USMNT (Sort Of) Does It on a Monday Night in Trinidad

“I want to apologize to my teammates, staff and fans and whole nation for my behavior - it was unacceptable, selfish, and immature. I let my team down. It's something I have to learn from and it won't happen again.”

-Sergiño Dest, issuing an apology via his Instagram after getting a red card against Trinidad & Tobago for an inexplicable on-field meltdown that saw him boot the ball off the pitch and blow a kiss to the referee.

USMNT (Sort Of) Does It on a Monday Night in Trinidad:

In the aftermath of the USMNT awkwardly advancing past Trinidad & Tobago in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals, perhaps nothing captured the relieved-but-disappointed mood of American soccer fans better than this Instagram exchange between Luca de la Torre 🇪🇸 (25; San Diego, CA) and Antonee Robinson 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (26; Liverpool ENG).

LDLT posted the following after the U.S. lost 2-1 away on Monday, but advanced 4-2 on aggregate: “Can you do it on a Monday night in Trinidad and Tobago? 🤔 Tough game but proud of the team for reaching the next round.”

To which Jedi hilariously replied: “Apparently we can’t.”

Robinson’s cold glass of Scouse reality effectively doused any embers of achievement that might have been left smoldering in the aftermath of a bizarre pair of matches for the USMNT. Yes, on the one hand, we should be happy about advancing to the semifinals — Nations League Threepeat Still On! — as well as the fact that we have secured qualification for the 2024 Copa America by reaching the final four.

But at the same time, how did we look in doing so? The truth is, not so great. We struggled to put away a 10-man Soca Warriors side on Thursday in Austin, Texas, not scoring our first goal until the 82nd minute — though it admittedly was a beauty from Pepi (WATCH). And then on Monday, a moment of red-card insanity for Sergino Dest (WATCH), coupled with another Alvin Jones banger — yes, the same Alvin Jones who kept us out of the 2018 World Cup — gave all of American Soccer Twitter some serious 2017 flashbacks. Not fun.

As Rog wrote in his USMNT Year in Review Thread, “Monday night’s startling self-immolation in Port of Spain unlocked the buried traumas of 2017. The biggest World Cup ever is now within touching distance. A lot to fix. Not a lot of opportunity to fix it. There is not a window to waste to build the profile of this team amongst a wider audience on home turf.”

Very much advise you to give the whole piece a read. To 2024 and beyond!

Puli! Puli! Fit! Fit!:

Good news from Serie US-A, as latest reports out of Italy are that Christian Pulisic 🇮🇹 (25; Hershey, PA) will start for Milan on Saturday against Fiorentina. The club’s own socials shared pics of Puli in training Wednesday, so it would seem extremely likely he returns to action this weekend. 🙌

More European Eagle updates … Weston McKennie’s 🇮🇹 (25; Little Elm, TX) status heading into this weekend’s massive clash with Inter on Sunday is still unknown. Wes left USMNT camp early with an apparent knee injury. Tim Weah 🇮🇹 (23; Rosedale, NY) is reportedly out for Juve. … Gio Reyna 🇩🇪 (21; Bedford, NY) and Dortmund are in action against New York Bestie Joe Scally 🇩🇪 (20; Lake Grove, NY) and Gladbach on Saturday. Latest on Reyna from Sky (in German) is that despite not getting much playing time for BVB, he has no interest in a January exit, and wants to fight for his place with the side. … Red Dest Redemption is back in action on Saturday, as Pepi, Malik Tillman 🇳🇱 (21; Nürnberg, GER) and PSV visit FC Twente to try and make it a perfect 13 wins in 13 matches this season.

USWNTers Abroad:

Congrats to PSG midfielder Korbin Albert 🇫🇷 (20; Grayslake, IL) on getting her first callup to the USWNT for back-to-back friendlies against China on Dec. 2 and Dec. 5. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore had this to say about the Notre Dame product: “(Albert) is somebody that we’ve been watching, in terms of the whole technical staff, for a good amount of time now. Her roles have been increasing with her club. Obviously she’s getting good Champions League games.”

And some slightly disappointing news out of West London, as Chelsea/USWNT head coach Emma Hayes recently provided a Cat Macario 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (24; San Diego, CA) injury update, saying she doesn’t expect the talented forward to return by November as planned, but instead wouldn’t likely be back before January. “I don't think she'll play this half of the season,” said Hayes. “I hope (she can) and if she does it will be a bonus. But I don't think with the time she's been out that we would take that risk.”

At least Macario has her national team coach looking out for her, making a rushed return to the pitch highly unlikely. Courage in your recovery, Cat. 💪

News and Notes:

• Massive congrats to Tyler Adams 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (24; Wappingers Falls, NY) and partner Sarah, as the Bournemouth midfielder announced on Instagram that the couple is expecting a baby boy in January. ❤️

• More future U.S. Soccer star news: Antonee Robinson also posted to IG that Family Jedi is expecting a second child in April. ❤️

• According to Fabrizio Romano, Rokas Pukstas 🇭🇷 (19; Stillwater, OK) has signed a long-term deal with Hajduk Split that would keep him with the Croatian club through 2027. 🙌

• Great feature in The Athletic on American four-cap journeyman footballer Kenny Saief 🇦🇿 (29; Panama City, FL), who’s spent the last decade-plus playing for clubs in Israel, Belgium, MLS, and now Azerbaijan. The Crash Davis of Americans Abroad.

Parting Shots:

Our senior side wasn’t the only one in action recently, as both our Baby Eagles and Baby Baby Eagles also returned to the pitch during the international break.

Our U-23s had two friendlies, the first a 1-1 draw with Iraq that saw Lionel Messi understudy Benja Cremaschi get in the goals. The second match saw our Baby Eagles fall to Morocco’s Atlas Lionets, 1-0.

The U-17s, meanwhile, jetted over to Indonesia for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Our Baby Baby Eagles opened play with impressive wins over South Korea and Burkina Faso, before losing their final group match to France. This set up a knockout round game against Germany, which saw die Kindschaft triumph over our boys in a back-and-forth 3-2 loss. Standouts for the U.S. included Charlotte FC homegrown forward Nimfasha Berchimas, who scored three goals in the tournament, and Liverpool youth forward Keyrol Figueroa, who had one goal, as well as one profile piece in The Athletic. Congrats to all our lads on a solid showing against some tough competition. 🦅