The red mist of Dest gives Berhalter a dilemma
When Gio Reyna, of all players, is the voice of reason urging his teammate to calm down, swallow his frustration and act less petulantly, you know there is a serious problem.
The immediate impact of Sergiño Dest’s two yellow cards for dissent during Monday’s Concacaf Nations League quarter-final against Trinidad & Tobago was that the momentum shift turned a comfortable evening into a 2-1 defeat.
The result wasn’t a big deal as the USMNT held a 3-0 lead going into last Thursday’s first leg in Austin. More consequential is the question of whether head coach Gregg Berhalter can still rely on the right-back after his second petulant send-off in five months.
Angry at being denied what he believed was a free kick due to a foul, Dest launched the ball skyward with the thrust of a SpaceX rocket, for which he was shown a yellow card, and then mouthed the referee, Walter López, who earned a second yellow card. and blow him a kiss. This led to the rare sight of the American players not approaching the referee who handed out the red card, but the teammate receiving the red card. Defender Tim Ream protested at Dest and goalkeeper Matt Turner pushed him off the field.
“Baby behavior,” former American stalwart DaMarcus Beasley opined in the studio. He is now an expert on TNT, which is both a television channel and a description of Dest’s powder keg temperament. Was this temporary madness caused by the incessant sound of cowbells being rung by fans in the stands of Hasely Crawford Stadium? Or is this who Dest is? A volcano erupting while his team is 4-0 up on aggregate?
Dest was also dismissed in June for shoving an opponent in the 85th minute after reacting furiously to some rough handling on the wing during another advantageous scenario, a 3-0 Nations League win over Mexico. Then, just like on Monday, he provided an assist.
Berhalter subbed off Reyna and brought on Dest’s substitute, Joe Scally, but T&T promptly equalized and won the match with a humdinger in the 57th minute. In the end, the visitors were lucky to lose by just one goal.
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An unfortunate situation should limit the damage
A year after the dispute with Reyna that went nuclear and caused radioactive fallout that lasted for months, Berhalter must once again assert his authority over an undisciplined but talented young player. This time it won’t be as messy and the other players have made their opinions on Dest’s behavior very clear. “A moment of unprofessionalism,” left back Antonee Robinson told TNT.
Berhalter told reporters that Dest “apologized to the group. He said it won’t happen again. As a team, players and staff, we have to hold him accountable because it is inexcusable, it really is, and we were very firm in our words after the game.”
The coach added that he did not want a “witch hunt”. He is a fantastic part of this team. He’s going to learn, he’s going to grow. He made a stupid mistake and he knows it. He has apologized to the team and we are moving on.”
Dest’s mea culpa via Instagram was at least as heartfelt as his tantrum. He apologized to the “entire nation” and added: “Selfish and immature, I let my team down! It’s something I have to learn from and it won’t happen again!”
Dest’s attacking nature sets him apart from Berhalter’s other options at right back. But as word spreads among prospective opponents that Dest is a fuse waiting to be lit, the head coach will surely keep an even closer eye on 20-year-old Scally’s progress in the Bundesliga in the coming months.
Although he has been lackluster for the US of late, with a poor performance at left-back against Germany in October, Dest’s mild behavior is difficult to fathom. He is 23, with 32 caps, so hardly inexperienced. He is on loan from Barcelona to his native PSV Eindhoven and plays regularly for a Champions League team that has won all 12 league matches. He rarely gets a yellow card and has only received one yellow card for PSV this season.
The double debate continues
Sweet and sour, rain and sunshine, fire and ice, Balogun and Pepi. Until last week it was either-or: Folarin Balogun was substituted for Ricardo Pepi in each of his previous six international matches. But in the first leg against T&T the strikers played together after Pepi came on in the 66th minute, and on Monday they both started up front.
With the game left inedibly scarred by Dest’s departure, it was difficult to draw conclusions about whether the pair could forge a profitable partnership in the future. Balogun roamed looking for space, slightly behind Pepi, who was more of a conventional goalkeeper but couldn’t muster a shot in his 65 minutes. More evidence is needed.
However, it seems clear that Reyna will be an integral part of Berhalter’s tactics if he decides to forego a defensive midfielder to give the US an attack sharp enough to hurt high-caliber tournament opponents. The playmaker, a fiery emoji of flesh and blood, scored in the first leg of the quarter-final and impressed again in the second with some clever passes. And at least for now he is fit. Last Thursday’s match was Reyna’s first full match for club or country since March 2022, after 51 consecutive appearances in which he has been a substitute or substitute.
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Comforts of home
This was the USMNT’s first return to Trinidad since 2017, when, well, you know. Let’s just say that it also ended 2-1 for the home team and that a long distance strike also resulted Alvin Jones, and leave it at that. The next four meetings, all in the US, produced four American victories by a combined margin of 22-0. Last week in Austin the US had 75% of the ball and outscored T&T 26 to one.
A pronounced home advantage in Concacaf matches is nothing new, but is it any wonder the US is such a homebody? This was the 18th game of 2023 for the USA and only their second away game. (The other was a 7-1 win over Grenada – an island of 125,000 inhabitants – in March.) Naturally, the players and their clubs often face hostile and unfamiliar environments. But a lack of exposure to the tactical and practical challenges that road races present certainly affects the team’s resilience.
Not that it will matter much in the coming years as there will be no World Cup qualifying campaign before 2026 as the US will automatically be included as co-hosts, while next year’s Copa América will also take place in the US, as with any Gold Cup. And indeed the 2028 Olympic Games.
Dealing with the Copa
The 4-2 aggregate victory over T&T means the US have qualified for next summer’s Copa. Tuesday marks exactly twelve months since the US started their World Cup with a 1-1 draw against Wales. Will the US enter the Copa as a more formidable team than in Qatar?
Balogun and an in-form Pepi are certainly upgrades over the strikers the US brought to Qatar and a mature and healthy Reyna promises to add an extra creative dimension. Tyler Adams’ long-term injury is a concern, but most of Berhalter’s key players – Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah and Robinson – are still performing solidly and getting minutes for their clubs.
Yet things can change quickly. Just a month ago, Turner returned to England after suffering a… wonderful rescue in a 4-0 win over Ghana. Two games later he was dropped by his club Nottingham Forest and should have saved Jones’ free kick on Monday.
Although Cameron Carter-Vickers started both legs, Berhalter still appears to be trying out centre-backs and is – understandably – still opting for the venerable Ream, who will be 38 when the 2026 World Cup gets underway. Malik Tillman and Kevin Paredes get more chances, but they did not seize the opportunity to impress against T&T in their absence due to injuries to the clearly missed Pulisic and Weah. On this evidence, Robinson, who scored in both legs and sparked numerous attacks, is indispensable.