Tim Ream: ‘Shame’ on USMNT critics as Luna goals set up Mexico final

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ST. LOUIS — After what felt like the entire stadium sang Guatemala’s national anthem, and as the Chapines fans roared, U.S. men’s national team defender Tim Ream gathered his young teammates around him in a pregame huddle.

“Just take a breath,” Ream told them. “Listen to what we’re doing. Look at what we’re doing. Embrace what we are doing. And enjoy it.”

Not every minute of the U.S.’s 2-1 win over Guatemala at Energizer Park was enjoyable. The U.S. had to survive the final 10 minutes, when their lead got cut in half as their opponent fed off of a blue-and-white partisan crowd. But, they did hold up and pull through. And the U.S. team is now headed to the Concacaf Gold Cup final, where they will meet rivals Mexico in front of what will no doubt be another unfriendly crowd.

The experience of Wednesday night will go a long way toward helping them navigate what, for many of these players, will be the biggest stage they have played on.

“We’re on to a final, a final that I’d say a month ago, everyone basically counted us out of,” Ream said. “Shame on them. So, for us, it’s like: great, amazing. It’s knockout football. You find a way to win. You find a way to grind it out. You find a way to do it. And why shouldn’t we be happy to go on to a final and play for a trophy? That’s why we play this game, to play in front of crowds like that and play for trophies.”

Guatemala fans dominated the crowd for the Gold Cup semifinal. (Jeff Le / Getty Images)

The U.S. was able to take the juice out of the crowd early. Diego Luna’s fourth-minute goal sucked away some of the pregame energy. His second goal, 11 minutes later, allowed the U.S. to seize the game for the first half hour.

Guatemala started to find more of the game as it went on. The U.S. sat a bit deeper in the second half, content to defend and deny good chances, protecting the two-goal lead. But that allowed the Guatemalan fans to urge their team on.

Missed opportunities for a third goal extended the hope. And that turned Guatemala’s 80th-minute goal into a massively threatening moment. Guatemala had the momentum. They had what was essentially a home crowd providing them energy.

“I think we need to hold the ball more, be better on the ball in those moments under pressure,” Luna said. “It’s new for a lot of guys to play in environments like this. I think just being better under pressure and in moments like that — and that’s something we can build off. This is a great example for what’s to come, probably, on Sunday (in the final).”

Pochettino made some interesting substitutions in the second half, inserting John Tolkin as a left wing-back and Max Arfsten sliding more into a center-back role. Jack McGlynn, not exactly known for his defending, was summoned for Tyler Adams.

Pochettino defended both changes at his postgame press conference, saying he was protecting Adams, who had some issues with his hamstring against Costa Rica, and taking off Luca de la Torre, who had a yellow card. After Guatemala’s goal, Walker Zimmerman was summoned for Arfsten to stabilize the back line.

From that point, it was survive and advance, as the U.S. pushed back against wave after wave of Guatemala throwing everything forward.

“As much as everyone wants to dominate games for 75 to 90 minutes, you can’t anymore,” Ream said. “There’s always going to be moments in games that the other team has a little bit of a spark and a jump. Obviously, with the number of their fans, they get more, and that’s OK. We just have to figure out how to weather that storm. It, of course, spurred them on to push and fight. They had nothing else to lose, right?”

Diego Luna got the United States off to a quick start. (Jeff Le / Getty Images)

Pochettino used questions about Guatemala as an entry point to talk about the culture of the sport and how he wants to see its culture evolve in the U.S.

“Do you think that was a sport, two teams playing, and doing a spectacle? No, you play for something more,” Pochettino said. “You play for emotion. You play to be happy, be sad. I saw players of Guatemala crying. I said, ‘Congratulations, because you are in a good way.’ That is the way that we need to feel. And our fans need to feel the same.

“It’s not to come here to enjoy the spectacle, and if you lose, nothing happens. Yes, (a lot) happens. Things happen because you play for your pride, you play for many, many things. … But I think this is good for our players. Because when we talk about culture, that is culture. To see (Guatemala’s) team, how (it) fights, how (it) comes here and how the fans behave. That is an important thing that we need to learn here in this country.

“But I am not (here) to tell (you) that we need to do this or that. Only that sometimes, we talk about culture. … But I come from Argentina. And Argentina is not the same, win or lose. The consequences are massive.”

This summer, so far, the U.S. has been winning. Next up will be a final against Mexico. Pochettino will again see a partisan crowd, with Houston’s NRG Stadium likely to be pro-Mexican for the championship match.

After an early exit from the Copa América and two losses in the Nations League in March, a win over Mexico in a final would go a long way toward convincing more fans ahead of the World Cup.

“None of it’s going to happen unless we continue to win,” Ream said. “And, for us, what’s the hallmark of a U.S. team? Fighting.

“Togetherness. And that’s what we’re finding and doing in this tournament. It’s not always going to be perfect. It’s not always going to be pretty. But doing that kind of fosters that connection with the fans, with the diehards, with the casuals, with everybody. And as long as we continue to do that, then that culture grows, the feelings grow and the connections grow.”

(Top photo: Bill Barrett / ISI Photos / USSF / Getty Images)

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