The United States Mens soccer team won its first trophy since 2017 as they took home the Concacaf Nations League final Sunday night, June 6.
After the failure of not qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the United States Mens national team went under a complete rebuild and moved on from the old guard to the promising youngsters.
Full of bright young players, most of whom play in the top leagues in Europe, the future seems exciting for U.S soccer fans and dreams of competing against the top teams in the world seems like it could soon be a reality.
A 3–2 win over arch rival Mexico in the Concacaf Nations League could be the begginning of a new era in U.S soccer with the golden generation fully underway.
Led by winger Christian Pulisic (middle of the photo with shirt off) and midfielder Weston Mckennie, the U.S had an average starting line up of 24 years and 206 days old. The line up was the youngest American team to ever start a final.
The number was stretched by some old legs of Tim Ream, John Brooks and DeAndre Yedlin, all aging defenders.
Days prior in the semi Final against Honduras the average starting line up was under 24 years old.
This group of players has immense pressure on them to change the tide not only in Concacaf, which Mexico has dominated in recent years, but also world wide in trying to make the United States a team other countries do not just laugh at when seen on the schedule.
Falling behind 1–0 just two minutes into the game, and then 2–1 with just 10 minutes left, the young Americans held their nerve and were able to pull the score back to level both times at the 27th minute with a Gio Reyna rebound goal and a McKennie header in the 82nd minute. A dramatic ending in extra time culminated into Pulisic scoring a penalty in the 115th minute to give the U.S a 3–2 lead.
The dramatic ending to the game was filled with a pitch invader, video assistant referee(VAR), Mexican fans throwing objects at the U.S players and a late penalty save by Ethan Horvath, the back up goalkeeper, which lead to one of the most talented generations in United States soccer history lifting their first trophy.
This is only the begginning for the majority of these players in their national team career, and just as the players said, fans alike hope it is the first of many international trophies won by this self proclaimed golden generation of players for the United States Mens National Team.
