USA vs. Canada Preview: Why Are We Here?

The honeymoon phase for Mauricio Pochettino is officially over. Despite winning five of his first six games, the tide turned against the new USMNT boss after Thursday’s loss to Panama in the Nations League semi-finals. It was the fourth time the US has lost to Panama in six games after having only lost to them once ever prior to 2021. In fact, the US has now lost three straight tournament games to Panama: 2023 Gold Cup semi-final, 2024 Copa America group stage, and 2025 Nations League semi-final. Pochettino now faces his first real inflection point since taking over the program. If the US is to regain some of the momentum it looked like they had been building under Pochettino, getting a win against Canada in the Nations League consolation game is a must.

Perhaps the most shocking thing about Thursday’s loss to Panama was just how completely disinterested the US players looked. They may have been labeled the golden generation but they not only still don’t have a marquee win, they also continue to look totally uninterested in games against anybody not named Mexico. For a generation of players that has been given everything, from world class facilities to fancy training uniforms to top notch flight accommodations for away fixtures, the lack of return on investment is quite alarming. Perhaps just as alarming is that these issues of motivation and grit persist despite the hire of Mauricio Pochettino, who was brought aboard to instill a tough streak that his predecessor Gregg Berhalter failed to. That Thursday’s loss to Panama did not look any different than many of the games that Berhalter lost is another cause for concern about just how good this group of players really is.

On the subject of Gregg Berhalter, it bears mentioning that he never failed to win the Nations League. He may have had a litany of flaws as a manger, but when the chips were down, he won the Nations League in 2021 and 2024 (the 2023 Nations League won by the US was with BJ Callaghan as interim manager between Berhalter’s two stints as USMNT boss). Mauricio Pochettino failing to even to advance to the Nations League final in his first appearance, despite being paid nearly $6 million a year, has sent the spirits of US fans to a depressingly low level. And now they must face a Canadian team with a manager who has repeatedly expressed his displeasure with not being hired as the US manager after the 2022 World Cup.

Jesse Marsch has taken what Jon Herdman did with Canada and built impressively upon it. Under Herdman, Les Rouges went to the World Cup in 2022 for the first time since 1986. Since taking over, Marsch guided Canada to the Copa America semi-finals and back to the Nations League semi-finals. He has also fired numerous shots at US Soccer leadership since being hired by Canada, with many believing that he felt he should have been Gregg Berhalter’s replacement after the World Cup. Marsch took some of his frustrations out on the US with a friendly win over the Americans in Kansas City back in September. And with political tensions between the US and Canada at the highest level since the War of 1812, there’s no doubt that Marsch will have his team cleared for action on Sunday evening. That combined with the indifferent attitude of the US players could make for a long night at SoFi Stadium.

When, Where

Date: Sunday, March 23, 2025

Venue: SoFi Stadium

City: Los Angeles, California

Time: 5pm CT

TV: Paramount+

All-Time Series

USA leads series 17-11-13

Last Meeting

Date: Saturday, September 7, 2024

Venue: Children’s Mercy Park

City: Kansas City, Kansas

Attendance: 10,523

Result: USA 1-2 Canada

FIFA Ranking

USA: 16

Canada: 31

Next Game

Date: Saturday, June 7, 2025

Competition: International Friendly

Match-Up: USA vs. Turkey

Venue: Pratt & Whitney Stadium

City: East Hartford, Connecticut

Time: 2:30pm CT

TV: TNT

Photo Credit: US Soccer