Playing with their respective nations’ pride on the line, there doesn’t look to be a slouch among any of the three World Cup host sides.
After Mexico opened up its World Cup campaign with a solid win in an unstable game against South Africa, the other two home countries kicked off their runs on the second day of action Friday.
Canada got the party started in the afternoon, leaving home fans stressed but satisfied with a draw and its first-ever point at the World Cup. Then the United States got rolling, playing one of the best games the Stars and Stripes have put to pitch in recent memory with a 4-1 clobbering of Paraguay.
Despite the differing results, the American and Canadian sides are interesting mirrors of one another, as both came into the tournament with perhaps the highest expectations in the respective histories of their programs, put forth by squads littered with talent across top European leagues.
Here’s a deeper look at Matchday 2’s action.
Canada hampered by missed opportunities
Look beyond the final score, and you’ll see perhaps one of the most dominant showings Canada has pieced together against a European side. The Red and White won the possession battle 61-39, had 1.23 expected goals to 0.96 for Bosnia and Herzegovina, took 13 shots to 8, had 37 touches in the opposing box to 15, and were significantly more clinical with their passing, delivering 310 accurate balls to 172.
Instead, Canada needed late heroics to salvage a single point, its first ever at the World Cup.
As the stats suggest, it wasn’t for a lack of opportunity. Jonathan David nearly — and should’ve — opened the scoring in the 16th minute after a loose ball fell to his feet in the box, but the Juventus striker fired it straight at keeper Nikola Vasilj. Then, at the 31-minute mark, fellow striker Tani Oluwaseyi bodied defender Tarik Muharemovic out of the way, but with plenty of space in the box, sailed a shot well over the crossbar.
Speaking to media after the game, head coach Jesse Marsch said he was “disappointed with the first half. I just felt we were tentative. We didn’t play as aggressively as I would’ve liked.” But aggressiveness aside, the problem, at its core, looked to be a lack of finish. Luckily, Canada had a couple more names to call on.
Needing a spark, Marsch swapped both those strikers out in the second half, bringing in Promise David and Cyle Larin. The latter got the assist while the former netted the tying goal in the 78th minute, allowing fans to let out a collective sigh of relief.
“We still have everything in hand. That’s a really big point for us, right, to keep ourselves in the group and make sure that we’re not losing any ground,” Marsch said. “But we have to make sure that the next performance is a reflection and a learning point from what we did today.”
USA play Pochettino ball to perfection
Famed for his high-pressing, attack-oriented style, head coach Mauricio Pochettino sought to foster a tactical vision the likes of which this iteration of the USA men’s national team had never seen — especially when contrasted with the slow build-up and possession-focused ideology of former head coach Gregg Berhalter.
It worked to perfection in the side’s first major showing on the world stage, as the Americans cruised to a 4-1 beatdown of Paraguay.
The Americans were relentless, particularly in the first half, as they controlled 72 per cent of the possession and had 26 touches in the opposing box to Paraguay’s two. Over and over, Christian Pulisic took his space down the left wing, leaving defender Juan Caceres gasping for air and forcing him into poor challenges — one of which resulted in a booking — then setting up chances with balls into the middle of the box.
Pulisic, affectionately known as Captain America, looked like he took the super serum in the first half, dribbling through a double team to get into the box to set up the opening own-goal from Damián Bobadilla. Then, to finally get himself on the scoreboard, the AC Milan man rifled a pass through Caceres’ legs to find Folarin Balogun, who calmly tucked it home first touch.
The USA press was relentless, as Paraguay struggled to get the ball past the halfway line, and though the road team pulled one back in the 73rd, it felt like nothing more than a consolation prize as the host side planted its flag in the opening game.
For the first time in a long time, the USA men’s national team looked inspired. Maybe the dark-horse predictions weren’t off the mark.
With the game all but wrapped up, American midfielder Gio Reyna came on in the 82nd minute to give workhorse Malik Tillman a break. The Monchengladbach man did more than just provide rest to tired legs, as in the seventh minute of stoppage time, he got the ball at the edge of the box, took a couple steps in, and slotted home a gorgeous right-footed trivela to get the lead back up to three.
They don’t call him the LeBron James of soccer for nothing.
If there’s one thing Torontonians love, it’s a long line. Bosnia and Herzegovina fans fit right in.
1. Folarin Balogun (United States): The AS Monaco striker made good on his decision to represent the States over Nigeria or England, as he was the beneficiary of a brace in his World Cup debut. His second goal, in particular, was a classy marker as he out-ran and out-muscled Omar Alderete on a through ball, then curled home a shot into the top corner just before half-time. Composed stuff.
2. Cyle Larin (Canada): From Bramalea City Centre to BMO Field, the long-time Canada target man kept up his strong end-of-season pace with Southampton to save Canada’s butts in the opener, scoring on his first touch of the game. He nearly had a chance to take the lead in stoppage time, but his attempt was blocked by an extended Muharemovic.
3. Sead Kolašinac (Bosnia and Herzegovina): The elder statesman on the Bosnian backline, Kolašinac not only grabbed an assist on his team’s goal, but he also made the best stop of the day, clearing a shot from Richie Laryea on the goal line and into the crossbar to preserve the lead in the 54th minute.
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