- The U.S. men’s national team suffered a disappointing 2-1 loss to Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League third-place game, finishing last in the tournament.
- Despite an early equalizer by Diego Luna and Patrick Agyemang, the U.S. struggled in the second half, with Canada securing the win through Jonathan David’s goal.
- Captain Christian Pulisic acknowledged the team’s poor performance, emphasizing the need for improvement as they look ahead to the 2026 World Cup.
The U.S. men’s national team could perhaps dismiss their earlier loss to Panama as a fluke, a stroke of bad luck. However, there’s no sugarcoating Sunday’s dismal performance against Canada. In the CONCACAF Nations League third-place game, the USMNT was outplayed for much of the match, resulting in a 2-1 defeat and a last-place finish in the tournament. This marked an embarrassing turn of events for a team that had won the previous three editions of the competition.
Canada set the tone early, with Tani Oluwaseyi scoring in the 27th minute after the U.S. defense failed to contain their attacks. The U.S. responded with a strong finish to the first half, as Diego Luna and Patrick Agyemang combined for a 35th-minute equalizer. However, the second half saw the USMNT falter once again. Canada emerged with renewed energy, and despite their coach Jesse Marsch being sent off for arguing a penalty call, Jonathan David’s curling strike in the 59th minute sealed the victory.
“Obviously disappointed, yeah,” said U.S. captain Christian Pulisic, who failed to score in either of this week’s matches. “We’ve got to come back from this, of course. We’re not at our best at the moment. Now all we can do is go be examples at our clubs every day, be the best we can be—that’s how the national team is—and when we come back, of course some things need to change. And we need to improve. We’re going to look back and see what that is—I don’t have all the answers at the moment.”
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino made five changes to the lineup from the semifinal, but the adjustments failed to spark a turnaround. Canada outshot the U.S. 8-5, and while the USMNT held 59.6% possession, they struggled to create meaningful chances in the attacking third. The loss to Panama may have been a wake-up call, but Sunday’s defeat was a full-blown alarm. For the first time since 1985, Canada has beaten the U.S. in back-to-back matches, leaving the USMNT with much to ponder as the 2026 World Cup looms.