Folarin Balogun and Chris Richards scored their first international goals, both on assists from Gio Reyna, and the United States beat Canada 2-0 on Sunday night to clinch its second straight CONCACAF Nations League title.
Richards scored from a corner in the 12th minute and Balogun, who made his debut in Thursday’s 3-0 win over Mexico after opting to play for the U.S. against England, doubled the lead in the 34th minute .
The Americans were again led by interim coach BJ Callaghan, who took over on May 30 and will also lead the team in the CONCACAF Gold Cup starting next weekend. Gregg Berhalter, who was brought back as coach on Friday, 5 1/2 months after his contract expired, will not be on the sidelines until September’s appearances.
While the USA extended its home unbeaten streak against Canada to 22 games since 1957, Canada has remained without a title since the 2000 Gold Cup.
Reyna scored both goals, then left at half-time with a calf injury and was replaced by Luca de a Torre. Reyna’s lack of rush in training at the World Cup and his family’s angry reaction sparked the controversy that led to Berhalter’s departure in January.
Reyna’s corner kick found an unmarked Richards, who ricocheted a header from seven meters to the left of goalkeeper Milan Borjan, scoring his first goal in ten international matches.
The Americans had not scored since Jordan Morris’ goal against El Salvador on June 14 last year from a corner after Weston McKennie’s initial effort was parried and de La Torre crossed for Morris.
Reyna served Balogun for the second goal. The striker fended off Scott Kennedy with his right arm and pushed past Borjan.
Callaghan made three changes from Thursday, bringing in centre-back Walker Zimmerman for Miles Robinson and midfielder Brendon Aaronson, and right-back Joe Scally for Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest, both of whom were suspended after receiving red cards against El Tri.
Notes: The game was streamed on Paramount+ while CBS Sports Network carried the Canadian Football League and Sprint Cars. … Mexico beat Panama 1-0 in the game for third place thanks to Jesús Gallardo’s goal in the fourth minute. Aníbal Godoy’s apparent equalizer from a free kick in the 55th minute was disallowed in a video review for offside, and the 76th-minute penalty awarded to Mexico by Jamaican referee Daneon Parchment was also overturned in a video review.
First uploaded on: Jun 19, 2023 at 09:19 IST
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