Interim US men’s national team (USMNT) manager Mikey Varas has told his players to look “deep inside” after a 2-1 defeat to Canada which was their first home loss in the fixture since 1957.
Jacob Shaffelburg and Jonathan David capitalised on mistakes to put Canada 2-0 ahead after 58 minutes in Kansas, where Lucas De La Torre’s first international goal proved a consolation as the USA suffered a third consecutive defeat.
“The mentality is on the players,” said Varas. “Sorry – they know it. We speak the truth to each other. I love those guys. But they know that mentality to fight and to run and to sacrifice, I can’t do that for them. I can’t do that for them. That’s on them.
“It’s a combination between me and them, all of us together. All of them will know that the mentality in the first half… they’ve got to search deep inside for why. That’s something I’ll challenge them with.”
HIGHLIGHTS: USA 1:2 #CANMNT pic.twitter.com/m1J5tggmR9
— CANMNT (@CANMNT_Official) September 7, 2024
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USA 1-2 Canada
Gregg Berhalter was sacked as USA manager in July following a dire Copa America 2024 campaign on home soil, going out in the group stage with defeats to Panama and Uruguay.
Former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is being heavily linked with a role which will give the Argentinian plenty to work on if he takes over.
Alongside fellow hosts Mexico and Canada, the USA have already qualified for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, when they will hope to win more than one game at the finals for the first time in five appearances.
Respected national team youth coach Varas suggested preparations for the game against Canada had not shown signs of what was to come.
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Notre gars🍁#CANMNT pic.twitter.com/tDNGue39GY— CANMNT (@CANMNT_Official) September 8, 2024
USMNT manager: Players lacking ‘mentality’
“The training sessions were intense and aggressive but when the game comes, you’ve got to get going,” he added. “The players are the ones who bring that. The coaches can only bring you so far from a mentality perspective.”
Canada manager Jesse Marsch gave a contrasting appraisal of his players and said he was not “bitter” about being overlooked for the USMNT job before Berhalter was reappointed in 2023.
“I’d much rather coach Canada than the US right now,” reflected Marsch. “You can see the mentality that’s been developed. You can see the way this team plays.
“You can see how much they love playing for the national team. They’re willing to put their careers and lives and the way they play on the line to be the best they can be for each other and for the team.”
The USA, who are ranked 16th in the world, are next in action when they face 94th-ranked New Zealand in Cincinnati on September 10 (7pm ET).
