This March will certainly go down as one of the more forgettable windows in recent time for the U.S. men’s national team.
Mauricio Pochettino’s squad suffered a 2-1 loss to rivals Canada in the third place match of the 2024-25 CONCACAF Nations League. Patrick Agyemang helped draw the Americans level after Tani Oluwaseyi’s opener but Jonathan David later delivered the winning goal for Jesse Marsch’s squad.
It marks the first pair of back-to-back losses against CONCACAF opponents since losing twice against Mexico in July-September 2019.
Canada was forced into a major change in the 11th minute as star left back Alphonso Davies was substituted off with an apparent injury. Davies, who collected a knock against Mexico last week, looked to have twisted his ankle in a collision with Patrick Agyemang.
The Canadians overcame a tough start to eventually grab a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute.
Minnesota United forward Tani Oluwaseyi pounced on a rebound in the box after the USMNT failed to clear their lines. Jonathan David’s original effort was blocked in the box by Oluwaseyi made no mistake to score his first senior goal.
However, the Canada lead was shortlived as the USMNT hit back just five minutes later.
Tim Weah and Diego Luna connected on the left flank before Luna’s pause and layoff pass to Patrick Agyemang was slotted home. The Charlotte FC forward now has three international goals this calendar year since debuting in the January camp.
Tensions grew in the second half which led to Canada head coach Jesse Marsch being shown a red card. Marsch argued for a penalty call on Max Arfsten after the USMNT defender went down with David in a one-on-one battle.
David responded though five minutes later by scoring his first goal of this season’s Nations League to give Canada a 2-1 lead. A USMNT giveaway on the right flank eventually led to David receiving possession in the box before curling a shot into the far left corner.
Pochettino called on Gio Reyna, Brian White, and Yunus Musah among others from the bench, but the USMNT failed to find a second equalizing goal on the night. Luna came closest to finding one, but Dayne St. Clair tipped away the Real Salt Lake midfielder’s close-range effort.
The USMNT will return to action this June in home friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland. Pochettino will hope to get things turned around quickly, especially with the CONCACAF Gold Cup serving as the final competitive tournament before the FIFA World Cup.
