USA vs. Canada, 2023 Concacaf Nations League Final: What to watch for

The United States Men’s National Team are back in the Concacaf Nations League Final, seeking to repeat as Nations League champions. Throttling Mexico in the semifinal by a 3-0 scoreline that didn’t feel like it was even that close, the USMNT now faces Canada for the right to keep their hands on the trophy that has only remained in the United States.

The USMNT will have to do without Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest, who picked up red cards in the wild semifinal. However, the rest of the squad, under BJ Callaghan, will still have the firepower to go against a Canada squad that, outside of the World Cup, has played extremely well for the past couple of years.

Latest Form

USA

W (3-0) - Mexico - Concacaf Nations League Semifinal

D (1-1) - Mexico - Friendly

W (1-0) - El Salvador - Concacaf Nations League

W (7-1) - Grenada - Concacaf Nations League

D (0-0) - Colombia - Friendly

Canada

W (2-0) - Panama - Concacaf Nations League Semifinal

W (4-1) - Honduras - Concacaf Nations League

W (2-0) - Curaçao - Concacaf Nations League

L (1-2) - Morocco - 2022 World Cup Group F

L (1-4) - Croatia - 2022 World Cup Group F

What To Watch For

Continue to play together. The team played extremely well the other night against Mexico, and it didn’t feel like anyone had a bad game. Let’s keep the good times rolling in this one, with the great passing and creative play in the attacking third to set up scoring chances.

Stop Alphonso Davies. Alphonso Davies is arguably the best player in Concacaf, and he’s one of the fastest players on the world. Don’t let him use his speed to get into space, where he can cause a lot of damage.

Test Milan Borjan. American fans have come to not like Milan Borjan, and his gaffes during the World Cup are something the USMNT will want him to recreate. The way to do that is to put shots on frame, because it gives him more opportunity to make a mistake.

Lineup Prediction

The shape the USMNT had against Mexico worked great, so the thought is they continue that while plugging in some people to replace McKennie and Dest:

Turner stays in goal, while Chris Richards and Miles Robinson continue to serve as the centerback pairing. Antonee Robinson is at left back, with Joe Scally playing at right back in place of Dest.

In the middle, Luca de la Torre replaces Weston McKennie alongside Yunus Musah. Just ahead of them is Gio Reyna operating as the center attacking midfielder.

Up front, once again it’s Christian Pulisic on the left wing and Tim Weah on the right wing. Folarin Balogun once again gets the start, but don’t be surprised to see Ricardo Pepi once again.

Prediction

The U.S. wins another Nations League. They win a close match by a 2-1 score.