The U.S. men’s national soccer team is a lot like Clueless Joe Biden.
Both are long on indulging in misguided orgies of self-congratulation over imagined successes.
Both come up short when asked to perform in the clutch.
Both are tagged with looming expiration dates.
In the case of the U.S. men’s soccer team, it is their stay in the Copa America tournament that has an apparent expiration date, most likely on or about 11 p.m. tonight.
This means if you long to see the team in meaningful action, tonight’s 9 p.m. contest with Uruguay likely will be your last drink of water for some time.
Simply put, the U.S. has to do better against Uruguay than Panama does against Bolivia, or the U.S. stay in this tournament ends in the pool play segment, finishing third of four teams in the group and failing to advance to knockout play.
It would be yet another disappointment for a U.S. men’s program that has been over-promising and under-delivering since I was a kid.
Meanwhile, the U.S. women’s soccer team has gone from also-rans to world domination. And, while that outfit has slipped from the precipice of late, suffice it to say it won’t be disappearing anytime soon in the group play stage of a major tournament.
But that is precisely where the U.S. men find themselves. While FIFA rankings somehow have the U.S. men rated above Uruguay, the eye test has Uruguay appearing to be the better team.
This could be offset in part by Uruguay, which is fairly secure in its group positioning, resting players in tonight’s game ahead of the next round or rounds of play.
Also, the U.S. is in the familiar desperation mode, which supporters say will bring out a better performance than that seen to date in this tournament.
We can only hope so.
The U.S. play in this Copa America began with a 2-0 win over Bolivia, arguably one of the worst teams in the event. Uruguay beat Bolivia 5-0 and the U.S. missed enough Grade A scoring chances to have equaled that total.
But the U.S. players and their media apologists were all sunshine and lollipops over the uneven, unimpressive win over Bolivia. Even those who acknowledged something short of good play predicted better vs. Panama in the next game.
What we got, instead, was an early red card when U.S. player Tim Weah delivered what has been reported as a “punch” or a “shove” to an opponent’s head. He was sent off and the U.S. played a man short most of the game, losing 2-1. The offense was flagrant enough that Weah has been given an additional two games of suspension, meaning he doesn’t play tonight vs. Uruguay, or in the next round should the U.S. miraculously advance.
It was ironic that former U.S. star Landon Donovan, doing the broadcast Sunday of what looked like it was going to be a humiliating England loss to Slovakia in the Euro 2024 tournament, neatly summarized the U.S. men’s status.
Said Donovan, “You have no divine right to anything in this game, ever.”
Somehow, that message never gets through to the U.S. men. But another attempt is likely tonight.
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