Mid-June saw the U.S. Men’s National Team once again crowned kings of the Concacaf Nations League as a convincing 2-0 win over Canada delivered regional bragging rights for a second-straight CNL tournament. Alongside the victory, a historically young squad boosted by a pair of first-time goal-scorers made this match a contender for 2023 U.S. Soccer Game of the Year.
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Here’s a recap of the key moments that made this game a candidate to be the best of the year:
Richards Sets The Tone: 12 minutes into the match, defender Chris Richards became the first USMNT player to score his first international goal in a tournament final. With a corner kick called, Gio Reyna curled a ball outward toward the center of the six-yard box, where Richards arrived to dunk the ball underneath goalkeeper Milan Borjan with his head.
Balo-Goal!: Three days after making his international debut for the USMNT in the team’s 3-0 win against Mexico, forward Folarin Balogun became the second USMNT player to score his first international goal in a tournament final with his 34th minute finish that extended the lead to 2-0. Reyna was once again involved in the setup, playing a leading ball into the Canadian 18 where Balogun simultaneously held off defender Scott Kennedy and fired a low shot inside Borjan’s near post.
Reyna’s Milestone: The Man of the Match’s two assists on the night – paired with his goal and assist in the 2021 CNL Final against Mexico – gave the then-20-year-old four goal contributions in his two tournament final appearances, surpassing Clint Dempsey (1 goal, 2 assists) and Landon Donovan (3 goals) for most in USMNT history. Reyna also became the first player in team history to appear in two finals before his 21st birthday.
CNL Dominance: The win gave the USMNT its second-straight title in Concacaf Nations League after also claiming the trophy in 2021, and its third-straight Concacaf tournament win factoring in the team’s 2021 Gold Cup triumph.
Stepped Up: With an average age of 23 years, 314 days, the Starting XI against Canada was the youngest deployed by the USMNT in a tournament final, besting the previous mark of 24 years, 207 days from the 2021 Concacaf Nations League Final victory against Mexico. The Starting XI was also the second youngest in a Knockout Round match, coming in behind the lineup that began the Gold Cup quarterfinal against Jamaica on July 25, 2021 (23 years, 280 days).
A few days later, the U.S. locked up its second-straight Concacaf Nations League championship with a 2-0 win vs. Canada. Defender Chris Richards and Balogun became the first and second players to net their first international goals in a tournament final, with both goals teed up by forward Gio Reyna. It marked the USMNT’s third-straight Concacaf championship, following the 2021 Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup.
Match: United States Men’s National Team vs. Canada
Date: June 18, 2023
Competition: Concacaf Nations League; Final
Venue: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
Attendance: 35,000
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. local)
Weather: 95 degrees; windy
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 2 0 2
CAN 0 0 0
USA – Chris Richards (Gio Reyna) 12th minute
USA – Folarin Balogun (Gio Reyna) 34
Lineups:
USA: 1-Matt Turner; 19-Joe Scally (23-Auston Trusty, 79), 3-Walker Zimmerman, 4-Chris Richards, 5-Antonee Robinson; 11-Brenden Aaronson (15-Johnny Cardoso, 68), 6-Yunus Musah, 7-Gio Reyna (14-Luca de la Torre, 46); 21-Tim Weah, 20-Folarin Balogun (9-Ricardo Pepi, 76), 10-Christian Pulisic (capt.)
Substitutes not used: 13-Drake Callender, 18-Sean Johnson, 12-Miles Robinson, 16-Alan Soñora, 17-Alex Zendejas, 22-Taylor Booth
Suspended: 2-Sergiño Dest, 8-Weston McKennie
Head coach: B.J. Callaghan
CAN: 18-Milan Borjan; 2-Alistair Johnston, 23-Scott Kennedy, 4-Kamal Miller; 22-Richie Laryea, 8-Ismaël Koné, 7-Stephen Eustáquio (10-David Junior Hoilett, 89), 19-Alphonso Davies; 20-Jonathan David, 21-Jonathan Osorio, 17-Cyle Larin (9-Lucas Cavallini, 76
Substitutes not used: 1-Dayne St. Clair, 16-Tom McGill, 3-Samuel Adekugbe, 5-Steven Vitória, 6-Dominick Zator, 11-Tajon Buchanan, 12-Victor Loturi, 13-Atiba Hutchinson, 15-David Wotherspoon
Head coach: John Herdman
Stats Summary: USA / CAN
Shots: 15 / 12
Shots on Goal: 7 / 4
Saves: 4 / 5
Corner Kicks: 8 / 5
Fouls: 16 / 15
Offside: 0 / 1
Misconduct Summary:
CAN – Scott Kennedy (Caution) 15th minute
CAN – Richie Laryea (Caution) 45+4
USA – Johnny Cardoso (Caution) 80
USA – Matt Turner (Caution) 81
Officials:
Referee: Said Martinez (HON)
Assistant 1: Walter Lopez (HON)
Assistant 2: Christian Ramirez (HON)
Fourth Official: Selvin Brown (HON)
VAR: Ricardo Montero (CRC)
Assistant VAR: Benjamin Pineda (CRC)
U.S. Soccer Insiders Man of the Match: Gio Reyna
