Well, I made it to day 2 at least! Honestly, it was never in doubt. After Mexico played on Matchday 1, we now had the other two host countries set to play. And did we really think I was going to miss blogging about the USMNT? Zero chance. First though, we gotta talk about our neighbors to the north.

Canada 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina

This game was a good appetizer for what would come later at night. Canada got their first ever point in the World Cup but for a while, it didn’t look like it was going to happen. After Bosnia took the lead in the 21st minute, it was pretty much all Canada.  However, they just couldn’t score.  A highlight was Bosnia’s Sead Kolasinac putting in an unreal clearance off his own bar in the 53rd minute.  Bosnia went down the other end and almost scored right after.  Canada finally did find the breakthrough with Cyle Larin’s great finish in the 78th, just two minutes after he came on.

I thought overall this was just an ok performance from Canada.  A lot of it was spurred on by the home crowd as expected.  But that can only take you so far.  They’ll need to be more clinical if they want to have a chance of not being the first of the three hosts nations to be eliminated. 

At the end of the day though, a point is progress for this Canada team.  For context, this is their third ever World Cup.  They lost all 6 of their previous games before last night, scoring only one goal which came 4 years ago from Alphonso Davies.  So this was technically a step forward but they’ll need to take a lot bigger steps soon.

USA 4-1 Paraguay

What an unbelievable performance.  It’s the best the US have ever played in a World Cup game.  I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted this.  I’ve always had faith in the talent of the squad.  It’s the best group of individual players the USMNT has ever had.  But it was always going to be about coming together and producing a cohesive performance.  Last night they went out and did it.

The US dominated this game right from the start.  An own goal and a Balogun brace had us up 3-0 at the half.  Paraguay bounced back a bit in the second half and made it 3-1 after a really poor defensive lapse from the US.  But then we had a sensational moment to close out the game.  Gio Reyna, who many said shouldn’t have made the World Cup roster, finished off a long passing move with a trivela from just inside the box.  Absolutely incredible.

As for how the US produced this performance, a lot of it had to do with the fluidity in the midfield and attack.  Players were interchanging all over the Paraguay half and were consistently finding space to operate.  Weston McKennie was a big part of this, as he thrived in his free role.  Then of course you have Christian Pulisic.  He looked elite out there in the first half.  Unstoppable.  There was nothing the Paraguay defense could do to slow him down.  They must have been hugely relieved to see him come off at halftime.  After the game, it came out that he had been kicked in the back of the leg and was taken off as a precaution.  That’s encouraging news but still something to watch in the coming days. 

The last thing I have to add about this game is that I can’t stress enough how remarkable this was to watch.  In my time watching the team, going back around 20 years, the US have been a gritty team that have the game dictated to them by opponents.  At least when they’re playing against decent teams.  But last night, they dictated proceedings.  The scoreline was fully deserved.  Now it’s up the team to keep this going.

Stray Thoughts

• Can we talk about Jesse Marsch for a second?  It’s taken me a little while to get to this opinion but I’m completely out on that guy.  I was rooting for him when he was managing in England.  But now, I just can’t do it.  It seems like every press conference for Canada he has something negative to say about the US.  If the rumors are true that he was offered the US job and turned down club offers only to find out Berhalter was coming back, I’d be pissed too.  But just let it go at this point.  Focus on your own team
• We got to see the rule applied for taking too long for a throw in during the Canada/Bosnia game.  Bosnia took too long and had their throw in in the Canadian half of the field taken from them and given to Canada.  I love this and hope it catches on in other leagues
• Another interesting procedural thing was the “Mistaken Identity” VAR review during the US game.  Miguel Almiron clearly dove but initially the ref gave Tim Ream a yellow.  It took some time but play was eventually stopped after the review found there was no contact and it was simulation from Almiron.  The US got a free kick and Almiron got a yellow instead of Ream.  Another good application of the rules
• How about Alexi Lalas calling James Corden a “full-kit wanker” on national TV?  I hated on FOX’s coverage in the first blog but that moment was absolutely hysterical

So that wraps things up for Matchday 2.  And now comes my real test as a blogger.  4 games a day starting with Matchday 3 and more importantly, RIFC play at 6pm.  The Summer of Soccer is well and truly here.