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New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Johnny Cardoso caps breakout season with a USMNT first in Conference League final defeat
It wasn't quite the history that Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis meant to make on Wednesday night. Going in search of a first European trophy, the U.S. men's national team defensive midfielder's Spanish club blew a 1-0 lead against Chelsea and capitulated entirely in the last 25 minutes, falling 4-1 in the UEFA Europa Conference League final. Cardoso did, however, become the first American male to start in a major European final in the process, taking his usual place as the anchor of Real Betis' midfield and playing 85 minutes. Advertisement Wednesday's final came almost four years to the day after Christian Pulisic became the first American man to play in a final on the other end of the UEFA spectrum, coming off the bench as his Chelsea side topped Manchester City to win the Champions League. That match was highly anticipated in spite of Pulisic's rotational role with the Blues, arguably the high point of what became a frustrating spell in London for the winger. Just as the Europa Conference League doesn't have the same pull as the Champions League, Cardoso doesn't carry the same clout in U.S. circles as Pulisic, but then again, nobody in the pool can match Pulisic's magnetism and high-level production these days. Nevertheless, Cardoso has been closely monitored by some of Europe's biggest clubs, with his European stage offering a spotlight. Tottenham worked something of a 'dibs' option on the midfielder when it sold Giovani Lo Celso to Betis in 2024, establishing a fixed fee of €25 million (£20.9m; $26.9m) should he further pique Spurs' interest. That clause expires at the end of June, and other clubs (including Manchester United and Atlético Madrid) are reportedly also monitoring the 23-year-old for a potential summer move, despite a February contract extension tying him to Betis through 2029-30. On the back of a capable individual showing on Wednesday, particularly in the first half, it's plausible that Cardoso won't be with Betis for much longer. The Conference League final was the culmination of the latest step in Cardoso's rapid ascent — one that makes him among the most intriguing players in the entire USMNT pool. Most U.S. eligible players spend their formative years getting driven around to weekend soccer tournaments or slamming a ball off of a wall. Born in New Jersey and raised in his parents' native Brazil, Cardoso cut his teeth playing futsal. The small-field alternative to soccer emphasizes technical prowess instead of open-space running, requiring its players to keep close control of a ball and make quick decisions in possession. Advertisement Those instincts helped the midfielder as he began his professional career, debuting with Brazilian side Internacional days before his 18th birthday. He amassed 117 league appearances with the club, capping his tenure with a run to the 2023 Copa Libertadores semifinal, where he started both legs against eventual champion Fluminense. Soon, Cardoso had his suitors: Napoli, Brighton, Sporting and Galatasaray reportedly among them. Ultimately, he felt that Betis represented the best opportunity for launching his European career. 'It was a question of feeling,' Cardoso told The Athletic in 2024. 'I just had this hunch that it was the right choice. I thought I would be able to adapt to the city and felt Spain would suit my style of play. I am a very technical player, which comes from futsal. I read the game well and Spanish football is very positional, very organized. I knew that it would be easier to adapt here than in the Premier League, for example.' Betis has been praised as a very technical side under Manuel Pellegrini, with the Chilean manager favoring players who can be nimble on the ball. Stylistically, it afforded Cardoso an immediate fit into the core of Pellegrini's side while he adjusted from the Brazilian Serie A's hard-nosed nature to La Liga's more wide-open alternative. Based on his underlying numbers, that transition didn't take long at all. First, some footage. Early in Cardoso's tenure, Betis was facing Cadiz in league play. Here, Cardoso found himself in a more advanced position than usual as Cadiz worked to force a turnover and spring a break. Offering his teammate an outlet, Cadiz's four-man convergence forces an eventually blocked pass. Cardoso anticipated a passing triangle, ignoring the initial pass to jump into the next passing lane. If he gets his timing wrong, Cadiz will have a golden chance to open space and launch the ball upfield. Between his reading of the sequence and his somewhat gangly 6-foot-1 frame, which he positions to present a wide obstacle to his opponent's anticipated pass, he's able to stop this quick break before it can be sprung. At this point, his work isn't done. With Internacional, Cardoso gained plaudits for his ability to break lines with his passing. That much hasn't manifested in his role with Betis — no midfielder in La Liga who has played at least 1,800 minutes since he debuted sends a lower rate of his passes at least five yards upfield than Cardoso's 8.7%. Most often, Cardoso is asked to prod the ball to either of his box-to-box midfield partners to do the line-breaking work. Advertisement Here, the line is already broken. Keeping the ball on the ground, Cardoso dribbles upfield and spots a pocket of space between attacking midfielder Nabil Fekir and Willian José. As the ball skips just beyond Fekir, the Brazilian forward is in perfect position for an unmarked first-touch finish, as Cardoso has played the ball with ideal weight and pace. When Betis tightens the screw and moves its midfield line into the attacking half, Cardoso doesn't look out of place. His technical acumen allows him to create chances in a manner usually reserved for the sport's attacking showmen. When the ball is in Betis' own half, those same close-control techniques can help him prevent making costly turnovers close to his own goal, as Fiorentina saw in the Conference League semifinal. He's still a defensive midfielder, after all, so he isn't shy about dropping a shoulder or swinging a leg to get around an opponent in the name of securing possession. This combination of tidy technician work and his rangy mobility has made him an ideal target for many clubs. It's also what played him into Gregg Berhalter's USMNT as the primary deputy to Tyler Adams, a long-needed alternative to the Bournemouth midfielder. Depending on how Mauricio Pochettino wants to calibrate his midfield, there could be room for both defensive midfielders to start. They could set up as a stingy double-pivot to shield the USMNT's often-unsettled back line, affording the defense more time to get its shape right while two tireless ball hawks offer protection. In this scenario, Weston McKennie could play more advanced in a three-man midfield. At the very least, he's a very viable option to step in if needed, especially after being tested at a higher level this season. One issue during the 2022 World Cup was Berhalter's reliance on Adams, McKennie and Yunus Musah to start all four matches. By the round of 16, the youthful trio looked fatigued, giving the Netherlands more freedom to operate up the heart of the park than the USMNT had faced in the group stage. Since Adams debuted, the U.S. has been at its best with him in the lineup. That may give him an edge over Cardoso if the co-hosts can advance into the knockout bracket, but it shouldn't preclude Cardoso from getting ample run-out if he continues in his current form. If he can take his game to the next level, with or without a summer move, it'll present Pochettino with a rare 'good problem' as he works through the rest of the team's ongoing headache areas. And with Cardoso part of the Gold Cup squad at a time when McKennie and Musah are absent, he should have every chance to make that case.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
USMNT greats Donovan, Howard criticize absence of top players from Gold Cup
Former US men's national team greats Landon Donovan and Tim Howard criticized some of the stars who asked to be left off the team's Gold Cup roster this summer, with Donovan saying he believes that the national team is 'not a priority' for them. The Gold Cup is the last international tournament the US men's national team will compete in before playing co-host for the 2026 World Cup next summer. Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson and Yunus Musah all asked to be left off of the team for various reasons, with Pulisic citing the workload of two straight 50-game campaigns with Milan, while Robinson was ruled out with a case of knee tendinopathy (an overuse injury that he had been managing for much of the second half of the Premier League season). Fulham announced on Wednesday that Robinson would undergo a 'minor' surgical procedure on his knee and would use the summer to recover. Musah, according to head coach Mauricio Pochettino, asked out of the team due to 'personal reasons'. In Wednesday's episode of Unfiltered Soccer, the podcast co-hosted by Donovan and Howard, Donovan decried the absences despite his own experience with experiencing burnout over the course of his playing career. 'I understand very clearly what it's like to need a break,' said Donovan, who took time away from soccer in 2013 – a decision that then-US head coach Jürgen Klinsmann said contributed to the decision to cut Donovan from the 2014 World Cup team. 'If there's something serious going on in your life, in your family, mentally, whatever, I get it. I'm going to assume for the sake of this conversation that's not going on. If they would actually come out and give reasons, it would help us, but none of them want to say anything publicly. I think it would help them publicly to say 'this is why.'' In an episode recorded before the announcement of Robinson's surgery, Donovan said that reasons related to fatigue and burnout fall flat when set against the players' performances for their club teams to end the season. Milan, home to Pulisic and Musah, was a focus given that the last game of their season was largely meaningless, with the team already mathematically out of European competition next season. 'The problem I have with Christian in the last few weeks is he's still playing for Milan,' Donovan said. So, if you're if you're tired and you're burned out and whatever [and] you guys are still playing for a Champions League spot, fine. I get it. They had nothing to play for this weekend. Zero.' In the case of Robinson, Donovan pointed out that the left-back withdrew from national team consideration ahead of this year's Nations League finals due to injury concerns, yet started for Fulham in games immediately before and after the international break. Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer after newsletter promotion 'He doesn't want to go to the Gold Cup. Fine. You've had a long season. You've performed great,' Donovan said. 'Why are you starting and playing 90 minutes the last two games for Fulham if your knee's so messed up?' What are you doing? What kind of message is that sending? If you are really injured and that's no problem, you're totally fine. We respect that. Everyone has to make the decision that's best for them.' Howard, along with Donovan, expressed dismay that Pochettino would not have a chance to have the full team together in a tournament setting before the World Cup, but that 'I'm putting a ton of this on US Soccer.' 'There needed to be people on planes in restaurants in Milan, at restaurants in London, buying bottles of red wine for sporting directors saying, 'Listen, I understand you have priorities. Let me tell you about my priorities,' Howard said, referring to the federation's relationship with the clubs where US players ply their trade. 'I don't necessarily know that dialogue has been had with sporting directors. And by the way, if it has, then it just shows that US Soccer has no gravitas and no power. [In that case] those sporting directors basically said, 'Who is this? I don't have time for this call. I'll speak to you never.' And hung up the phone.' US Soccer has been approached for comment.
New York Times
3 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Fulham and USMNT's Antonee Robinson undergoes minor knee surgery
Fulham and U.S. men's national team full-back Antonee Robinson has undergone knee surgery. Fulham confirmed the 27-year-old had undergone the operation on his right knee on Tuesday and described the surgery as 'minor'. No exact timeframe has been given for his return but Fulham said he will undergo a period of rehabilitation to be ready for the start of the 2025-26 campaign. Advertisement Robinson was not included in Mauricio Pochettino's USMNT squad for this summer's Gold Cup, having been given the summer off after a long season with Fulham. He made 38 appearances in all competitions and provided 10 assists — the most of any defender in the Premier League. This followed a 2023-24 campaign in which he provided six assists in the top flight and was named Fulham's player of the season. Robinson featured in 36 of Fulham's 38 Premier League fixtures this campaign but missed two of his side's final five league matches through injury. He was also absent from the Concacaf Nations League finals in March due to tendinopathy. The left-back is one of a number of first-team regulars missing from the U.S. Gold Cup squad, alongside Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah. Like Robinson, Pulisic was also given the summer off after making 50 appearances in all competitions for Milan this season, while McKennie and Weah both have club commitments with Juventus competing in the Club World Cup. The U.S. play Trinidad & Tobago, Saudi Arabia and Haiti in the Gold Cup group stages, which start in June.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Pochettino turns to an unlikely savior for USMNT's struggles: MLS
So far, the conversation around the United States' Gold Cup camp roster is primarily about absence. Christian Pulisic isn't there. Neither is Antonee Robinson, Tim Weah, Weston McKennie, or Gio Reyna. Yunus Musah is missing for personal reasons. Josh Sargent is out for 'football reasons.' Mauricio Pochettino doesn't have this name, he doesn't have that name. He also doesn't have much time. That was already the case when he took on the US job with just two years to go before a home World Cup, but the situation seems all the more pressing now, a year away from the international game's signature event and only a couple months removed from some Concacaf Nations League results that were, well, a bit catastrophic. Fans want to see Pochettino and his team right the ship. They want to see the results they've envisioned for the better part of a decade since that night in Trinidad in 2017. They want goals. They want glory. And in his search for answers, Pochettino seems to be staring directly at one of the oldest, simplest types of analysis. 'You need to fight, you need to show attitude, the right attitude, but not only that, perform, and be brave,' he said of the players coming into camp prior to the Gold Cup. That says one simple thing to me. Pochettino thinks the current USMNT crop does not have the asset most prized by sports radio hosts: that dawg in them. It's hard to say he's wrong. While we've seen this USMNT generation produce some brilliant moments and disciplined results, we've seen them fall apart just as much. For as joyous as Pulisic is to watch when he's playing with a chip on his shoulder and a spring in his step, he's equally as miserable cutting the figure he did against Panama in March. There are two wolves inside you, etc. And while this generation of players may have a claim to being the most talented USMNT ever, talent does not win matches or even score goals. There's a reason you still have to play the game. So in comes a curious mixture of longtime mainstays and fresh blood. There are five players without a cap on the Gold Cup camp roster, many more with little international experience, and in total, 16 players from MLS from the 27-man group – players who were called upon in place of European-based players that could make it, like Sargent and Joe Scally. Pochettino is still looking for pieces he thinks the USMNT is missing. And MLS is where he's looking. An international coach looking for talent in his team's domestic league shouldn't be a shock, but it's been the opposite of how USMNT rosters have been constructed for the last five years. Since Jürgen Klinsmann's dismissal in 2016 and Bruce Arena's ill-fated return, USMNT roster-building has looked a little bit like a new Football Manager save. Younger and younger additions were celebrated, then damn-near required. Rosters with heavy representation from European clubs (good) were cheered, while MLS mainstays (bad) were trashed. Only three MLS players started for the US in their games at the 2022 World Cup. At Copa América 2024, that number dropped to zero. Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer after newsletter promotion Obviously, that Copa América didn't go to plan. Neither did March's Nations League finals. So, in comes Diego Luna, he of a particular testicular fortitude. Patrick Agyemang, despite Charlotte's woeful MLS form of late, is back, and so is Max Arfsten, who went from a 'hey, you're here' addition to the Nations League roster to starting the third-place match. Matt Freese, DeJuan Jones, Jack McGlynn, Brian White are there too. And in one of the more ridiculous karmic twists, Gregg Berhalter's son Sebastian earns his first call-up on the back of a legitimately stunning run of form with the Vancouver Whitecaps. Are these players the talent that's going to carry the USMNT over the hump and into World Cup glory next summer? Maybe not. It's still a longshot to go from a Gold Cup camp participant to a World Cup roster in a year. But Pochettino isn't necessarily looking for talent. He's looking for players that know how to win. The ones who will do anything to get a result despite not having a famous name on their back or a world-renowned club crest on their chest. Once upon a time, the USMNT specialized in that type of player. Now Pochettino seems to be searching for them once more. Crucially, Pochettino may be the only coach that could do exactly this type of reversion for the US. Could you imagine Gregg Berhalter calling in a roster this heavily laden with MLS players in 2025? Can you imagine the response from fans and media if any American coach that hypothetically took the reins of the national team two years before the '26 World Cup did this? The digital rivers would run red. But Pochettino has the CV to go against this particular grain of USMNT fandom. The man who's managed Lionel Messi, Harry Kane, and many more has taken stock of the players at the United States' disposal and decided he needed a closer look at MLS. There's no guarantee this particular gambit works. But it's a fascinating search for an old identity being initiated by a man many thought would pluck the USMNT from the mediocrity of its past.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
News Analysis: Why are big-name U.S. players passing on World Cup tuneup?
Forward Christian Pulisic, America's active leader in goals and caps, will not participate in the last World Cup tuneup after a grueling schedule between club and country in the last year. (John Locher / Associated Press) 'To represent my country in a soccer game, there's just nothing better than that.' —Christian Pulisic, 2020 Never mind. —Christian Pulisic, last week With the World Cup, one the U.S. will play at home, just 380 days away, Captain America has decided to take a pass on the national team's last major competition ahead of the tournament. Advertisement That's Pulisic's choice, of course. He's played a grueling schedule with AC Milan this season, one that concludes Sunday, a week before the national team reports to camp in Chicago. And he has permission. 'Christian and his team approached the Federation and the coaching staff about the possibility of stepping back this summer, given the amount of matches he has played,' said Matt Crocker, U.S. Soccer's sporting director, noting that Pulisic has played more than 4,400 minutes for club and country the last 12 months. Read more: Congressional leaders call for streamlined visa process ahead of World Cup, L.A. Olympics Advertisement Nor is Pulisic alone in his absence. Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Josh Sargent and Yunus Musah, Pulisic's teammate in Milan, were also left off the 27-man roster summoned to training camp ahead next month's Gold Cup, although some of those players will be participating in the Club World Cup. Yet even if reason and rules are strongly on Pulisic's side, the optics are bad. Over the last year the national team has suffered through two of its worst performances in recent memory, getting bounced in the group stage of last summer's Copa América — which cost coach Gregg Berhalter his job — then losing in heartless fashion to Panama and Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League under Mauricio Pochettino, Berhalter's successor. So with the national team in dismal form a year before the World Cup returns to the U.S. for the first time in 32 years, this is probably not the best time for the active leader in goals and caps to be asking out of the lineup. Especially since the Gold Cup likely will be the last, best chance for the team to rediscover the form that saw it reach the round of 16 in the last World Cup. Advertisement 'There is already doubt and concern regarding this team given recent failures. People are even questioning if they care and saying, 'If they don't care, then why should we?'' said Alexi Lalas, who played every minute in the 1994 World Cup, helping the U.S. reach the round of 16 and changing the trajectory of soccer in the U.S. forever. 'I can't believe we created an apathy towards this team a year out from hosting a World Cup. 'I just think this summer's Gold Cup, a tournament in the U.S., is a great opportunity to create a more positive vibe surrounding the team and reignite a belief that they can do something special next summer. I don't think we can afford to waste it.' That's all true. But Pulisic and the other first-choice players missing from the Gold Cup roster were put in a bad position by a global soccer environment with a rapacious appetite for matches — or rather a rapacious appetite for the money those matches produce. Former national team star Alexi Lalas, who played every minute of the 1994 World Cup, believes all Americans should be on hand for the final World Cup tuneup. (Jacob Kupferman / Associated Press) Consider Pulisic's schedule the last 12 months. For the U.S., he played in the Copa América, five friendlies and four Nations League matches. For AC Milan, the Italian club that pays his $5.8-million salary, he played in four tournaments, including Champions League. He's clearly banged up and needs some rest. Advertisement Traditionally, the Champions League final was the last game on the European calendar. Now it's followed by the Club World Cup, a competition I'm not sure anyone really needed but one that extends the club calendar for 32 teams for as long as another six weeks. Even at 26, that's a punishing schedule. If Pulisic and the others don't take a break now, they could head into the World Cup year running on fumes. 'Many people can say it's really important for us to be all together for the last time before the World Cup,' Pochettino said in virtual meeting with reporters. 'As a coaching staff we listen to the player. We have our own idea in everything, but after consideration we decided the best for him, the best for the team, the best for the national team is the decision that we made.' Lalas isn't buying that. Advertisement 'I recognize that players play a lot of games,' he said. 'But you know who plays a lot of games? Messi.' (Not recently. Messi played about half as many games as Pulisic in the last year, according to the website.) 'Of course I want U.S. players to be at their best in the summer of 2026, but we can't put them in bubble-wrap until then,' Lalas continued. 'I know I am from a different generation, and I try not be a grumpy old man. But I just can't fathom turning down the privilege of representing my country. Read more: Women's World Cup will expand to 48 teams in 2031 'We need all hands on deck. We can rest in 2027.' Advertisement Pochettino might not be buying his own words either. Because in the same news conference in which he excused Pulisic and the others, he made it clear that every spot on his World Cup roster is up for grabs. And the best way to grab one is to show up at training camp. 'What we want to create in our national team is people desperate to come, but desperate to come to perform,' said Pochettino who, in his eight months in charge, has been unable to rouse his players from a listless funk. 'To perform means follow the rules, create a good atmosphere, be part of the team. 'We need to create this culture about winning and we need to chase our aim. If we want to be good in one year's time, we need to think that today is the most important day. It's not to say, 'OK, I wait. The World Cup is in one year. It's in six months. It's in one month.' And then it's late.' The U.S. has been building for this since 2018, when FIFA awarded the World Cup to the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The roster has been carefully cultivated, players have been methodically groomed; broadcast contracts have been negotiated and sponsorships signed, all in the hopes of the U.S. making a deep run next summer. Advertisement Now that the tournament on the doorstep, those plans appear to be crumbling. Read more: Congressional leaders call for streamlined visa process ahead of World Cup, L.A. Olympics Could the U.S. really field a World Cup team without Pulisic, Reyna, Weah and the others? Well, it will be fielding a Gold Cup team without them. And Pochettino seems to have found a sense of urgency that was missing in the Nations League debacle. It's all a gamble. If the U.S. makes a long run in next year's World Cup, no one will remember who played in the Gold Cup. But if the U.S. is ousted early, Pulisic and the other absentees will get blamed, no matter how well they play. Advertisement 'A home World Cup can create a legacy. We should be doing everything possible, on and off the field, to make it successful,' Lalas said. 'There is pressure, responsibility and opportunity, especially for a country like the U.S. Home World Cups in 1994 and 1999 fundamentally changed the landscape and trajectory of soccer in America. 2026 can have the same impact. 'If we mess this up, on or off the field, we only have ourselves to blame.' ⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week's episode of the 'Corner of the Galaxy' podcast. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
