Top-5 USMNT Moments From 2021
It’s October 13th, 2021 and the United States Men’s National Team have found themselves one-nil down against Costa Rica when all of a sudden Sergino Dest scores a thunderbolt equalizer. This goal would instantly send a wave of relief amongst US fans as the match vs. Costa Rica was on the heels of a 1-nothing loss to Panama, only a couple of days earlier.
An absolute banger of a goal. Memorable moment…but not one of the ‘Top-Five’ USMNT Moment’s Of 2021.
#5) Say what you want about Berhlater but this year alone he has recruited the likes of Yunus Musah & Ricardo Pepi to represent the red-white-and-blue. Two starting players in our Best XI have committed to the U.S. this year and to me…that says a lot about how fluid U.S. soccer is at the moment.
Musah has gone one to be a key member in the M.M.A. midfield, and Pepi appears to be our long awaited #9. Two major pieces of the puzzle and both headlines completely worthy to feature in this years top-five. Comment below on which dual-nationals you would like to see commit in 2022!
#4) Guillermo Ochoa has been a villain since day-one. When Ochoa stated prior to the most recent rendition of US vs. El-Tri that “Mexico is the mirror in which the United States wants to see itself…” the USMNT obviously felt disrespected. How did they respond?
Pulisic would go on to score the winner & clap back at Memo Ochoa by unveiling a shirt that read “man in the mirror.” After the match Berhalter would go on to state "We fiercely dislike Mexico's soccer team, right, and we're fierce competitors and we want to win every time on the field.'' This year the USMNT has done just that so stay tuned for more USA Mexico moments from 2021.
#3) A record number of US players competing at top-European clubs has resulted in new standards being set at the highest level of competition. On Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021 this was even more evident when a record seven U.S. internationals featured on a single UEFA Champions League match day.
Christian Pulisic at Chelsea took on Weston McKennie & Juventus. Timothy Weah of Lille matched up against Brenden Aaronson’s Red Bull Salzburg.
John Brooks would start for Wolfsburg, and Sergino Dest would feature off the bench for FC Barcelona. The lone American goal on the day would come from Jordan Pefok to put the Young Boy’s up 1-nil on Atalanta. In a year that featured many US men’s records abroad….this to me is a true indication that things are moving in the right direction.
#2) The 2021 Gold Cup run was memorable. It is no question that the United State’s Men’s National team did not roll out their ‘A’ squad…but despite all of the criticism, frustration, and non-believers, they got the job done.
In a much anticipated Gold Cup Final against (you guessed it) El-Tri the United States Men’s National team would go on to win one-nothing in dramatic fashion when Miles Robinson scored a 117th minute header off of Kellyn Acosta’s free kick.
This win would propel the USMNT into the top-10 of the FIFA rankings for the first time since 2006.
#1) Last but certainly not least is the victory that kicked off our 3-0 record against Mexico in 2021 the infamous Nations League Final. Now….let’s be real here…I could feature a top-5 list full of only moments from this match…and for that reason alone it is the top USMNT moment of 2021!
Whether it was Ethan Horvath’s save, the infamous penalty scored by Captain America, or the kick-ass photo that followed this was State Of Soccer’s favorite moment from 2021.
A year that has made us all believe again. So on that note let’s keep the success rolling into 2022…and until next time…as always…support your local club, and go USMNT!