After months of anticipation for the U.S. men's national team soccer match against Mexico at TQL Stadium, expectations were crushed.
The night was everything you could have hoped for from an American and Cincinnatian standpoint as the USMNT won, 2-0, and received goals from Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, two of the team's biggest stars.
The city and venue shone brightly on the international stage, and even the weather – passing showers on a cold, windy night – couldn't dampen enthusiasm for the match.
Now that one of the greatest nights in the modern history of Cincinnati sports has come and gone, it's important to take stock of performances, both on and off the field.
There were winners and losers in both realms on Friday, and Cincinnati, TQL Stadium and the club that resides there all had pretty great weeks.
Winners
TQL Stadium the City of Cincinnati – First and foremost, FC Cincinnati's home venue, and Cincinnati at-large, served as a picturesque backdrop for a USMNT victory that will live long in the memory of fans. The visual displays, fireworks and production value in-stadium were stunning.
The scenes in the grandstand after the U.S. goals were joyful. On the city streets, officials successfully marshaled the resources from local, state and federal agencies to properly stage the event.
National media members, U.S. Soccer and surely FIFA representatives will walk away from the occasion having been impressed. With so many high-ranking soccer officials in attendance, you have to think it's just a matter of time before TQL Stadium and Cincinnati are handed important matches again in the future.
This was a big boost for Cincinnati's bid to host World Cup 2026 matches at Paul Brown Stadium, too.
More:Why the U.S. men's national team vs. Mexico match matters to Cincinnati
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Gregg Berhalter – For some pundits, Berhalter's job was thought to be in jeopardy in October after the USMNT suffered its first loss of this World Cup cycle to Panama on Oct. 10.
About a month on from that, Berhalter's side is atop the eight-team qualifying group for the Qatar World Cup in 2022. He's also the proud owner of three straight wins against Mexico in a calendar year.
On Friday, Berhalter didn't deviate from his game plan, and his pressing, high-energy Americans won deservedly. With a win Tuesday against Jamaica, Berhalter would close out 2021 with two new trophies in the trophy cabinet (Concacaf Nations League, Gold Cup) and in command of World Cup qualifying for the Concacaf region. In other words, it's been a very good year.
Also, the most controversial lineup decision Berhalter made was starting goalkeeper Zack Steffen in favor of New England Revolution's Matt Turner, and Berhalter sure got that one correct. Turner is a Best XI candidate for his work at the club level this year but Steffen, who plays his club ball at Manchester City FC, had what some are calling his best-ever international game in the win over Mexico.
Christian Pulisic – Yeah, he's fit. There was so much talk throughout USMNT's week in Cincinnati about the role Pulisic could play for the team against Mexico as he was working his way back from a high ankle sprain that caused him to miss the three qualifying matches in October.
His manager at English Premier League side Chelsea FC, Thomas Tuchel, also added pressure to the situation by seemingly lobbying for Pulisic to play fewer minutes with the national team because of the injury comeback attempt. Pulisic came on for 20-plus minutes on Friday and changed the match, scoring the winner and contributing to several additional threatening moments.
FC Cincinnati – With the USMNT-Mexico match arriving five days after FC Cincinnati's season finale, the club's tumultuous 2021 season was buried beneath the week-long parade of news and hype leading into Friday's qualifier. Locally, that should carry over into the USMNT's Tuesday match against Jamaica (more on that below). MLS storylines have moved well beyond teams like FCC as the MLS Cup playoffs will soon be underway.
And if you're FC Cincinnati, you've just hired Chris Albright as GM, change is afoot, and you're a already one week into one of the shortest offseasons in MLS history. Optimism is on the horizon as FCC should hire a new head coach in the coming weeks, plus some roster turnover, some incoming signings and before you know it, preseason will be kicking off in January and each club's record will be: 0-0-0.
Losers
The Mexican national team – In the grand scheme, not too many bad outcomes result from successfully staging a prominent and important sporting event. Of course, Mexico lost the game and it's a complicated defeat for the Mexicans, too.
For a federation that considers itself the class of FIFA's Concacaf region, three losses to America in meaningful, non-friendly matches in a single year is a problem – and one that can only be addressed through performance. The pressure to turn in a strong performance and get a win against the USMNT in the March qualifier at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City will be immense.
As it relates to the overall qualifying process for the World Cup in 2022, Mexico is still in an OK situation but it has to turn around quickly to face on Tuesday a star-studded Canadian men's national team in Edmonton, Alberta (weather forecasters are calling for a daytime high temperature of 25 degrees, and maybe snow, too). The Canadians defeated Costa Rica on Friday in Edmonton and if Mexico loses there, too, it could find itself in a real scrap to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.
Guillermo Ochoa – Interesting choice by Ochoa, Mexico's longtime No. 1 goalkeeper, to poke the USMNT earlier this week when he said: "Mexico has been that mirror in which they (the United States) want to see themselves and reflect, what they want to copy."
He made that remark in spite of two consecutive losses to the Americans, and then Pulisic pounded a goal home on Ochoa's doorstep. That's a big "L" for Ochoa. And of course, Pulisic then lifted up his shirt after the goal to reveal a handwritten message on his undershirt that read: "Man In the Mirror." Nice troll job by Pulisic, ill-advised by Ochoa to give the Americans the bulletin board material. We appreciate the story line, though.
Weston McKennie – McKennie scored a goal and that didn't tell half the story of his man-of-the-match quality performance against Mexico. So, how did he end up being a loser in all of this? Well, the yellow card he picked up against Mexico means he'll be suspended for Tuesday's match against Jamaica due to yellow-card accumulation.
Tuesday's game is the final World Cup qualifier to be played this year for the USMNT, and a win would see them enter 2022 in complete command of the group.
McKennie is the kind of player that could take over the Jamaica match. Instead, Berhalter's going to have to go in a different direction. Take nothing for granted when you're on the road in Concacaf World Cup qualifying, and know that McKennie's absence will hurt.
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