INGLEWOOD, Calif. — After claiming the first three Concacaf Nations League titles, the United States men’s national team suffered its second consecutive loss in the 2025 edition, falling to Canada 2-1 in Sunday’s third-place match.
Tani Oluwaseyi opened the scoring for Canada in the 27th minute, only for Patrick Agyemang to equalize for the U.S. eight minutes later. But Canada looked like the more dangerous side throughout, even as manager Jesse Marsch was banished from the sidelines in the second half.
Just short of the hour mark, Canada reclaimed the lead with Ali Ahmed‘s deft pass finding Jonathan David inside the box to fire home from 14 yards.
The result leaves Mauricio Pochettino with plenty to ponder ahead of this summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup, which is the final competitive tournament before the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil.
Over these past two matches, the U.S. head coach couldn’t have liked what he saw.
USMNT shows some resilience, but falls once again
Let’s face it. Expectations were low for the U.S. heading into Sunday’s match. The team was coming off a dispiriting 1-0 defeat to Panama in which some longstanding issues about competitiveness, urgency and intensity came to the fore. That set up a match with a hugely motivated Canada side, with Pochettino rotating in some young players. When Oluwaseyi scored in the 27th minute off a goal-mouth scramble, the U.S. — which had appeared a bit disjointed up to that point — looked set to crumble.
But then the U.S. fought back with a mixture of veteran savvy and the feistiness of youth. Timothy Weah‘s surging run for the wing saw him find Diego Luna in the box. Luna then showed immense composure. Instead of striking at goal, he found Agyemang in space, and the Charlotte FC forward was able to finish.
It was a badly needed show of spirit from the U.S., given Thursday’s tepid display against Panama, but it couldn’t be sustained. David’s second half strike put Canada back in front and, despite a couple of close chances, including one from Luna in the half’s latter stages as well as another from Max Arfsten in stoppage time, the U.S. ended this Concacaf Nations League campaign with a disappointing fourth-place finish. — Jeff Carlisle
But on Sunday, Pochettino put his money where his mouth was and gave starts to Columbus Crew defender Arfsten, Agyemang and Luna of Real Salt Lake. Of the three, Luna shined the brightest. He continued to show off his ability to wiggle out of tight spaces, either on the dribble or with a deft pass. Most importantly to Pochettino, Luna exhibited the kind of urgency on the ball that the U.S. manager has been craving. Luna even showed some tenacity on defense. His pass to Agyemang in the run-up to the U.S. goal showed the right balance of patience and urgency. The only complaint was that he didn’t get on the ball more.
All the more reason why when the team reconvenes in late May ahead of the Concacaf Gold Cup, Luna should be in contention for more minutes. — Carlisle
No Davies or Marsch? No problem for Canada
It’s one thing to lose a captain such as Davies to injury in the first half, and it’s another to then see your manager earn a red card in the second, and yet, Canada found a way to prevail without their prominent leaders Sunday.
What was perhaps most noteworthy is that each goal seemed to be in response to their setbacks.
Following Davies’ injury in the 12th minute, it took Canada just 15 minutes later for Oluwaseyi to find the back of the net. Marsh’s red, following complaints that his side weren’t given a penalty through a fall from David, was then quickly forgotten moments later when the Lille striker scored the winner in the 59th minute.
It might not have been the overall tournament that the Canadians may have wanted, but their resilience and strong mentality, just one year ahead of a World Cup that they’ll co-host, was highly commendable. — Hernandez
