Like many U.S. soccer observers, former U.S. men’s national team standout Tab Ramos expected the Americans not to only reach the final of the Concacaf Nations League, but to do it in style. After all, the USA entered the final four as three-time defending champions with high hopes of making it four in a row.
“We were ready finally, to put this together in these two games. I assumed that we were not only going to play well and play hard, but surprise people, because we had seen moments. When [head coach Mauricio] Pochettino took over, it was a little bit rough, but we’ve seen over the last couple of games a lot of moments where I thought we looked very good.
“In this camp we had everybody in. We had Tyler [Adams, defensive midfielder] healthy. We pretty much had a complete squad, other than the number nine spot. You’re always going to have an injury here or there. I expected a really good showing.”
It didn’t happen as the USA lost in the semifinals to Panama, 1-0, and then to Canada in the third-place match, 2-1.
“I was very disappointed that … we looked exactly like we looked two years ago, four years ago, six years ago,” Ramos said.
Ramos has a right to have a critical eye. He wore the Red, White and Blue uniform 81 times, playing in three World Cups (1990, 1994, 1998). As a coach, he directed the U.S. into the U-20 World Cup quarterfinals three times and was an assistant coach on the Americans’ squad at the 2014 World Cup.
“It’s not about X’s and O’s,” he said. “It’s not about creating enough chances. Are we as a team, not aggressive enough? How many times do we have to hear players after a camp, ‘Hey, we have to be more aggressive.’ How many times is [Christian]
Pulisic going to say that? How many times is Tyler Adams going to get on a microphone and say, ‘We have to tackle more.’ How about you guys just go do that and not talk about it.”
When asked if he thought the USMNT had regressed, Ramos replied, “I don’t think that, because I didn’t think we were taking steps forward” in recent months.
Ramos noted that the USMNT finished third in Concacaf qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. The Americans reached the Round of 16 and then were eliminated.
“All was sort of swept under the rug because it was a young team,” he said. “We went to the World Cup and didn’t do well. U.S. Soccer decided to keep the same coach [Gregg Berhalter] although there was no progress. We spent another year [with the] same thing. I don’t feel like we’re regressed. At times I feel like have we found our limit. Are we hitting what this team can do? We may be just maxing out with what we can do with this team. I’m not as negative as everybody else. I don’t think what we saw this weekend was the full picture.”
But he has other concerns.
When Ramos and his teammates competed at USA ‘94, they garnered headlines by upsetting pre-World Cup favorite Colombia. The Americans qualified for the Round of 16, losing to eventual champion Brazil. Still, it was considered a successful World Cup, helping pave the way for the debut of Major League Soccer in 1996.
The 2026 World Cup is expected to boost the sport to a higher orbit in this country. But Ramos feared that if the USMNT is a dud, momentum could be stifled.
“This is a golden opportunity in 2026 to take our sport to the next level, kind of like 1994 put soccer on the map,” he said. “We wanted another big step. I don’t think we’re going to be taking that step. I don’t think with the little momentum that we’ll have, even if we did advance to the final 16, or the quarterfinals, will that be enough in just one month to generate enough interest in this country to make our sport relevant, more relevant than it is now.
“The disappointment is much bigger than that … that we haven’t built towards utilizing this World Cup as the step to take our sport, to be able to compete with other sports in the U.S. People are not excited about this team. The fans aren’t even going to the games.
“What happens day one after we get eliminated from the World Cup next year? That’s kind of what worries me.”
Among other subjects Ramos broached:
Center back pairing
The USMNT is unsettled in the middle of defense. In the semifinal loss, Tim Ream, the team captain for that match, and Chris Richards were paired together. In the third-place defeat to Canada Mark McKenzie and Cameron Carter-Vickers started.
“If I asked you who the two center backs are going to be at the World Cup, you’re going to give me one answer,” Ramos said. “Then I’m going to ask 10 other people, and they’re all going to give me a different answer of the pairings for next year. That’s not a good thing.”
Christian Pulisic
Pulisic, who has been outstanding for A.C. Milan this Italian Serie A season, was a non-factor in the CNL.
“We see him play for A.C. Milan. He’s deadly at times. He makes some incredible runs. He wins games. We don’t see the same on the national team. Is the team around him in a position to be able to succeed the way he does overseas? Sometimes it surprises me how difficult it is for him to get around a defender in Concacaf. We rarely see it. You have to avoid the tackles. You have to avoid the people grabbing you. … He’s an excellent player. We need to get the most out of him.”
Diego Luna
The Real Salt Lake midfielder brought something to the team that that Ramos did – someone willing to take risks on attack.
“He was the one player that I can remember thinking, ‘Oh, there’s something there.’ I can tell he’s a winner. He wants to win this game regardless of what’s happening.
“When comparing him to me, we’re a lot different. He’s more aggressive than I was around the goal where I was, I was more of a passer, always looking to find somebody, even if I had open shot. He’s more aggressive, which is great. I hope we get to see more of him, because he’s fun to watch.”
Gio Reyna
Reyna came in as a second-half substitute against Canada. He has been having trouble finding time with his club team, Borussia Dortmund in Germany.
“He doesn’t play 90-minute games, for club or for country.” Ramos said. “He needs to go somewhere and play 80-90 games in a row. I’m just not sure how much he can help if he never plays. Maybe going to the Dutch league; some guys are having a lot of success in the Italian league, maybe he should go there. Germany, Spain or England are not for him at this point.
“He had some skills that other guys don’t have. He’s got good vision. He’s got excellent timing. He’s a good passer. He can hold the ball with two guys on him. He’s got a lot of great qualities, but you need to be fit. You need a rhythm. He needs to play.”
Can the USMNT bounce back?
The U.S. will host the Concacaf Gold Cup from June 14-July 6. In contrast to recent Gold Cups, Pochettino is expected to have most of the team because the competition kicks off about a month earlier than usual. Players such as Weston McKennie and Tim Weah of Juventus and Reyna won’t be available because they will be performing for their club teams at the Club World Cup at the same time.
Ramos was optimistic.
“Expectations are for us to win it. I don’t see why we can’t,” Rhe said. “We have a good team. I think we can win the Gold Cup and maybe gain a little momentum going into next summer.”