The Union are looking to bounce back at Austin FC after their worst-ever loss

"Sometimes you have games that that go poorly, but you should never have a game where the scoreline is the way it is," manager Jim Curtin said.

Jack McGlynn (center) couldn't hide his emotions after the Union lost 6-0 to Mexico's Pachuca in the Concacaf Champions Cup, the heaviest defeat in team history.Read moreManuel Velasquez / Getty Images

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published March 15, 2024, 6:12 p.m. ET

The wounds still haven’t healed yet from the Union’s 6-0 loss at Mexico’s Pachuca on Tuesday, the heaviest defeat in team history. Among fans, they might not heal for a while.

But it’s manager Jim Curtin’s job to make sure his players aren’t hurt for too long. In that regard, it’s good that the Union have another game quickly, Saturday at Austin FC.

“The players are together,” Curtin said in a news conference Friday from Austin, where the Union went directly from Pachuca. “I think they all understand and recognize that wasn’t us. Sometimes you have games that go poorly, but you should never have a game where the score line is the way it is.”

It wasn’t so much that the Union lost, or even the blowout score. There’s no question about Pachuca’s quality, a level largely beyond MLS. It was the manner of the Union’s effort, and a seeming lack of fight from a team long known for its work ethic.

“Whether that be keeping it a little more compact running and fighting, challenging for second balls,” Curtin said. “We got out-competed, and that’s usually not the case with this group. … I’ve had some healthy discussions. good film, and we’ll move on and look toward Austin.”

The good news is that striker Julián Carranza is able to play a full game, after playing the second half vs. Pachuca. Midfielder José Andrés Martínez is also recovered from the illness that limited him to just the first half Tuesday.

“Julian got 45 minutes under his belt, which was important,” Curtin said. “He’ll be available now for selection to obviously start — and he’s our best striker, so he will start. I’ll give Josh [Wolff, Austin’s manager] the head start on that. He’s fully fit and ready to go.”

Curtin admitted he’d also like to see more from the other two of the Union’s big three, striker Mikael Uhre and attacking midfielder Dániel Gazdag. They’ve delivered three goals and two assists combined through six games this year, an OK total but not an outstanding one.

“Right now, I would say they’re not confident, which is natural when you have a tough result like we did,” Curtin said. “We have to get them going, and I think they’ll have a good response. They understand the pressure.”

National team call-ups

Major League Soccer is playing through this month’s FIFA national team window on the weekend of March 23, and clubs worldwide are required to release players to senior national teams during FIFA windows. The Union will be severely shorthanded for that day’s game at the Portland Timbers.

Goalkeeper Andre Blake and centerback Damion Lowe will be with Jamaica at the Concacaf Nations League final four, starting with a semifinal against the United States next Thursday in Arlington, Texas. Gazdag will be with Hungary for friendlies to prepare for this summer’s European Championship.

Martínez and fellow Venezuelan Jesús Bueno are expected to be with their country for friendlies to prepare for the Copa América, though the roster hasn’t been officially announced yet. The Vinotinto’s slate includes a big matchup vs. Italy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Thursday.

Midfielder Jack McGlynn and defender Nathan Harriel will be with the U.S. under-23 team as it prepares for the Olympics with a neutral-site game vs. Guinea in Spain, and then a visit to star-studded France.

Striker Tai Baribo is headed to Israel’s national team for a Euro qualifying playoff vs. Iceland on Thursday in Budapest, Hungary — coincidentally across town from where Gazdag’s team will play Turkey on Friday. If Israel wins that game, it will play Bosnia and Herzegovina or Ukraine on March 26 for a Euros berth.

Baribo’s call-up is a timely endorsement of a player who still hasn’t seen a second of action for the Union this season, despite the team’s many necessary lineup rotations in its early schedule.

“We’re going to need him this year,” Curtin said. “Hopefully he can go away with the national team, get some confidence, continue to build on that fitness, and then come back and help us with minutes and goals as well. We still believe very much in Tai. It’s just been a little unfortunate [that] the start that I’m sure everybody wanted, he wanted, and I wanted, hasn’t quite been there yet.”