The FIFA break has allowed for some intense friendlies aside from competitive tournament qualifiers and nations league games, top among those so called friendlies was a particular tres-a-cero.
Mexico 3-0 USA, with officiating help
On Friday, Mexico visited MetLife stadium and left a 3-0 winner over the USMNT. The match was highlighted by three gifted goals by an inept USA defense that spelled l-o-s-s for the hosts. Look a the USA defense when the cross into Chicharito arrives. Not one is marking him, all of the defenders were looking at the Mexican winger making the cross.
But in truth the Mexican victory was abetted by a questionable officiating job. Sadly, the consistency of the biased calls is beginning to look like what some have labeled a CONCACAF-ordered retaliation for the U.S. Justice Department’s role in uncovering the vast corruption that festered our confederation. Nine indictments, or one per each goal of the tres-a-cero.
One need only look into the officiating of games involving the U.S. men’s team over the past couple of years to note that no matter who the team plays it is the other side that gets all the breaks, even on U.S. home games. The refs are not always making in-your-face or blatantly poor calls, but they are consistently calling fouls against the U.S. team that when committed by the opposition go uncalled.
Similarly, whenever the U.S. is building momentum, or is on a breakaway, or has a star player on a roll, the ref manages to stop the momentum or breakaway or roll by calling a foul when advantage was obvious or not calling the foul when the result was negative. Poor Christian Pulisic, for one, has yet to go through a single CONCACAF match without suffering twice as many uncalled fouls as he gets fouls called in his favor. When the officiating is one-sided, it is hard to analyze results from a strategic, technical, or athletic perspective.
Revamping U.S. Soccer
The Mexicans outplayed the USA on Friday, but not by 3-0. This was no tres-a-cero. Unfortunately, the score will stand in the minds of decision makers, pundits, and fans alike as signifying there is a chasm of talent, skill, ambition, coaching, and support between the two sides. Though some of that may undoubtedly exist, the U.S. Soccer presidential election fiasco, and the entity’s subsequent poor management of most issues—from finding a coach to revamping the manner in which we do things such as youth development and travel soccer—still fester as the major systemic problems.
The U.S. is slowly gathering the fundamental player pieces for a competitive national team. But that development seems player-driven, as in when a talented one gets to play in Europe and is nurtured there instead of at home. What the USNMT needs are: a youth-and-developmental-soccer system overhaul to enable better and consistent talent to surface, more time together once a roster is chosen, a consistent system to play within (one players can buy into early and grow within), an established starting line-up that can learn to play with one another, support from the powers that be who must have their eyes on long-term program growth, and an end to scapegoating and whitewashing, together with a willingness to learn and change. They should all be working to ensure the next tres-a-cero is in the USA’s favor.
You must be logged in to post a comment.