Reuters/USA Today
NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 08:18
The United States has won the North American Nations League for the third time in as many editions. The American footballers defeated Mexico 2-0 in the final.
The sporting highlight came from the right foot of Tyler Adams. The Bournemouth midfielder took the opening goal from about thirty meters: a fiery shot into the crossbar.
Shut down twice
The final was stopped several times due to homophobic slogans from fans in the stadium in Arlington, Texas. Fans of the Mexican team, present in large numbers, expressed themselves negatively when the American goalkeeper kicked out.
Canadian referee Drew Fischer stopped the match just before the end and twice in injury time for several minutes.
North American Football Association Concacaf condemned “the discriminatory chant” in a statement published after the match. “The referee acted in accordance with FIFA protocol. Security staff at the stadium identified perpetrators and removed them from the stadium.”
The association calls it “extremely disappointing that this issue continues to be a problem in certain matches.”
Things also went wrong during previous international matches between the US and Mexico. For example, last year the semi-final of the Nations League between the neighboring countries got out of hand after four red cards, riots on the field and homophobic chants.
Players pelted
At Sunday evening’s final, American players and national coach Gregg Berhalter were pelted with objects while celebrating the 2-0, made by Giovanni Reyna.
Reuters/USA Today
American players are being pelted
Reuters/USA Today
USA coach Gregg Berhalter consults with the arbitration
“It’s unsafe, people could get hurt,” Berhalter said afterwards. “It’s a shame because we want battle on the field and a fantastic atmosphere, but no one wants to be pelted.”
Premier League entry
In coach Berhalter’s team, Sergiño Dest was the only PSV player to start, Malik Tillman came on just before the end and Ricardo Pepi remained on the bench. Hirving Lozano (also PSV) was in the starting line-up for Mexico and Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez came in with more than an hour on the clock.
2024-03-25 07:18:25
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