The United States have been crowned champions of the 2024 CONCACAF Nations League after they defeated Mexico on Sunday, March 24 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Coach Gregg Matthew Berhalter’s side secured a 2-0 victory over their rivals Mexico to make it three wins in a row.
The game started on a high note as expected. A super play between Gio Reyna and Christian Pulisic forced Guillermo Ochoa into action in the first few minutes, but there wasn’t much result after that.
Both teams started getting intense and multiple foul calls kept breaking the tempo of the game while either side attempted to build momentum.
But just when it looked like it would be goalless in the first half, the United States defensive midfielder Tyler Adams scored arguably the best goal of his career.
Adams received a pass from Weston McKennie from the left flank in the 45th minute. He loaded a shot from 35 yards out and drilled it to the top right corner past Ochoa’s long extended arms.
The United States then added a second goal in the 63rd minute courtesy of Gio Reyna’s excellent strike.
Reyna rushed a poor clearance by Mexico in its own box, then struck the ball past Ochoa into the bottom left corner.
The next best chance also went to the U.S. late in the game, though substitute defensive midfielder Johnny Cardoso couldn’t stab it home past Ochoa.
Mexico attempted to play a more extensive game in the second half after sitting back and sending long balls into the opponent area, but El Tri just didn’t have the quality to break through the U.S. strong defense.
While Chris Richards had some fearless moments, he turned in a solid display alongside the ever-reliable left-footed Tim Ream. Antonee Robinson and Sergio Dest also put in hard shifts on the flanks.
Reyna was tasked to do much more defensive work than usual but proved he could be up to the task. Aside from his goal, he didn’t do away from contact and got involved with seven defensive actions, though his duel-winning percentage could’ve been better.
The 21-year-old Reyna bagged the Player of the Tournament award after dishing two assists in the semifinal vs. Jamaica and scoring in the final.
The U.S.A. have now won three straight editions of the CONCACAF Nations League since its debut in 2019-20. In the first edition, the U.S. beat Mexico 3-2 in extra time and defended the title in 2022-23 with a 2-0 victory over Canada.
Both the United States and Mexico will now play exhibition games in the summer to prepare for the Copa America tournament that will be held in the United States.
After the game, United States’ first goal scorer, Adams, said; “I’m not scoring goals like that all the time, but I’m happy I can hit one like that today,”
“I always get up for big games.”
Adams, who just returned from an injury he sustained while in action with his club side, Bournemouth, added; “People have a lot of question marks about this, about that, but to see what we do week in, week out when we have the opportunity to work together, we continue to grow.”
What’s next?
Both the United States and Mexico will now start preparing for this summer’s Copa America, which will be played in the U.S.A. from June 20 to July 14. Beyond that, they’ll be looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
