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Three things we learned from the USMNT’s Nations League games

The US Men’s National Team retained its CONCACAF Nations League crown on Sunday, cruising to a 2-0 win over Mexico in the final. Goals from Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna gave Gregg Berhalter’s team the victory as the US reasserted its dominance over the region.

With the 2024 Copa America just around the corner, though, there is no time for the USMNT to rest on its laurels. Berhalter must analyse the things that worked and the things that didn’t in the Nations League Finals. Here are three things we learned from the wins over Jamaica and Mexico.

Gio Reyna is crucially important as a creator

No USMNT player has been talked about more than Gio Reyna over the last 18 months. Nobody doubts the 21-year-old’s natural talent, but questions have been asked of Reyna’s attitude as well as his true role in Berhalter’s team.

On the evidence of the wins over Jamaica and Mexico, though, he is crucially important to the US as a creator.

Berhalter simply doesn’t have another player who can do what Reyna does. He broke open the semi-final against Jamaica by coming off the bench to provide two assists for Haji Wright. Against Mexico, he was the one conducting play from deep – and the one who scored the second goal to effectively kill the game.

Reyna isn’t playing much at club level after joining Nottingham Forest on loan from Borussia Dortmund in January, but he has never been more important to the USMNT. The issues between Berhalter and Reyna – and his family – have clearly been put in the past. The midfielder is finally proving his full, critical value to his country.

Folarin Balogun must do more to cement his place

US Soccer spent months chasing Folarin Balogun in the belief he would be the USMNT’s first-choice number nine for years to come. Balogun scored 21 goals in Ligue 1 on loan at Reims last season before earning a $40m transfer to Monaco from Arsenal. He also made a good start to life as a USMNT international, scoring in the last Nations League final.

Since then, though, Balogun has struggled to find the back of the net. He has scored just five times for Monaco this term and there are signs his integration into Berhalter’s USMNT system hasn’t gone as smoothly as he surely would have hoped. This led to Wright being picked to start against Mexico.

While Wright struggled to make much of an impression in the final, he bagged a brace against Jamaica and did more to catch the eye than Balogun. The latter still has a higher ceiling, but he must do more to cement his place in the USMNT lineup before the 2024 Copa America this summer. 

Tyler Adams has to play as the number six

Not many expected Tyler Adams to be included on the roster for this international window. From the USMNT’s perspective, thank goodness he was. The Bournemouth midfielder had his minutes managed following a long injury layoff, but he was still able to make an impact over the 82 minutes he enjoyed on the pitch.

Of course, Adams’ highlight reel moment came when he lashed home a sensational strike from 30 yards against Mexico, but his importance went beyond that goal. Indeed, the 25-year-old gave the USMNT a midfield basis that Yunus Musah simply wasn’t able to do in the first half of the semi-final against Jamaica. 

Adams’ defensive instincts and bite make him the safety net behind the more adventurous Weston McKennie and Reyna in the midfield unit. Passing isn’t the strong part of his game, but Adams is still a better deep-lying distributor than Musah, who struggled in the role. On top of this, Adams is the competitive beating heart of the USMNT. 

With that, the USMNT are off for over two months until camp begins for Copa America preparations. Given the complex system Berhalter employs and the mix of personnel he’s still trying to get right, the team will need that camp to come together in a tactically sound manner before their biggest competition prior to the 2026 World Cup.

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