The US men's national team are through to the Concacaf Nations League Final after their dramatic 1-0 victory over Honduras on Thursday, a performance that completed the job but was far from perfect.
It also offered a springboard for the Extratime crew to dissect how head coach Gregg Berhalter tackles the USMNT's next task, a Sunday matchup with regional rival Mexico (9 pm ET | CBS Sports Network, TUDN, Paramount+).
At the very least, co-host Matt Doyle hopes to see more impetus when the inaugural CNL trophy is on the line.
"I was happy with the urgency from the US in this game compared to what we saw against Switzerland, but there was still timidity as well," Doyle said. "And I think we saw that in a lot of the duels and possession battles, the US took the ball off Honduras very, very few times in this game. We gotta see some of that. I want to see the US play with a little bit of a chip and a little bit of meanness, not to sound too much like Jurgen Klinsmann, but I think that can be valuable in these Concacaf games."
As for how the USMNT's starting XI takes shape, that prevailing question is bound to be picked apart.
Josh Sargent got the starting nod at striker against Honduras, but Jordan Siebatcheu came through with the all-important game-winning goal in the 89th minute. Does that mean Siebatcheu gets the start up top against El Tri? Calen Carr thinks so, adding that the outside backs are another area where Berhalter has a decision to make. Yunus Musah could feature in the dual-No. 8 system, too.
The status of defensive midfielder Tyler Adams remains consequential after a back injury kept the New York Red Bulls product on the bench. Adams' absence was felt against Los Catrachos, with San Jose Earthquakes captain Jackson Yueill starting in the No. 6 role.
"I think [it will be] a pretty similar team," Carr said. "We'll see the decision on the outside backs, where it's [Reggie] Cannon or [Antonee] Robinson and where that puts [Sergino] Dest. I think we'll probably see the same midfield, maybe Musah comes on if it's not looking good at some point. And I do think Siebatcheu gets the start, just too much emotion and confidence, and we've been desperate for a goal, so I think that will put him into the starting lineup.
"I am interested to see if we come out and press Mexico," he added. "Mexico is so good at building out of the back, we saw that look against a Swiss side, to some pretty good results. Now they're just going to have to pick and choose their moments, they're not going to be able to do it the entire match, so just kind of having that balance of when they can press, when they can't. And I'm still holding out hope that Tyler Adams is able to come in at some point in the final. That would be a big bolster for this side."
Added Doyle: "That's the thing, right? If Adams is out there, he's a vacuum cleaner at the 6. You know he's going to win the ball and you know he's going to cover so much more ground than Yueill or \[Kellyn\] Acosta does, so it just, it would change the way the US can play."
For more insights, check out Charlie Boehm's story on the lineup questions Berhalter must sift through.
