side they got quite a goal cushion even though it took a while to score but taking care of business in the first half would be optimal.
