USMNT loses to Canada, 2-1, and looks bad doing it in Concacaf Nations League third-place game

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The U.S. men’s soccer team looked uninspiring once again on Sunday, losing to Canada 2-1 in the Concacaf Nations League third-place game.

Tani Oluwaseyi opened the scoring for Canada in the 27th minute, Patrick Agyemang tied the score in the 35th, and Jonathan David struck the winner in the 59th.

Though the U.S. had 60% of the game’s possession, the Canucks outshot the Americans 8-5, including 4-2 in shots on target.

» READ MORE: Mauricio Pochettino says Gio Reyna isn’t fit to play ‘in the way that we expect’ for the USMNT

U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino promised he’d make changes to his starting lineup for this game, and he followed through. Five newcomers came in: left back Max Arfsten, centerbacks Cameron Carter-Vickers and Union alum Mark McKenzie, attacking midfielder Diego Luna, and striker Patrick Agyemang.

Pochettino left his bench short by not dressing two players because of health issues. U.S. Soccer said Downingtown-bred goalkeeper Zack Steffen was out because of an illness, and attacking midfielder Brian Gutiérez was out because of “muscular discomfort.”

Canada rolled out all of its big guns, including left back Alphonso Davies, winger Tajon Buchanan, and striker Jonathan David.

Just six minutes in, Davies had a scare when he went down holding his right knee after a challenge in his own 18-yard box. He was able to continue, but only until the 10th when he went down again, this time on his own. That was enough to end his day, with Niko Sigur entering as the replacement.

» READ MORE: No matter the politics, the USMNT lost a game to Panama that it should have won

For all the talk of the U.S. wanting to show intensity to send a message about how it should play, there wasn’t a ton of it early on. As a sparse crowd watched from the stands at SoFi Stadium, the Americans didn’t register a shot until Agyemang’s tally.

Canada, meanwhile, had the first good look of the day when Ismaél Kone forced Matt Turner into a diving save off a corner kick in the 23rd minute. Four minutes later, the Canucks scored a well-worked first goal: Ali Ahmed beat Tim Weah one-on-one with a pass to David, who slipped a pass by McKenzie to Oluwaseyi for a close-range finish.

If that’s what woke the U.S. up, that same sparse chorus would rightly ask what took so long. But the Americans did finally score a goal — after 127 minutes of play in the two games here, counting all the stoppage time — and it was a decent play.

Tyler Adams played a pass to Tim Weah from central midfield for a run up the left wing, Weah fed a streaking Luna through the middle, and Luna laid the ball off for Agyemang to finish. The 24-year-old from Charlotte FC kept his first-time strike simple and low, and while Canada goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair got a piece of the ball, he stood no chance of keeping it out.

» READ MORE: USMNT upset by Panama in Concacaf Nations League semifinals, 1-0

Pochettino started the second half with a substitution, sending in Marlon Fossey for Joe Scally at right back. It didn’t help Scally’s case that he had picked up a yellow card in the 30th minute, but Davies’ earlier exit opened room for a more attack-minded player on that side of the field.

Canada had two shouts for a penalty kick early in the second half, one in the 50th and one in the 54th. Neither was given, with the second a particular highlight: Arfsten chased David down from midfield and got just enough of the ball to stop him from shooting.

The latter led Canada manager Jesse Marsch to charge on to the field in protest. Mexican referee Katia Garcia wasn’t having it, and ejected him for that and his word choice — both quantity and quality.

After catching a header off a throw-in, Turner threw the ball all the way to the center line, and gave it right back to the Canucks. They were quickly back into the attack, worked the ball up the right side, and after David beat McKenzie off the dribble in the middle, he fired a shot to the top corner of Turner’s net.

The ball went in 34 seconds after Turner had given it away.

» READ MORE: At the Nations League semifinals, Mauricio Pochettino tries to balance the USMNT’s present and future

Pochettino made three big moves in the 67th minute. Out went Christian Pulisic, Adams, and Weston McKennie, in came Giovanni Reyna, Tanner Tessmann, and Yunus Musah.

They had made no progress by the time Brian White replaced Agyemang up top in the 79th. The U.S. had registered just one shot in the second half up to then, a blocked attempt by Weah in traffic in the 68th.

Luna finally ended the wait in the 85th when he charged forward on a free-kick sequence and St. Clair denied him from close range. White then headed Reyna’s ensuing corner kick well wide.

The U.S. earned another corner kick in the 90th and it fell to White, but he couldn’t turn fast enough to get a shot through Canada’s defense.

Arfsten had the last look in the 94th, set up by Luna, but shot wide.

» READ MORE: Four years after leaving the Union, Mark McKenzie is one of the team’s great success stories