On This Day in 2023, Pulisic Scored Twice as BJ Leads the Americans Past Mexico
American soccer found itself in familiar territory in May 2023: searching for stability in the coaching ranks. Enter B.J. Callaghan. Anthony Hudson, the interim coach who had guided the U.S. Men's National Team through the spring, was leaving for a club opportunity in Qatar. Matt Crocker, the newly appointed sporting director, needed someone to shepherd the Americans through their most important matches since the World Cup.
Callaghan had been preparing for this moment without knowing it. The 41-year-old assistant coach had spent four years absorbing the program's philosophy under Gregg Berhalter, then adapted it alongside Hudson over five transitional months. Now, as the second interim coach in six months, he would lead a squad hungry to defend its regional supremacy against Mexico in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Nations League.
"I understand the responsibility of the job," Callaghan said upon his appointment, "and am honored to have the opportunity to build upon the progress this group has made the last four years."
The Americans entered this June 15 match at Allegiant Stadium carrying the weight of recent history. They had beaten Mexico in the 2021 Nations League final, part of an unbeaten streak against El Tri that stretched back to 2019. But this game carried different stakes. With a permanent coaching decision looming and questions about the team's direction after Berhalter's contractual limbo, the U.S. needed to prove its recent success wasn't just a product of one coach's system.
Mexico arrived in crisis mode. Diego Cocca, hired in February after his country's disappointing World Cup exit, was already facing skepticism from supporters who demanded immediate improvement. The veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, still commanding respect at 37, anchored a defense that had struggled for consistency throughout the spring.
The match began with an electricity that Las Vegas rarely experiences outside its casinos. Folarin Balogun, the Arsenal striker who had committed to the U.S. program just weeks earlier after a clandestine dinner with Hudson in Orlando, made his debut in the American attack. The 21-year-old's decision to represent the United States over England had sent shockwaves through both federations, and now he was tasked with proving his worth in soccer's most heated regional rivalry.
The breakthrough came in the 37th minute through a moment of individual brilliance from Gio Reyna. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder, his hair newly dyed platinum blonde, poked the ball away from César Montes while falling to the ground. Edson Álvarez played a pass back to Jorge Sánchez, but the ball redirected off Sánchez's leg into open space. The loose ball found Christian Pulisic, who had timed his run perfectly behind the Mexican defense.
Pulisic, making his first start since mid-April, collected the ball with the composure of a player who had been waiting months for this moment. Two touches were all he needed to steady himself before slotting the ball past Ochoa from the edge of the six-yard box. The goal was his fourth against Mexico, but this one carried particular weight – it was his first meaningful action in months, and it came at the perfect time for both player and country.
The Americans didn't wait long to double their advantage. Less than two minutes into the second half, Weston McKennie launched a long pass down the flank to Timothy Weah, who delivered a perfectly weighted cross. Pulisic, sprinting past both Israel Reyes and Sánchez, arrived at the far post to stab the ball home with his left foot from six yards out.
The Chelsea winger raised his arms in celebration, but his expression was one of focused determination rather than pure joy. This was a player who had endured months of injury frustration, who had watched teammates compete. At the same time, he recovered, who understood that moments like these don't come often in international soccer.
For Mexico, the deficit felt insurmountable. Ochoa, a World Cup veteran who had frustrated countless attacks over his career, looked helpless as the American pressure mounted. "We struggled a lot with the ball, things didn't go well at all," he admitted afterward. "This is a loss that hurts us."
The match's tone shifted dramatically in the 69th minute when Montes received a straight red card for kicking Balogun during a challenge. The foul sparked a melee that saw McKennie dismissed for placing a hand on Sánchez's neck during the ensuing argument. McKennie, with his ripped shirt after the scuffle, kissed the US crest as he departed the field. What had been a dominant American performance suddenly became a fractious battle with each side down a man.
"All year round I’m never part of games like this [in the English Premier League], and I come here and it was a mess,” Pulisic said. “I was disappointed in the end. I really wish some of our guys kept their heads a little bit better. It just turned into something that wasn’t this beautiful game that we love."
Ricardo Pepi provided the exclamation point in the 79th minute, just five minutes after entering as a substitute. The 20-year-old striker, who had endured a difficult season with FC Groningen in the Netherlands, received a perfectly threaded pass from Sergiño Dest, took a touch to compose himself, and rounded Ochoa for his seventh international goal. Seven minutes later, Dest and Arteaga were sent off in the 86th for hitting each other above the neck.
The match's final act played out bizarrely. Homophobic chants from sections of the crowd prompted referee Iván Barton to stop play in the 90th minute, following established protocols. When the chanting resumed after play restarted, Barton ended the match in the eighth minute of stoppage time, cutting short what had already become a comprehensive American victory.
"I want to make it very clear," Callaghan said afterward, "it has no place in the game."
The 3-0 scoreline represented Mexico's most lopsided defeat to the United States in 23 years, extending America's unbeaten streak against their rivals to six matches. For Cocca, who had been asked directly by a Mexican reporter if he planned to resign, the loss raised immediate questions about his future.
"I dream about a process of three and a half years, not four months," Cocca responded, his voice carrying the weight of a coach under immense pressure.
But the evening's most significant development occurred away from the field. Just an hour before kickoff, news broke that the U.S. Soccer Federation had concluded its coaching search in the most predictable way possible: by rehiring Gregg Berhalter. The man who had guided the Americans to the World Cup's round of 16 in Qatar, only to see his contract expire amid a domestic violence investigation, was returning to lead the program toward the 2026 World Cup.
The timing was surreal. As Callaghan prepared his team for the biggest match of his interim tenure, reports emerged that his temporary status would soon end. Players learned of Berhalter's return at the team hotel after their victory, creating an odd mixture of celebration and transition.
"Today is a testament of the work that [Berhalter] has put into this team," Pulisic said when asked about the coaching news. "I'm glad we can just pick up where we left off."
The victory propelled the Americans into Sunday's final against Canada, which had defeated Panama 2-0 in the earlier semifinal. But the team would face the Canadians without McKennie and Dest, both suspended after their red cards. The suspensions served as a reminder that even in triumph, consequences follow rash decisions.
For Callaghan, who had accepted the interim role knowing it would be temporary, the evening represented both a personal triumph and a professional farewell. He had guided the team through a crucial test, proving that the program's culture and tactical identity transcended any single coach. Now, as the Americans prepared for their final under Callaghan's guidance, they carried the confidence of a team that had not only defended its regional supremacy but had done so with the kind of dominant performance that announced their intentions for the coming World Cup cycle.
The road to 2026 would officially begin with Berhalter's return. Still, this night in Las Vegas belonged to the players who had proven that American soccer's new generation could rise to any occasion, regardless of who stood on the sideline calling the plays. One historic result delivered. One statement made. One step closer to proving that the United States belonged among the world's elite, no matter who was coaching them.
