The United States men’s national team attempt to return to the World Cup stage is off to a slow start. Following a surprising goalless match against El Salvador last week, USMNT had to settle for another draw against Canada on Sunday night.
The first half saw the Canadians having better chances, but neither team managed to get the edge before the players took a break. The second period started with more action, with the U.S. getting ahead in the 55th minute. Fulham’s Antonee Robinson made a great run on the left side and delivered a strong ball in the penalty box that found its way to Red Bull Salzburg’s wonderkid Brenden Aaronson, who didn’t have much trouble sending it into the net.
But the USMNT’s joy was short-lived. Canada hit back just seven minutes ago in a similar fashion. Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies made its way through the U.S. defense and found unguarded Besiktas’ forward Cyle Larin, who kept his cool and score an equalizer for his team.
The remainder of the match saw both sides paying more attention to their own goal and not showing much ambition to change the score.
“We’re disappointed,” said USMNT’s manager Gregg Berhalter after the match. “I think the effort was good, the effort was outstanding, but the performance wasn’t up to what we expect.”
The USMNT now sits fifth in the World Cup qualifiers behind Mexico, Panama, Canada, and Honduras. They are scheduled to play their next qualifying match on Wednesday against Honduras.
