GOLD CUP
USMNT’s game against Trinidad & Tobago was the turning point in their recent history
The USMNT face Trinidad & Tobago once again, the team against which they began their run to becoming Concacaf’s top side.
After a draw against Jamaica and a goal fest against St. Kitts and Nevis, the USMNT will be looking to secure their ticket to the next round of the Gold Cup - and they have to do so against an old opponent. The team led by BJ Callaghan are set to go up against Trinidad & Tobago, the team against whom they began this mini-revolution, against whom they began their path to becoming Concacaf’s most feared team.
On 10 October 2017, the USMNT suffered one of their worst days in football history, losing 2-1 in Puerto España, but the game ended up being a huge turning point in the modern history of the federation and players. The result meant that the side were not able to go to the World Cup Russia 2018 and such a devastating loss had a huge impact at a managerial and organisational level.
Most USMNT players play in Europe
“It’s largely a different group than what was part of that game. I think we’ve done a pretty good job to move past that. It’s a new group and we have new goals, new objectives so I don’t think it plays too much of a role in how we prepare for the game”, said James Sands, the player drafted in to play central midfield for the tournament.
With the World Cup elimination came a host of changes for the US side. The first was evident: Bruce Arena left the staff and a new manager, Dave Sarachan, came into the side, bringing fresh ideas and a sense of hope for the Stars & Stripes.
Of the 11 players in the side that day, only 3 played in Europe: DeAndre Yedlin at Newcastle, Christian Pulisic at Borussia Dortmund and Bobby Wood at Hamburg; the core of the squad was made up of MLS players. On December 2 2018, the USMNT gave the job of first team boss to Gregg Berhalter, whose first bit misstep was in 2019 when they lost the Gold Cup final to Mexico, but the green shoots were there and the feelings were positive.
Berhalter gave the USMNT a new hope
Berhalter started a process of recruiting players with a dual nationality such as Sergiño Dest, Jesús Ferreira, Yunus Musah, Gio Reyna, Ricardo Pepi and Gabirel Slonina, who all had the chance to play for other, more successful nations.
And since then the team has blossomed: when the US beat Canada to become Nations League champions, only Walker Zimmerman was a player from MLS who was in the side.
Pulisic and Yedlin are the only survivors of the Trinidad & Tobgo tragedy that befell the USMNT on that fateful yet revolutionary day, and the Chelsea forward even went on to become the undisputed leader of a side that made it to a World Cup and impressed everyone on the biggest stage of them all.
“I have to remember that I had a big weight on my shoulders. Winning this game doesn’t change anything, but it is what we needed”, said Pulisic after beating the Caribbean side under Berhalter’s orders in 2019. Now it is time for them to do it once more.