For the United States national team, just being on the field on Wednesday night was enough of a victory.
The last month or so following the USMNT’s exit from the World Cup has been a whirlwind. Salacious headlines, infighting amongst players, staff and family members that eventually led to the departure of general manager Brian McBride, and the uncertain future of head coach Gregg Berhalter had dominated the talk around the program, making for a future, immediate and long-term, that is simply unknown at this point.
However, on Wednesday night, playing its first match since it’s Round of 16 loss to the Netherlands, the USMNT, led by interim coach Anthony Hudson, finally got the opportunity to put the focus back on the game and the team itself. Youth was the focus for this edition of the USMNT January camp, as eight new players made their national team debut, though the ending was to their liking, as they allowed Serbia to come from behind to defeat them at LAFC’s newly-name BMO Stadium.
After buzzing around Serbia’s net for stretches of the match, the U.S. finally broke through in the 29th minute. Julian Gressel received a ball from Alan Sonora, then crossed from the right side into the penalty area and headed a ball past keeper Dorde Petrovic to stake the US to the lead. Serbia however got one chance just before the half and made the most of it. LA Galaxy striker Dejan Joveljic drew a foul just outside the USMNT penalty area at the top left corner, and Luka Illic stepped up and sent the free kick past the USMNT wall and keeper Gaga Slonnia into the back net to level the match.
It then only took Serbia a minute to take the lead. Marko Mijailovic sent a long ball forward, the ball took an awkward bounce, but Veljko Simic stayed with the ball, won it at the penalty area and slotted the shot past Slonnia into the back net. The USMNT had several chances to equalize, with Cade Cowell having the two best chances starting in the 56th minute, as Cowell got behind the Serbia defense and slotted a ball that got past Petrovic, but bounced off the far post. The U.S. however kept the play alive, and Cowell sent another shot on goal, only to see the ball go off the left post.
The USMNT wraps up its stay in Southern California on Thursday, as they face Colombia at Dignity Health Sports Park.
