The Touchline- El Salvador Vs USMNT
Columbus, Ohio.
Dark.
Cold.
Columbus, Ohio.
Lower.com stadium is the place for this week’s United States Men’s National Team match against El Salvador. There’s excitement in the cold winter air though as Columbus has seen a number of good USMNT matches over the years. Columbus has been kind to the home team over the years. With eight matches played in this round, the US finds themselves one point behind the Canadian team that they will be playing on Sunday. But first, the US has to focus on El Salvador.
Photo from Twitter 6:09 PM · Jul 18, 2021
It’s been almost two months since the USMNT has played a match. While that gave some a break, others have been active. Three matches in seven days will put them in a spot where Greg Berhalter might have to use the bench a little more than he’s used to. Meaning, not having the same starting 11 for all three matches. Hopefully, they can come into the match on Thursday night ready to play and confident on and off the ball. They need to face this match like they did the match in Cincinnati against Mexico. While it’s not a MUST WIN… It sure feels that way.
El Salvador has failed to make the World Cup in their last nine qualifying opportunities. Their only two trips to the World Cup saw them finish last in 1970 and 1982. Why is this important? This is a team that the United States should beat. The last time that they faced one another, in September, it was a scoreless draw. “Highlights” can be seen here:
Who’s leading El Salvador?
Hugo Ernesto Pérez Granados, the El Salvador manager, had 73 caps for the USMNT between 1984 and 1994. He also spent some time managing the US U-14 and U15 squads in 2012 through 2014.
Frederic J. Brown : AFP via Getty Images.png
Mike Nelson : AFP via Getty Images.png
Brotherly Love:
Alex Roldan from El Salvador is the younger brother and Seattle Sounders teammate of USMNT midfielder Cristian Roldan. Cristian chose to represent the United States while Alex made the decision to play for El Salvador.
History and Expectations:
The USMNT has only one loss historically against El Salvador and can’t afford to make it two on Thursday night. If they can get on the board early, they just may be able to hold off El Salvador and put three points up in the standings. Those three points, combined with a Canada loss or draw to Honduras (which probably won’t happen) would put the USMNT in first place in the group.
USMNT fans expect to win the match on Thursday at Lower.com field in Columbus. It's going to be cold. The high on Thursday is 33 with a low of 22. The good news for El Salvador is that in the matches that I’ve been to in the stadium, despite windy conditions outside, there wasn’t much wind inside the stadium. There’s pressure for both squads to get three points. Maybe that will weigh on the US men more than it will on El Salvador. The Salvadorans are already looking at possible elimination for the 10th time. They are playing with house money at this point and given them finding their spot at 7th in the standings, a win against the US would be huge for them.
USL Connection:
Two FC Tulsa players are featured on the El Salvador roster in Ronaldo Rodriguez and Joaquín Rivas. Rodriguez just joined FC Tulsa this past week. The 23 year old is expected to play center back for FC Tulsa in the 2022 campaign. Rivas’ re-signing with FC Tulsa was announced on Monday. Rivas has 24 caps in his career for El Salvador. Of those 24, 12 have been during 2022 World Cup Qualifying. He has four goals plus three assists. Rivas has appeared in more matches for FC Tulsa than any player in the team’s history.
Match Notes:
MATCH TIME: 7 PM
TEMPERATURE: HI 33, LOW 22
LOWER.COM FIELD CAPACITY: 20,371
Players to Watch:
USA- Pulisic, Zimmerman, Steffen
ES- Roldan, Rivas, Cerén
USMNT ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (4)
Sean Johnson - New York City FC
Gabriel Slonina - Chicago Fire FC
Zack Steffen - Manchester City
Matt Turner - New England Revolution
DEFENDERS (9)
Reggie Cannon - Boavista
Sergiño Dest - Barcelona
Brooks Lennon - Atlanta United
Mark McKenzie - Genk/BEL
Chris Richards - Hoffenheim
Antonee Robinson - Fulham
Miles Robinson - Atlanta United
DeAndre Yedlin - Galatasaray
Walker Zimmerman - Nashville SC
MIDFIELDERS (7)
Kellyn Acosta - LAFC
Tyler Adams - RB Leipzig
Luca de la Torre - Heracles
Sebastian Lletget - New England Revolution
Weston McKennie - Juventus
Yunus Musah - Valencia
Cristian Roldan - Seattle Sounders FC
FORWARDS (8)
Brenden Aaronson - Red Bull Salzburg
Paul Arriola - D.C. United
Jesús Ferreira - FC Dallas
Jordan Morris - Seattle Sounders FC
Ricardo Pepi - Augsburg
Christian Pulisic - Chelsea
Tim Weah - Lille
Gyasi Zardes - Columbus Crew
EL SALVADOR ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (2)
Kevin Carabantes - FAS
Mario González - Alianza
DEFENDERS (7)
Roberto Domínguez - Chalatenango
Alexander Larin - Comunicaiones
Ronaldo Rodriguez - FC Tulsa
Bryan Tamacas - Alianza
Eduardo Vigil - Firpo
Romulo Villalobos - Municipal Limeno
Eriq Zavaleta Unattached
MIDFIELDERS (9)
Eric Calvillo - El Paso Locomotive
Darwin Cerén - Houston Dynamo
Enrico Hernández - Vitesse
Bryan Landaverde - FAS
Christian Martinez Mena - San Carlos
Marvin Monterroza - Alianza
Narciso Orellana - Alianza
Kevin Reyes - FAS
Alex Roldan - Seattle Sounders
FORWARDS (5)
Nelson Bonilla - Port FC
Cristian Gil - Metapa
Jairo Henríquez - Aguila
Walmer Martinez - Monterey Bay
Joaquín Rivas - FC Tulsa
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