The American Way

Day -809. WorldCup2018.

Only in America! How many times have we from our oh-so-sensible countries said that to poke fun at the way we see things differently in the USA. Except that in Malta, "only in Malta" is heard a lot as a way to humorously deal with matters that we should despair at. And I'm sure Malta's not the only place. But we are still united, at times, in the belief that in America there is a way, which is not the way of much of the rest of the world.

And that's my long intro into the football happenings in the USA this weekend. While the post mortem into the American National Team's surprise loss to Guatemala went on today, fans of a few teams in the American/Canadian league, the MLS , were off to support their team in regular league matches. No matter, to the league, that these teams were missing a few players on international duty (American and Central American mostly): the league must carry on, stadiums need to be filled and TV contracts adhered to. FC Dallas were missing 7 players from their squad. Maybe it was an inspiration to them in their comfortable 3-0 win. Of course the teams that suffer the most are those that have put together stronger squads, filled with players who are good enough to play for their country. Because there were only a few MLS matches this weekend, there is another un-fairness factor. Take Toronto FC, for example. They would have been without their 3 biggest stars this weekend, Giovinco, Bradley, Altidore. Yet Toronto are not playing and therefore didn't have to play a weakened team, unlike Dallas.

Back to the subject of the USMNT. And there's another endearing fact about the Americans, which the Canadians have now adopted (copied?). No, unlike, England or Germany or any other country, whose teams are, just plainly, England or Germany they can't just be USA, or Canada. They are the twitter friendly, catchy US Men's National Team and similar for Canada, the CANMNT. What is worrying for supporters of the USMNT is the fact that they expect to pretty much sail through this phase of qualifying, before some potentially tougher matches in the next round. But failure to qualify is not a thought and a loss to Guatemala was definitely not expected. Furthermore, the manager (head coach, maybe) Jurgen Klinsmann said a couple of years ago that his target for the USMNT was the semifinals in 2018. For the less knowledgeable fans that goal looks a little ridiculous now. "We can't even beat Guatemala, for Christ's sake!" Of course, with a win on Tuesday in the return match and a return to a comfortable lead in the standings all may be forgotten. Except of course for the promise of a semifinal spot in Russia. No pressure there Jurgen! USA! USA!