“You think about a final, giving up a goal in the second minute of the game. And then the way we came back, got level at halftime, then go down again, then come back again late in the game. And then overtime was just a complete, complete mess, to be honest,” noted Berhalter wryly. “With everything that was going on in the game, the guys still stayed cool, still were able to focus.”
The United States’ goal scorers were familiar faces, young stars shining at elite European clubs, expected to seize the spotlight for their country as well: Gio Reyna tapped in the first equalizer. Weston McKennie elevated to head home a corner kick for the second leveler. And Christian Pulisic clinched the win with an emphatically-dispatched penalty kick in the 114th minute.
“You need your big players to step up,” noted Berhalter. “We’re a young side and we need to learn how to win.”
