Latest news with #Arfsten
Observer
a day ago
- Sport
- Observer
Freese shines as US down Costa Rica in Gold Cup
MINNEAPOLIS: Goalkeeper Matt Freese was the hero as the United States defeated Costa Rica 4-3 on penalties to reach the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday. Freese made three saves in the shoot-out after the game finished 2-2 at the end of regulation to send US manager Mauricio Pochettino's side into a semifinal meeting against Guatemala. Harvard-educated New York City FC keeper Freese saved spot-kicks from Juan Pablo Vargas, Francisco Calvo and Andy Rojas to leave 20-year-old US substitute Damion Downs to sweep in the winning penalty at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. "Penalties are my thing," Freese said afterwards. "On the plane ride over here to Minnesota I was studying the penalties so I was ready for it if we needed it. "It was a full team effort — it really shows the energy and the mentality of this group to come back from you know, everyone steps up for PKs and does a great job." The USA will now face a Guatemala side who stunned Canada in Sunday's other quarterfinal, winning 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. The game had gone to penalties after an entertaining period of regulation that saw the United States recover from an early goal to take the lead before Costa Rica hit back in the second half. EARLY BLOW Pochettino's side got off to the worst possible start when Costa Rica took the lead from the penalty spot after just 12 minutes. Poor positioning down the US left flank allowed Costa Rica to attack, and a clumsy challenge from Max Arfsten bundled over Kenneth Vargas in the box. Guatemalan referee Walter Lopez pointed to the spot immediately and Francisco Calvo duly drilled the spot-kick past Freese. The US thought they had been handed a lifeline in the 35th minute when Juan Pablo Vargas caught Malik Tillman on the back of the ankle with a sliding tackle. The incident was reviewed by VAR and Lopez again pointed to the spot. Tillman, who had never previously taken a penalty in his professional career, stepped up to face Costa Rican legend Keylor Navas, and promptly smashed his spot-kick against the foot of the post. The US did not have long to wait for their leveller, however, which came with a large slice of luck in the 43rd minute. Arfsten found space down the left and picked out Diego Luna in the penalty area, and the midfielder's shot took a wicked deflection off Alexis Gamboa on its way into that net. The US started the second half the same way they finished the first, and this time it was Arfsten's turn to score. Tillman burst free on the edge of the area and laid off into the path of the over-lapping Arfsten, who steered in a low finish into the bottom corner. The US almost made it 3-1 moments later only for Chris Richards' powerful header to be clawed away by the 38-year-old Navas. The US would rue that miss after Costa Rica leveled in the 71st minute. Carlos Mora showed great trickery to bamboozle Luca de la Torre and Arfsten down the right before cutting inside and shooting. Freese saved but Mora passed to Alonso Martinez on the rebound who fired in the equaliser for 2-2. Martinez almost gave Costa Rica a dramatic winner in the 85th minute but his curling shot cannoned off the post with Freese beaten, setting up the penalty drama. — AFP
France 24
2 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
Ice-cold Freese to the rescue as US down Costa Rica in Gold Cup
Freese made three saves in the shoot-out after the game finished 2-2 at the end of regulation to send US manager Mauricio Pochettino's side into a semi-final meeting against Guatemala. Harvard-educated New York City FC keeper Freese saved spot-kicks from Juan Pablo Vargas, Francisco Calvo and Andy Rojas to leave 20-year-old US substitute Damion Downs to sweep in the winning penalty at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. "Penalties are my thing," Freese said afterwards. "On the plane ride over here to Minnesota I was studying the penalties so I was ready for it if we needed it. "It was a full team effort -- it really shows the energy and the mentality of this group to come back from you know, everyone steps up for PKs and does a great job." The USA will now face a Guatemala side who stunned Canada in Sunday's other quarter-final, winning 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. The game had gone to penalties after an entertaining period of regulation that saw the United States recover from an early goal to take the lead before Costa Rica hit back in the second half. Early blow Pochettino's side got off to the worst possible start when Costa Rica took the lead from the penalty spot after just 12 minutes. Poor positioning down the US left flank allowed Costa Rica to attack, and a clumsy challenge from Max Arfsten bundled over Kenneth Vargas in the box. Guatemalan referee Walter Lopez pointed to the spot immediately and Francisco Calvo duly drilled the spot-kick past Freese. The US thought they had been handed a lifeline in the 35th minute when Juan Pablo Vargas caught Malik Tillman on the back of the ankle with a sliding tackle. The incident was reviewed by VAR and Lopez again pointed to the spot. Tillman, who had never previously taken a penalty in his professional career, stepped up to face Costa Rican legend Keylor Navas, and promptly smashed his spot-kick against the foot of the post. The US did not have long to wait for their leveller, however, which came with a large slice of luck in the 43rd minute. Arfsten found space down the left and picked out Diego Luna in the penalty area, and the midfielder's shot took a wicked deflection off Alexis Gamboa on its way into that net. The US started the second half the same way they finished the first, and this time it was Arfsten's turn to score. Tillman burst free on the edge of the area and laid off into the path of the over-lapping Arfsten, who steered in a low finish into the bottom corner. The US almost made it 3-1 moments later only for Chris Richards' powerful header to be clawed away by the 38-year-old Navas. The US would rue that miss after Costa Rica leveled in the 71st minute. Carlos Mora showed great trickery to bamboozle Luca de la Torre and Arfsten down the right before cutting inside and shooting. Freese saved but Mora passed to Alonso Martinez on the rebound who fired in the equaliser for 2-2. Martinez almost gave Costa Rica a dramatic winner in the 85th minute but his curling shot cannoned off the post with Freese beaten, setting up the penalty drama.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Gold Cup: USMNT beats Costa Rica on PKs, reaches semis
Jun 30, 2025 07:11 AM IST Matt Freese made three saves in the shootout and Damion Downs scored the winner in the bottom of the sixth round as the U.S. defeated Costa Rica 4-3 on penalties in Minneapolis on Sunday to advance to the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals. HT Image Freese denied Andy Rojas in the top of the sixth for his second consecutive stop before Downs scored to the left corner. The match was tied 2-2 after 90 minutes and went straight to penalties. The U.S. plays Guatemala on Wednesday in St. Louis for the right to face either Mexico or Honduras in the final July 6 in Houston. Guatemala defeated Canada 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw on Sunday. After Max Arfsten gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead in the 47th minute with his first international goal, Costa Rica tied it in the 71st when Alonso Martinez scored on the rebound after his New York City FC teammate Freese saved a shot by Carlos Mora. Arfsten had a goal and an assist and Diego Luna scored his first U.S. goal in the 43rd minute. Francisco Calvo converted a penalty in the 12th minute to put the U.S. behind for the first time in the tournament. The goal came after Arfsten fouled Kenneth Varga on the right side of the box. The U.S. failed to tie it in the 37th minute when Malik Tillman missed a penalty after Juan Pablo Vargas put his studs into his ankle. The foul and a yellow card came after video review. Tillman, who leads the U.S. with three goals, put the PK off the left post in the 37th minute. Arfsten tried to score on the rebound but Keylor Navas made the save for a corner kick, precipitating a near-brawl. Luna made it 1-1 with an assist from Arfsten when his shot deflected off Costa Rican defender Alexis Gamboa. Four minutes later, Arfsten made amends for his penalty by scoring from a leading pass by Tillman. Tillman hit the crossbar in the 76th while Martinez smacked the left post nine minutes later. Field Level Media This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
New York Times
24-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
USMNT film room: Where it went briefly right, then very wrong, in Canada defeat
In the first three installments of the Concacaf Nations League, the United States men's national team left with gold medals. This time, they couldn't even reach the podium in the four-team bracket. While the tournament is new, it represented one of just two remaining competitions for Mauricio Pochettino to size up his players' competitive readiness before the 2026 World Cup. To say that many missed the moment would be an understatement of the obvious: the United States was shocked late against Panama and then outplayed for most of the consolation game against Canada, losing 2-1. Advertisement Frustratingly, the goals that sunk the USMNT were variations along a similar theme. After Thursday, we cited Panama's craftiness on the late winner as the rare worthy application of the 'they wanted it more' cliché. That wasn't quite the case on Sunday, as head coach Pochettino rotated in half of a new lineup and saw several players who missed Thursday's lineup play with the requisite edge. Nevertheless, the end product was the same: a sequence with the United States caught out of position, struggling to clear their lines, and reacting to loose balls a split-second after their counterparts made the damning difference. In the 59th minute, Canada has possession just inside its own half, with Rennes midfielder Ismaël Koné on the ball. USMNT right winger Diego Luna points toward the opposite flank, where Tajon Buchanan is roaming. Buchanan and Jacob Shaffelburg have turned these touchline-hugging sprints into a dependable outlet under Jesse Marsch, and Koné shakes Patrick Agyemang to create the necessary space for an aerial ball. Buchanan runs onto the pass, benefitting from the distance between him and left back Max Arfsten to collect it in space. Arfsten is quick to converge, lunging into a defensive crouch. Throughout this sequence, Arfsten has been left to mark Buchanan as the U.S. accumulates numbers in the box. It appears to be an attempt at run-of-play zonal defending, with Tyler Adams particularly seeming set up to screen passing lanes without a dedicated defensive mark. Eventually, Tim Weah arrives from the left wing to give the U.S. a numerical advantage in the corner. By then, however, Arfsten has already pried the ball away from Buchanan. As a result, Weah cannot space himself far enough away to serve as a passing outlet, inadvertently giving Arfsten a quandary: thump a clearance down the line or attempt an upfield dribble. With a point to prove and a World Cup roster spot in the balance, the 23-year-old opts for the higher risk/reward proposition. Canada's players have put themselves into better off-ball positions than the United States. As sequences break down and the ball pinballs about, Marsch's men have shown they have answers thanks to their reading of the play and plenty of interplay as a collective since John Herdman's tenure. Now, they've turned a speculative diagonal into a hard-earned chance at the top of the box. They also have one of Europe's most in-demand strikers, Jonathan David. While the conclusion is exactly what Canada wants, it's a far cry from the meticulously curated sequences that are increasingly commonplace in European leagues. Without the benefit of daily training over a full year, national teams often struggle to whirr as smoothly as their club counterparts. Some coaches try to compromise with this reality, adopting systems and establishing patterns without strict choreography. Advertisement In truth, the frequent gaps between international camps (especially ones with sizable stakes) mean that a team's chemistry and built-in rapport will have an outsized benefit in international soccer. This generation of players have strived to make the world respect Canada as a soccer nation, to reach heights never before met. Given the previous unglamorously stereotype of Canadian players that pre-dates David's and Alphonso Davies' youthful breakouts, many had to earn their spots at top clubs on their performances rather than the widely assumed potential and status that accompanies other nations, such as England, Brazil and, increasingly over the past two decades, the U.S. While we can look at a player's data and study their performances, a writer will never know what is in a player's heart and mind. We all want to believe that every player shows up fully committed to representing their country. And yet, for this version of the USMNT after the 2022 World Cup, a common question has been raised: why isn't there more visible passion behind these performances? The old stereotype around the USMNT was that the technical quality was usually below the standard, but no opponent could meet the heart and athleticism of the U.S. Improvements in physical training approaches around the world and the rising financial stakes in the sport have leveled that playing field, but perceived over-performance in the early 2000s — and some rule changes around youth eligibility — helped more young Americans develop in Europe. The reason this current group was swiftly branded as a 'golden generation' wasn't just to get over the heartbreak of missing out on the 2018 World Cup. It was a recognition of the increased number of players getting higher levels of technical training at a younger age. In 2018-19, only three USMNT-eligible players featured in the UEFA Champions League. Fast-forward six years to the present, and this season has seen 12 take part. No nation outside of Europe, Argentina and Brazil contributed more goals to the sport's top continental competition. If it wasn't going to be gold, it was certainly appraised at a high rate. And yet, after a dour scoreless defeat against Panama and being outplayed by Canada in Los Angeles, the vibes are undeniably bad — worse than they've been since the 2018 debacle, possibly. Advertisement For a group of players who seemed almost too comfortable under Gregg Berhalter at the Copa América, results since Pochettino's hiring haven't come close to providing a new manager bounce. However, a few players the Argentine coach has brought into the fold have provided the brightest spots of his tenure. While Matko Miljevic's presence in January camp was panned, he played with a point to prove unlike any of his then-employed peers. Two players in MLS, Agyemang and Luna, emerged in that same training camp and landed on this Nations League squad. It was them, and not their compatriots playing abroad, who provided the only goal contributions of the window. While he's MLS's best domestic playmaker as Real Salt Lake's No. 10, Luna spent Sunday on the right wing to keep Christian Pulisic in the heart of the attack. Luna wants to advance the base of possession, represented by Weston McKennie's trot around an opponent into an open lane. Throughout the post-Qatar lulls, McKennie and Weah have remained among the most involved players on the team. They play with the passion that pundits so often question about this group. They also share a locker room at Juventus, and both are regular starters for the Serie A side. After half a decade of regular play together, McKennie knows exactly how Weah can operate on the flank. This year, McKennie has also refined his long distribution, and is equipped to get Weah the ball in space. Pulisic cuts up the left channel to offer a destination for a through ball. However, much of what the U.S. does in the final third goes through the Milan star, and multiple Canadians wisen up to his run. Weah also knows this, and thanks to his confidence on the dribble, retains the ball without sacrificing any attacking potential. As an increasingly expert reader of sequences as they unfold, Luna sees a chance for a second run beyond Canada's defense. From here, Luna creates a second out of a blink and weighs his options. Rather than forcing a shot against Canadian goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, who has established his angle, Luna takes a beat to let Agyemang find a better shooting lane. It wasn't just the equalizer needed before halftime — it was just desserts for a team operating with intention and decisiveness. This has always been an option for the United States. It was an option this team had relished for decades until these recent years. There are many reasons worth citing about this team's struggles since Qatar. This young group was ushered in en masse after the 2018 failure and has carried expectations with minimal veteran counterparts. You would understand if the pressure of being part of the next host nation has heightened the pressure on every performance as they want to maximize this window. Canada (this month) and Mexico (last summer) have stumbled since the 2022 World Cup. Maybe they miss the dependable adrenaline of World Cup qualifying, although Concacaf isn't even close to reaching its decisive round. Advertisement Whatever the explanation, under Berhalter and Pochettino, this team's A-squad often seems to be playing with its heads, its technical training, rather than the heart that helped them succeed in 2022. Goals like the one scored on Sunday are a bit of a throwback, but come with confidence and courage that shouldn't be unreachable. At this point, with results having gone so poorly, what else is there to lose?
