U.S. Soccer loves TQL Stadium, and the venue has been kind to America's national teams in return.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Men's National Team beat Morocco 3-0 in a friendly match that served as a pre-FIFA World Cup tune-up for both nations. It was the third-ever national team match staged at TQL Stadium by the U.S. Soccer Federation, a second consecutive win for the men's program and a result that moved the USMNT and their female counterparts to a combined 3-0-0 record with a plus-13 goal differential.
Opponents are yet to score a goal against an American national team at TQL Stadium, and more than 68,000 fans attended the three games – a per-match average of more than 22,600.
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Wednesday's match was a friendly, meaning the result didn't count toward a specific competition.
In reality though, the value of the match was far greater than a typical friendly as the USMNT will play just six matches prior to the November start of this year's World Cup in Qatar.
The Americans took full advantage of their stay in Cincinnati for the better part of a week, and used the win against Morocco, which is also bound for the World Cup, to set a high standard for the five tune-ups to come.
There are always winners and losers in sports, and here's an overview of the victories won and losses suffered – on and off the field – during the USMNT's stay in Cincinnati:
Winners
Greg Berhalter – When the USMNT comes to Cincinnati, it's hard to not think of the first-ever match in the city under manager Gregg Berhalter – a 3-0 loss to Venezuela at the University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium in June 2019.
The game was the sixth since Berhalter had taken over the job earlier that year, and he was put under heavy pressure and scrutiny following the loss. It was a contentious moment early in Berhalter's time in charge of the USMNT.
Fast forward to Wednesday, and Berhalter sat before an assembled crowd of national media members and nitpicked at his side's 3-0 win against a highly competitive Moroccan team that survived the gauntlet of World Cup qualifying in Africa to reach Qatar.
Ultimately, the Americans beat Morocco convincingly and decisively in their first match since they ended their successful World Cup qualifying campaign with a loss to Costa Rica.
Under Berhalter, the USMNT is 35-9-7 in 51 games, and is the undisputed champion of the Concacaf region via its 2021 victories in the Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup tournaments.
The Morocco win was just one more reminder of how far the USMNT program has come under Berhalter, and that there's no reason to put a cap on what his core of young players can accomplish in Qatar.
Matt Turner – If you're grading the competition at goalkeeper for the USMNT on a match-to-match basis then you have to say Turner's stock is soaring after his performance against Morocco.
After platooning with Manchester City FC and former Columbus Crew goalkeeper Zack Steffen in World Cup qualifying, Turner set the bar high for American goalkeepers that think they might have a chance to start in Qatar. He made eight saves, stopping all the shots he should have, and a few that required extraordinary reflexes and effort.
Morocco banged a late penalty kick off the crossbar. That certainly didn't hurt Turner's stat line, nor perceptions of his play. And, of course, replays showed the referee's decision to award the penalty kick in the first place was incorrect (ball don't lie).
It remains to been seen if Steffen's absence from the June USMNT camp due to family reasons will complicate or simplify Berhalter's decision-making process at the position but there shouldn't be any question that Turner, the New England Revolution goalkeeper bound for Arsenal FC in a few weeks, should be leading the conversation today regarding who starts in Qatar.
Christian Pulisic – OK, so Pulisic quickly turned the attention away from his individual performance and that of his team with remarks immediately following the match in which he called out the American fans for lacking greater numbers at TQL Stadium. As ESPN soccer play-by-play announcer Jon Champion said following those remarks, Pulisic's comments were newsworthy. "Newsworthy" might be selling it short, but putting that moment to the side, Pulisic was terrific in the game.
There isn't much doubt about whether or not Pulisic will be on the plane to Doha, Qatar. Barring an injury setback, he will be, and maybe that's what made his man-of-the-match performance all the more impressive – he showed up and showed-out when he didn't necessarily have to.
All Pulisic did was increase his leadership bona fides, contribute directly to two goals with an assist and a penalty-kick call earned, and added to his personal, all-time highlight reel on the opening goal in the 26th minute.
FC Cincinnati and the region – Another big, long, important stay in Cincinnati for U.S. Soccer brought with it all the usual trappings: National and international media members flocking to the city and enjoying its amusements, exposure for the high-level infrastructure that FC Cincinnati's built, and an appreciation for many things Greater Cincinnati has to offer.
The Mercy Health Training Center took center stage for the better part of a week while the USMNT trained there. On Monday and Tuesday, media members perched themselves along the perimeter fence on the property to watch the star-studded Americans train. A few media members had a chance to survey the inside of the "MHTC" and came away impressed. The grounds and facility looked stellar, and TQL Stadium shined once again, and it becomes increasingly clear why Berhalter has brought his team to the Queen City three times since 2019.
Morocco supporters – If you were in attendance for USMNT-Morocco, you saw plenty of Moroccan flags and supporters in the house. The match came well-short of selling out while still being a respectable attendance at 19,512, and the Moroccan supporters added plenty of atmosphere to the proceedings.
The "Atlas Lions" drew to TQL Stadium some extremely passionate supporters that had their own customs and chants. Morocco offered truly global flavor for the event, and The Enquirer is yet to talk to an attendee of the match that didn't find the atmosphere to be anything less than rousing.
Losers
Vahid Halilhodžić – Don't know his name? Well, Halilhodžić is the manager of the Moroccan national team and he's certainly had better nights than Wednesday.
Aside from the comprehensive 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Americans, Halilhodžić was widely criticized this week for excluding Pulisic teammate and Chelsea FC midfielder Hakim Ziyech from Morocco's roster for the match.
After the USMNT loss, Halilhodžić exited TQL Stadium through an out-of-the-way loading dock only to still be greeted by his own fans, who harangued him with chants of Ziyech's name.
Moroccan media members said they had their concerns about Halilhodžić and those likely weren't alleviated in Cincinnati.
Pulisic – See above regarding his post-match call-out of the crowd that gathered at TQL Stadium for a friendly match where the cheapest tickets cost more than $60. A lot of passionate Americans, including some that support Morocco, were in attendance for the game and the atmosphere was one of the best TQL Stadium's seen in its young history. This wasn't a World Cup qualifier, so U.S. Soccer shouldn't need to contort the rules of the ticketing process to ensure a majority, pro-U.S. crowd (which Wednesday still seemed to be, by the way). Pulisic can have his opinions but uncorking that particular opinion when he did only served to dominate the post-match conversation in the general public. And no, this isn't to say Pulisic is altogether a "loser." Obviously, that's not the case, but his remarks were an unforced error.
Ismael Cornejo – The El Salvadorian center official did a fine job of overseeing Wednesday's match but what in the world was that late penalty-kick call against the USMNT's Joe Scally? Replays on TV of the play seemed to show there might not have been any contact between Scally and the Moroccan player that went down at all.
The resulting penalty kick was slammed into the crossbar and cleared away by the Americans ("ball don't lie" was a popular remark on social media at that moment), so it really wasn't of much consequence in the end. Still, that call was a major outlier on an otherwise solid night for Cornejo and his assistant referees.
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