A USMNT First Since 1980 ☹️

A USMNT First Since 1980 ☹️

Rog writes: For 90 minutes, U.S. fans stared into the abyss of international football, and the abyss stared back at us, leaking four goals inside the first half, summoning zero shots on target. A performance that left us only with the most chilling of football thoughts: World Cup 2026 kicks off on home turf in exactly one year’s time today.

Is the U.S. Men’s National Team going to soil itself, be grouped, and fail to take advantage of this once-in-a-generation chance to thrill an expectant nation? Or put another way: Is there no bottom to our current agony? My friend Paul Carr was churning out the stats last night, and each one was more shame-filled than the last:

• This was the first time the U.S. had conceded four goals in the first half in nearly 45 years, since Nov. 9, 1980 at Mexico, and the first time ever at home. 

• The USMNT has lost four straight HOME games for the first time since 1988, and for the third time in team history.

• Maurico Pochettino is the first USMNT head coach to lose five of his first 10 games since Lothar Osiander from 1986-88.

• The USA remains winless in eight straight games against European teams, last winning against Bosnia-Herzegovina in December 2021.

Yes, because of absences, voluntary, enforced, and chosen, this was a team of understudies. Yes, the injuries are piling up at a pace last seen in 1980s slasher movies. But only those who stuck around to watch the entire shame-filled, mistake-ridden, tactically woeful 90 minutes will know how truly irredeemable it was. As Clint Dempsey said to us at the final whistle, when taping his postgame live edition of The Deuce: “At least their jerseys looked pretty cool." 

📺 Watch Clint Dempsey talk Pulisic family vs. Landon Donovan, the 4-0 Swiss beatdown, and what needs to change in last night’s live taping of THE DEUCE.

Down 4-0 inside 36 minutes against a Swiss side, who despite treating this like a casual friendly, willfully tore apart a bedraggled U.S. collective who could only muster a display of sloppy, shapeless, unintense football. Each goal seemed to one-up the last in terms of the size and howling agony of each accompanying mistake. Watch 19-year old Johan Manzambi in his first ever start – a kid who played just 332 minutes for Freiburg this season – do this to our backline. Poor Demarcus Beasley, an icon who gave his all in 126 appearances for this team, was left shell-shocked on the halftime show, declaring “I don't even know what to say. I've never seen a U.S. team play that poorly in a half of football, ever."

And yes… I know that the first rule of friendlies is “Never read too much into a friendly,” but after this C-Team Gold Cup, a steady diet is all we got until the World Cup kicks off. Hence the quality of the texts I received during the game. One incoming friend mourned, “Not even that dog in the burning room with the cup of coffee thinks this is fine.” At the final whistle, the single gent I know who lives for and loves this team even more than I do wrote, “This is going to be a short summer followed by a long ass year.”

“Let’s Clutch Straws Together” 😵‍💫

“Are there any positives from these two losses?” I asked Clint that during the postgame show. He laughed as I stammered the words “Jack McGlynn… Diego Luna…” and told me we were all clutching straws.  

Our MiB mailbag overfloweth. In times of light and darkness, I am always so grateful for your messages. I read this one first thing this morning and it gave me so much energy and life. From the (clearly wonderfully addled) mind of GFOP Bill Urda:

“Before the 1980 Winter Olympics, coach Herb Brooks had the U.S. Ice Hockey Team play an exhibition against the Soviet Union in Madison Square Garden. The U.S. got destroyed. It made the U.S. squad understand firsthand how much better their competition was, and it created a false sense of superiority in the Soviets. We all know how that story ends. Poch = Brooks, and I’m pretty sure we are right where we want to be right now on our way to winning the next World Cup.”

I repeat: CLINT DEMPSEY TOLD ME WE ARE ALL CLUTCHING AT STRAWS. More than that straw-clutching, we are all hastily downgrading expectations at a free-fall clip. I have always believed our magical U.S. fanbase only has two gears:

🫲 Delusion, AKA “WE GONNA WIN THE WORLD CUP”

And

🫱 Self-Destruction, AKA “INSERT MANAGER’S NAME/FORMER FAVORITE PLAYER’S NAME” OUT 

But now we have been reduced to finding nuance. Praising our play in the first 59 seconds of the loss to Türkiye. Drawing solace from the fact we did not leak again after going down 4-0 in the first half. This is who we are now. In a normal football nation, there would be howling outcry after four straight losses. The honest truth is, outside of the soccer bubble, no one is paying attention, which is perhaps the greatest indictment of where we are a year out from a World Cup on home turf.

Instead we are left with this: our team being booed off at halftime in a too-empty stadium. A dark reminder that our men’s national team exists in the shadows, and even the diehard soccer bubble is losing interest. A failed opportunity to make noise, and yes, 10 players were unavailable for selection. But as Taylor Twellman pointed out, “While all of you waste your time about the “talent” discussion in the Gold Cup roster… this group won a Gold Cup a year before the World Cup with Berhalter at the helm in 2021. The fact that we are still doing this is gross and it’s the definition of apathy. In the fan base, player pool, coaches and federation, ZERO buzz around anything and we are hosting the World Cup in ONE year.”

📬 Enjoying USMNT Only? Check out our other newsletters covering the USWNT and Premier League here.

So, What Now? 🏆 🇹🇹

Onto Gold Cup action Sunday night (6 p.m. ET, FOX) against Trinidad and Tobago, whom we will dare to play at the same time, in San Jose (chuckles “I’M IN DANGER” 🙃).

🚨 PROGRAMMING ALERT: No matter what happens, one thing is for sure. Right after the final whistle blows, I will be joined by CLINT DEMPSEY for a brand-new LIVE episode of THE DEUCE on our YouTube channel. Come and be with us postgame for Clint’s instant reactions and ask him your best questions. 🚨

In moments like this, we are duty bound to say, the response is all that matters – and that is across the board. First, the players, who looked tactically lost last night. The pressing was at JV-levels. There was no speed. No intensity. The fullbacks invited attackers to steal their souls. None of this makes sense. These players have all been handed a Willy Wonka golden ticket to the World Cup on home turf. All they need to show is some confidence, fight, and personality. Name one U.S. player who made themselves feel undroppable last night.  

For Pochettino, the reality is really embarrassing. Both practically and symbolically – let’s just say the English tabloid media are loving watching this go down in flames, never mind the tactical naiveté and zero shots on goal. Mauricio is a manager who talks about instilling a quality of grinta – fight, a willingness to suffer as a collective and do anything to win. We are seeing the exact opposite in these U.S. teams, both with our A-players in the Nation’s League and their replacements now. There is something very wrong and last night, Poch fully owned up to it. “It's my responsibility, the choice of the starting 11,” he said. “I wanted to give minutes to certain players. We were never in the game. It was my decision. It didn't work. It's my fault. We played with many players who made their debut, or a young team. We need to take the pressure off them.” Again, in a normal football nation, there would be a hot seat, but we are not a normal football nation. We have 365 days to put this right. That old legend Tony Kornheiser nailed it yesterday on PTI when he talked about Americans who barely know football at all are saying to each other, “Looks like we’re 10 years away from being 10 years away of winning anything.”

One American Who Will Be Loving This: Jesse Marsch 🇨🇦

The U.S. are struggling, at the very same time as Jesse Marsch’s Canada are beginning to swagger. When I watched that team clip Ukraine 4-2 at the weekend, they’re fight reminded me of our U.S. teams in the early 2000s, playing with a chip on their shoulder. Jesse will look at this U.S. free-fall and laugh, no doubt with Alanis Morisette’s “Ironic” playing softly in the background. Our interview with the man himself comes out next Monday, June 16. You do not want to miss this one.

All Around the Men in Blazers Network 📣

LA, I will see many of you tonight. We doing this. Can’t wait to toast the year out ‘til World Cup with our ONE YEAR TO GLORY Live Show on the FOX lot. Jason Sudeikis and Jim Harbaugh are among the guests. I can’t wait to hug my friend Brendan Hunt. I hope tonight can be a small light in the darkness. 🌴

ii. Texas, we’re coming for you. We are heading on the road this summer for the Gold Cup, and Rog will be joined by USMNT legend Clint Dempsey—the newest member of the MiB Media Network—for two shows at a couple of America’s Best Soccer Bars for laughs, storytelling, and communal joy. We’ll join you in Austin, Texas on June 18 at BD Riley’s Irish Pub (the night before USMNT vs. Saudi Arabia) and in Dallas, Texas on June 21 at The Londoner Addison (the night before USMNT vs. Haiti). Both shows will take place at 7:30 p.m., and are free and open to the public. All we ask is that you RSVP ahead of time, as it is a first come, first served event until these fantastic bars reach capacity. 🤠

🎟️ RSVP FOR AUSTIN HERE • 🎟️ RSVP FOR DALLAS HERE

iii. The Women’s Game x Men in Blazers LIVE! In Washington, D.C., presented by Allstate. The Women’s Game is coming to D.C.! Join USWNT legend and World Cup winner Sam Mewis alongside her Good Vibes FC co-host (and World Cup-winning teammate) Becky Sauerbrunn and Rog to celebrate one of soccer’s greatest rivalries, USA vs. Canada, ahead of the Allstate Continental Classico. Sam, Becky, and Rog will welcome football icons to D.C.’s historic Howard Theater as they revel in the past, present, and future of these two storied women’s programs. Get your tickets now 🏛️

News & Notes 📰

• Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic’s dad (Mark) have both come to the Milan midfielder’s defense after a hammering from Landon Donovan about his Gold Cup absence. In a rare moment that broke social media norms for any child who has a parent on Instagram, Christian “liked” his Dad’s post.

• In more disconcerting news, Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that Saturday’s game-changing leader, Tyler Adams, has picked up a knock: "He suffered a little, small issue in his foot." The fact it’s both little and small and is located in the place that has some of the body’s littlest and smallest bones, is a relief.

• The USMNT are intent on playing out from the back, so much so that they’re willing to concede goals for that crazy cause (really). We love Johnny Cardoso, but we must remember the risks of this uninsurable method. 

Transfer Deals & Rumors 💰

• Poch might have little interest in Norwich striker, Josh Sargent, but thankfully Premier League comeback kids, Leeds United, do. They’ve reportedly made a $23 million move for the man who was in the Championship team of the season. 

• Yunus Musah didn’t have a good season for AC Milan, but other than Pulisic and Manchester City-bound, Tijjani Reijnders, not many did. Serie A champions, Napoli, and their manager Antonio Conte, are European football’s greatest mechanics, assembling and restoring broken players to take them to previously unknown levels. Luckily for Yunus, they’ve made a move for him, which ahead of the World Cup will delight Poch almost as much as the player himself.

• Lyon have agreed to a $9 million fee with Nottingham Forest for USMNT goalkeeper, Matt Turner, who only made four appearances on loan at Crystal Palace last season. Thankfully for him, the deal was made before last night’s 4-0 loss to Switzerland. 

• It seems that Saturday’s goal-provider, Houston Dynamo’s Jack McGlynn, could be making the step up to European football, with Belgian club Anderlecht leading the race for his signature after past links to PSV and Real Sociedad.

• Real Betis defensive midfielder, Johnny Cardosso, has snubbed Tottenham to near completion on a $34 million move Atletico Madrid. 

Some Good MiB News to Leave You With 🗞️

We are 365 days from World Cup 2026 and at MiB we are doing all we can to make sure we win the World Cup together. This New York Times piece dropped describing part of our work in the year to come.  

I am so proud of our team here. We are working so hard to make sure that all of us here in the United States can come together, not take a second for granted, and make collective memories. Let’s do everything in our power to revel in this. Every kick. Every moment of anticipation. And show the world our best face as a welcoming nation who love this game, and savor the opportunity to host with passion and singularity. Right down to the very last lemon pepper wet and cheesesteak.

Courage all,

Rog and the USMNT Only team 🇺🇸 🦅

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