Was it a disaster to lose 106th in the rankings, or shook position after the Gold Cup shock
Jul 06, 2025
|
|
Public opinion about coach Machi has deteriorated sharply since his shock loss to Guatemala in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Gold Cup at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on the 30th of last month (Korea time).
Guatemala was the lowest FIFA ranked team among the teams that advanced to the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup. Canada is ranked 30th and Guatemala is ranked 106th.
No matter how many of the main players, such as captain and full-back Alfonso Davis (Bayern Munich), center back Moise Bombito (Nice), and midfielder Steven Eustacchio (Porto), were absent from the tournament, they had to beat lightly.
However, Canada failed to keep Jonathan David's first goal in the 30th minute of the first half and dedicated an equalizer to Rubin in the 24th minute of the second half. He suffered a humiliation of being eliminated early in the quarterfinals by losing 5-6 in the subsequent penalty shootout. After winning in 2000, the first time in 25 years that he has escaped from a military officer has gone up in smoke.
In addition, Canada lost to Mexico in the 2024-2025 North American Nations League held in March and was eliminated from the semifinals. More than a year before the 2026 North-China World Cup in their own country next year, North Korea-China teams have not been able to produce results at the tournament.
Coach Machi, a native of the United States, has been steadily mentioned as a candidate for the next head coach of the United States since he took the helm of Canada in May last year, and was asked related questions in public interviews. In the past, he was popular with American soccer fans, adding to his career leading famous clubs such as Salzburg and Leeds.
However, the two competitions revealed obvious limitations. In this competition, some fans mocked him for his 'player excuse'. It was as if the coach had called me before the tournament and said, "'Coach, I might not be able to participate in the tournament because this season is long.'" But after he was eliminated, he said, "'Half of the week is out.'"
Until just last March, 'the curse side' was Mauricio Pochettino, the coach of the U.S. national team, but the tide is slowly turning. The U.S. will advance to the finals after quelling Guatemala's gust in the Gold Cup semifinals and compete with Mexico for the championship on the 7th. The U.S. has not lost in five straight A matches (4 wins and 1 draw).
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
