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sports Diabierna 3 September 2021

New-look US opens World Cup qualifying, 4 years after flop

(AP) — They landed on a “On an individual level, I
charter flight, just three think there’s guys that will be
veterans of the devastat- able to go three games and 90
ing defeat four years ear- minutes, but it’s not going to
lier along with 20 fresh be many, especially given the
faces and a new coaching way we want to play and the
staff. way we want to press,” Ber-
halter said.
Christian Pulisic and Zack DeAndre Yedlin and Kellyn
Steffen were left behind. Acosta are the only players
on hand who were in the 2-1
Rebuilding over, the U.S. loss to Trinidad and Tobago in
opens 2022 World Cup quali- Couva. Another, Tim Ream,
fying at El Salvador’s Esta- was an unused substitute.
dio Cuscatlán on Thursday
night missing two of its top Fans will be in the stands af-
starters, one because of CO- ter talk of a government ban
VID-19 and the other back ended.
spasms. It will be the start of
an unprecedented schedule El Salvador is led by coach
that features three matches Hugo Pérez, who had 73 ap-
in the first week and 14 in a pearances for the U.S. from
210-day span that for some 1984-94 and scored in a 1-0
will include five trans-Atlan- qualifying win over El Sal-
tic interruptions to their Eu- vador in 1989. He recruit-
ropean club seasons. ed nephew Joshua Pérez, a
teammate of Pulisic and Ad-
This future could not have in December. where you are able to make a Berhalter chose Turner over ams at 2015 Under-17 World
been imagined this when de- lot of mental mistakes. And Ethan Horvath. Turner made Cup who had three goals in
jected U.S. players trudged Three of the eight nations for us going into this game, his national team debut in the first two rounds of quali-
off the field following the ig- in regional finals qualify and we need to be prepared for a January and allowed one goal fying.
nominious night in Trinidad fourth place advances to a challenge, for a battle, that it in six matches as at Gold
that ended a streak of seven playoff. But there rarely are might not be pretty football.” Cup this summer. Horvath Also on El Salvador is Álex
straight World Cup appear- easy games for the U.S. in stepped in when Steffen in- Roldan, a brother and Seattle
ances. Central America. Pulisic returned to training jured a knee in the Nations Sounders teammate of U.S.
Monday but hasn’t played in League final against Mexico. midfielder Cristian Roldan.
“I remember where I was “The one thing that I learned a match since Aug. 14, miss-
when when the U.S. failed from playing with the youth ing Chelsea’s last two games “We all know that this is un- “We had talked about him
to qualify back in 2017,” said national teams in Cen- following a positive CO- like anything that we’ve ever fouling me a little bit and
Matt Turner, who will start in tral America would be that VID-19 test — he was vac- experienced before,” Turner talked about me specifically
goal. “And to think about that you can’t be naive in these cinated and said he didn’t said. “We’re going to play in asking the ref to give him a
moment from my couch and games,” said midfielder Ty- show symptoms. He was left a stadium in an environment yellow card,” Cristian Roldan
to be here now to, to have the ler Adams, who played at in Nashville, along with Stef- that’s unfamiliar and uncom- said, jokingly. “It’s all in good
opportunity to have a say in the 2015 CONCACAF Un- fen, who woke up Wednes- fortable. But as coach said, fun, but we’re both competi-
righting the ship is truly an der-17 tournament in Hon- day with back spasms. just need to be true to our tors, so once we get on the
honor.” duras, and the 2017 Under-20 anchors, be true to who we field, we’re no longer broth-
competition in Costa Rica. U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter, are as a team, and things will ers, we’re rivals.”
Turner, who watched that “When you go into these a veteran of 14 qualifiers as happen for us.”
night from Walpole, Massa- games being naive, thinking a player from 2001-05, said Americans opened the final
chusetts, knows World Cup that they’re going to be an Pulisic is uncertain for Sun- Berhalter anticipates rotating round of the last qualifying
qualifiers in Central America easy game or that there’s go- day’s qualifier against Canada many players over the three cycle with a 2-1 home loss
and the Caribbean are far ing to be opportunity to score in Tennessee. matches. to Mexico and a 4-0 defeat
different from what players a lot of goals, I think this is at Costa Rica, causing Jurgen
experience in Europe and in Klinsmann to be fired and
Major League Soccer. Bruce Arena to return. The
Americans went winless on
“Bad pitches maybe,” mid- the road in the round.
fielder Weston McKennie
said, “hot weather, maybe Acosta said veterans don’t tell
bad refs. It’s just things were the newcomers how failure
going to learn on the way and felt. They don’t have to.
I think it’s things we’re going
to adapt to as a group.” “We never want to go down
that road again, and so in that
The U.S. is ranked 10th, its aspect, we don’t want to have
highest since 2006, after win- that same feeling that we did
ning the CONCACAF Na- back in 2017 and use that as
tions League and Gold Cup, we go into these games as
and El Salvador is 64th. Los motivations to do whatever
Cuscatlecos have reached we have to do to win,” he
just two World Cups, in 1970 said. “Sometimes you can
and 1982, and the U.S. has play beautiful football, but
18 wins, five draws and one sometimes you got to get
loss in the matchup, which pretty gritty, roll up your
includes a 17-game unbeat- sleeves and grind out a result.
en streak (15 victories). The So whatever kind of way we
U.S. won the most recent have to do it, as long as we get
meeting 6-0 in an exhibition the result.”