The United States must beat New Zealand in Wednesday’s international friendly to turn around a poor run of form.
After losses to Panama, Uruguay and Canada, the Americans have lost three in a row for the first time in eight years, and a loss to the All Whites would give the side their first four-match losing streak since 2007.
The United States lost 2-1 to Canada on Sunday, while New Zealand went down 3-0 to Mexico.
READ MORE: All Whites tumble to 3-0 loss in international friendly against Mexico >>>>
Though former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly set to be named as the new manager of the national side, US Soccer appointed Mikey Varas as the interim head coach for the two friendly internationals.
Varas, the former US U-20 men’s coach, has a squad that comprises 22 players based with European clubs. Their average age is 24, and they have an average of 20 full international appearances.
After losing to Canada, Varas said he believed the mentality of his players was lacking.
“The mentality is on the players. They know it,” he said after the match at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas.
“We speak the truth to each other. I love those guys. But they know that mentality to fight, to run and to sacrifice, I can’t do that for them. That’s on them.”
Asked why the mentality was lacking, Varas said: “I’m not a psychologist, so I don’t know
“I felt that the trainings were intense. They were aggressive. But when the game comes, you gotta get going. And the players are the ones that bring that. Coaches can only get you so far from a mentality perspective.”
Varas has a 24-player squad available for the game against New Zealand to be played at TQL Stadium, Cincinnati.
Borussia Dortmund’s attacking midfielder Gio Reyna (21) withdrew from the United States squad after being diagnosed with a left groin strain in training camp.
New Zealand have a squad considered one of the strongest ever, including players attached to clubs in the English Premier League, Italy’s Serie A, and France’s LIgue 1.
READ NOW: All Whites coach Darren Bazeley: ‘We face some tough decisions’ >>>>
In the lead-up to the Mexico match, midfielder Sarpreet Singh and defenders Tyler Bindon and Dalton Wilkins were forced to withdraw from the squad through injuries.
Defenders Bill Tuiloma and Sam Sutton and forward Logan Rogerson were called into the squad.
Squads
New Zealand
Name/caps/goals/club
Goalkeepers
Max Crocombe (10/0) Burton Albion, England
Alex Paulsen (1/0) Auckland FC, New Zealand (on loan from AFC Bournemouth)
Oli Sail (9/0) Perth Glory, Australia
Defenders
Bill Tuiloma (41/4) Charlotte, United States
Michael Boxall (50/0) Minnesota United, United States
Liberato Cacace (26/1) Empoli FC, Italy
Tim Payne (38/2) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand
Nando Pijnaker (20/0) Sligo Rovers, Republic of Ireland
Tommy Smith (56/2) Auckland FC, New Zealand
Finn Surman (5/1) Portland Timbers, United States
Sam Sutton (3/0) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand
Midfielders
Joe Bell (19/1) Viking FK, Norway
Matthew Garbett (23/3) NAC Breda, Netherlands
Ben Old (9/1) AS Saint Etienne, France
Alex Rufer (14/0) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand
Marko Stamenić (22/1) Olympiacos, Greece (on loan from Nottingham Forest)
Forwards
Kosta Barbarouses (61/7) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand
Elijah Just (27/2) SKN St. Pölten, Austria (on loan from AC Horsens)
Logan Rogerson (10/1), Auckland FC, New Zealand
Ben Waine (17/5) Plymouth Argyle, England
Chris Wood (75/34) Nottingham Forest, England
Head coach: Darren Bazeley
United States
Name/caps/goals/club
Goalkeepers
Ethan Horvath (10/0) Cardiff City, Wales
Diego Kochen (0/0) FC Barcelona II, Spain
Patrick Schulte (2/0) Columbus Crew, United States
Matt Turner (44/0) Crystal Palace, England
Defenders
Auston Trusty (2/0) Celtic, Scotland
Marlon Fossey (0/0) Standard Liege, Belgium
Kristoffer Lund (4/0) Palermo, Italy
Mark McKenzie (13/0) Toulouse, Frane
Tim Ream (62/1) Charlotte FC, United States
Chris Richards (22/1) Crystal Palace, England
Joe Scally (15/0) Borussia Mönchengladbach
Caleb Wiley (2/0) Strasbourg, France
Midfielders
Johnny Cardoso (16/0) Real Betis, Spain
Lucas de la Torre (23/1) Celta Vigo, Spain
Aidan Morris (6/0) Middlesbrough, England
Yunus Musah (40/0) AC Milan, Italy
Malik Tillman (13/0) PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands
Forwards
Brenden Aaronson (43/8) Leeds United, England
Folarin Balogun (16/5) Monaco, Monaco
Cade Cowell (9/1) Guadalajara, Mexico
Ricardo Pepi (29/10) PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands
Christian Pulisic (72/30) AC Milan, Italy
Josh Sargent (25/5) Norwich City, England
Haji Wright (12/4) Coventry City, England
Interim coach: Mikey Varas
Fixture
Game to be played Wednesday September 11, 2024 (NZT)
United States v New Zealand
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio, 11am (NZT)
Results
Games played on Sunday September 8, 2024 (NZT)
Mexico 3 (Orbelin Pineda 5’, Cesar Huerta 53’, Luis Romo 57’)
New Zealand 0
United States 1 (Lucas De La Torre 66′)
Canada 2 (Jacob Shaffelburg 17′, Jonathaan David 58′)
Main photo credit: Sharefaith
This story was first published on September 4, 2024.
More football stories
