Five takeaways on the USMNT’s Concacaf Nations League final win over Canada

The U.S. men’s soccer team delivered another impressive win in the Concacaf Nations League final, defeating Canada, 2-0. Here are five takeaways from the game.

It had to feel good for Folarin Balogun to slam home Gio Reyna’s setup pass for his first U.S. national team goal. And it definitely had to feel good for supporters to watch Balogun peel off Scott Kennedy’s shoulder, break free toward the ball, and deliver a true striker’s finish: first-time, precise, and powerful.

The U.S. men’s program has had so few elite strikers over the years that everyone goes crazy whenever a promising prospect comes along. Jordan Pefok, Ricardo Pepi, Daryl Dike, Haji Wright, Josh Sargent, Charlie Davies, Juan Agudelo, Jozy Altidore (who did the most of this bunch) … the list is too long. So you will not read too many hallelujahs about Balogun here just yet.

But right now, it sure looks like he’s got the tangibles and the intangibles to lead the American line for a while to come.

» READ MORE: What to know about Folarin Balogun and how he picked the USMNT

Had Chris Richards not been sidelined last fall with a hamstring injury, he would have been not just on the World Cup team, but a starter. The 23-year-old centerback from Birmingham, Ala., has long been heralded as one of the U.S.’s top prospects at the position, but that injury and others before it had limited him to just seven senior caps in three years.

Now that he’s finally healthy again, he’s showing what he’s got. Richards played every minute of the Nations League final four, and delivered a combined eight clearances, two interceptions, two recoveries, four duels won from nine contested, and 88% passing (64-for-73), and committed just one foul.

To top things off, he scored the opening goal of the title game with a thumping header of a Reyna corner kick. It was his first U.S. national team goal, and — perhaps not coincidentally — the first time in far too long that the U.S. delivered a properly finished set piece.

» READ MORE: Five takeaways on the USMNT’s dominant semifinal win over Mexico

Medford’s Brenden Aaronson was one of three players who was swapped into the starting lineup to account for absences. Aaronson came in for the suspended Weston McKennie in central midfield, Joe Scally for the suspended Sergiño Dest at right back, and Walker Zimmerman for the injured Miles Robinson at centerback.

They all had big roles to fill. Zimmerman had to contend with Canada’s big-time strikers Jonathan David and Cyle Larin, and Scally had to defend the Canucks’ biggest star of all, attacking left back Alphonso Davies.

But Aaronson had a particular challenge, because he was put into a central trio with no true defensive stopper. Interim U.S. manager B.J. Callaghan made a big call to line up Aaronson instead of Luca de la Torre with Yunus Musah and Reyna.

Callaghan won the bet. Aaronson recorded two tackles, three interceptions, three recoveries, seven duels won out of 11 contested, and 7-of-14 passing in 68 minutes on the field.

Things got complicated after halftime, when Reyna had to leave after being kicked around enough to sustain a calf injury. De la Torre replaced him. Aaronson was replaced by Johnny Cardoso, and he was later joined by Pepi (for Balogun) and Media’s Auston Trusty (for Scally).

» READ MORE: Former Union star Brenden Aaronson doesn’t want to discuss his club future yet

Canada had the two top individual talents on the field in Davies and David. But is there any doubt that the U.S. had the better team overall? Anyone could have seen it in the starting lineups, and the score proved it.

That’s not meant as a dig at the Canadian squad, which is not just the best in the nation’s history, but legitimately good. A lot of the Canadians’ 12 shots had quality, even if they weren’t all officially on target. U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner and the defenders in front of him had plenty of work to do.

Had Canada played Mexico in the semifinals, as would have happened had Mexico not struggled in qualifying, it would have been a fascinating matchup. But things played out how they did, so Canada played Panama in the semis instead. And the U.S.’s A-squad showed in beating its two fellow Concacaf giants that it’s the king of the region right now.

» READ MORE: Gregg Berhalter’s return as USMNT manager is official

When Callaghan became the U.S.’s second interim manager in six months, there wasn’t just derision, there were questions over his managing chops. How could a guy with no prior head coaching experience be expected to lead the program’s top names, then the second tier in the upcoming Gold Cup?

So far, the question has been answered resoundingly. Everything the Ventnor native has done in his coaching career, from his alma mater Ursinus to Saint Joseph’s, Villanova, the Union, and the U.S. staff since 2019, prepared him for right now. When his big moment came, he was as ready to step up as his players.

You don’t have to be a big name to be a successful national team coach. The skill is in picking the right names from the player pool you have, picking a formation, and getting the lineup right. The rest is out of your hands. It’s a totally different dynamic from coaching club soccer, where an individual manager can run the show by spending money — on big European teams, lots of money — to choose a squad.

Does it help a national team to have a big name, with the authority that often comes with status? Sure. But Callaghan knows the U.S. players as well as anyone, having been around them for 4 1/2 years. So he knew how to get the best out of them right now.

Now most of the A-squad will get a well-earned summer vacation, and the B-squad will head to the Gold Cup. If Callaghan oversees a second trophy lift this summer, he’ll be due more applause before Gregg Berhalter returns — and with his circumstances, faces the most pressure of any manager in U.S. men’s team history.

» READ MORE: B.J. Callaghan’s rise to leading the U.S. men’s soccer team has roots at Villanova