After a Goalless Draw With Mexico, Uruguay Will Travel to Tampa
Uruguay arrives in Tampa for Tuesday's friendly against the United States riding momentum from a solid year, despite their goalless draw with Mexico on Saturday. The South American side represents the USMNT's toughest test in recent memory as they continue preparations for the 2026 World Cup.
Managed by the demanding Marcelo Bielsa, Uruguay eased through South American qualifying and finished third at the 2024 Copa América, where they defeated the United States 1-0 in the group stage. La Celeste has lost just three of their last 16 matches, demonstrating the consistency that makes them such a formidable opponent.
Bielsa's 28-man roster blends experience with emerging talent. Veterans like Atlético Madrid captain José María Giménez, Barcelona's Ronald Araújo, Tottenham's Rodrigo Bentancur, and Flamengo playmaker Giorgian de Arrascaeta anchor the squad. However, notable absences include Real Madrid star Federico Valverde, sidelined due to ongoing back issues following a grueling season, along with Darwin Núñez and Lucas Torreira.
The main surprise inclusion is Santiago Homenchenko, a midfielder currently on loan from Pachuca to Querétaro. The Under-20 World Cup champion has impressed Bielsa with four goals in his last five matches, as well as strong defensive contributions, reflecting the coach's commitment to developing young Uruguayan talent.
Against Mexico in Torreón, Uruguay fielded several Brazilian-based players who impressed despite the scoreless result. Palmeiras left-back Joaquín Piquerez and midfielder Emiliano Martínez started alongside Flamengo right-back Guillermo Varela, seamlessly translating their club form to the international stage. Another Palmeiras player, striker Facundo Torres, provided fresh energy after coming on in the second half.
Uruguay's defensive solidity makes them extremely difficult to break down, though without Valverde and Núñez, they lack some attacking punch. Still, for a USMNT side missing Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, and others, Uruguay presents the perfect opportunity to measure their World Cup readiness against elite opposition.
On This Day in 2004, the Program's Joint-Top Scorer Makes His First Appearance
Rain fell steadily over Columbus on November 17, turning Crew Stadium into something less than a theater and more like a proving ground. Just over 9,000 supporters scattered themselves across the lower bowl, their presence muted by weather and circumstance. The United States had already secured a spot in the final qualifying round. Jamaica needed victory to survive, but Panama's simultaneous demolition of El Salvador had rendered even that mathematics irrelevant before the evening concluded. What remained was something Bruce Arena valued more than the result itself: an opportunity to examine the futures he might need in six months.
Among those futures sat Clint Dempsey, 21 years old, wearing the Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year honor he had received just the day before. The recognition symbolized his unlikely ascent—from a prospective defensive midfielder buried on New England's depth chart to one of the league's most productive attacking forces, having scored seven goals in 21 matches despite missing five games with a broken jaw that he had initially played through undiagnosed. He had entered the Revolution camp as a reserve behind Shalrie Joseph. He had emerged as essential, a driving force whose hunger Arena had noticed during the national team's training week.
"When you don't make it into the lineup, it makes you more hungry," Dempsey had reflected before traveling to Columbus, "and you want to do that much more to reach the next level."
The evening would test precisely that hunger, though not in the ways Arena might have anticipated. Debuts in meaningless matches carry their own peculiar pressure—the absence of consequence creates a vacuum where evaluation becomes everything. There would be no rescue goals, no dramatic clinching moments to obscure imperfection. Just cold rain, a sparse crowd, and Arena's clinical assessment of whether a rookie midfielder possessed the composure to function when nothing and everything hung in balance.
The match opened with the urgency Arena demanded despite qualification already secured. The Americans pressed forward, and in the 15th minute, they produced a sequence that suggested professional standards would not be abandoned simply because mathematics no longer mattered. Pablo Mastroeni threaded a pass down the right channel where Eddie Johnson—the 20-year-old sensation who had announced himself with four goals in two previous matches—controlled with his right foot before striking left-footed past Donovan Ricketts. The finish carried the poise of a player whose confidence had calcified into certainty. Johnson had now scored in each of his first three international appearances, only the second American since 1937 to achieve that distinction. The ball had barely settled in the net before he nearly doubled the advantage, first pressuring a clearance in the fourth minute, then whiffing an open chance from twelve yards, then hammering a shot directly at Ricketts.
But Jamaica possessed neither the luxury of experimentation nor the willingness to accept elimination passively. In the twenty-fourth minute, coach Sebastiao Lazaroni made his decisive substitution, replacing Damion Stewart with Jermaine Hue, one of the Reggae Boyz's most obscure selections. Hue announced himself with his first touch, spinning away from two American defenders and injecting dynamism into Jamaica's midfield that had been absent. Three minutes later, he disrupted possession again, found Ricardo Gardner advancing from left back, and suddenly the Americans found themselves out of balance. A throw-in allowed Portsmouth striker Ricardo Fuller to drift along the end line, where Ramiro Corrales—one of Arena's experimental selections, a defender earning World Cup qualifying experience for the first time—brought him down inside the penalty area. Andy Williams, the former Revolution midfielder, converted the penalty in the 27th minute, and the scoreline read level.
Arena made his substitution in the 66th minute. Dempsey replaced Corrales and entered a match whose emotional temperature had shifted but whose tactical demands remained unclear. The Americans were playing to win despite having nothing tangible to gain. Jamaica was playing with desperation tempered by distant mathematics. And then, seven minutes after Dempsey's entrance, the variables collapsed entirely. Oguchi Onyewu, cautioned once already, received his second yellow card in the 73rd minute and departed, leaving the United States to navigate the final 17 minutes with 10 men and a midfield anchored by a rookie making his international debut.
Dempsey absorbed the complexity without visible panic. His touches were accurate, his positioning sound, his understanding of when to release possession and when to advance suggesting a player whose tactical intelligence exceeded his experience. And then, in the eighty-sixth minute, he produced the moment that would define his debut in the memories of those witnessing it.
Receiving the ball deep in American territory with Jamaica committed forward and space materializing ahead, Dempsey accelerated. 50 yards stretched before him—open grass, retreating defenders, the penalty area drawing closer with each stride. He drove forward with the kind of audacity that separates players who survive from players who impose, his legs churning through fatigue, his vision fixed on the goal that grew larger as defenders converged from multiple angles. He reached the penalty area, defenders closing, the angle narrowing, his lungs emptying, and finally—finally—the accumulated exhaustion caught him. The shot never came. The moment dissolved not from poor decision-making or technical failure but from the simple reality that a twenty-one-year-old midfielder playing his first international match had run out of fuel at precisely the moment opportunity demanded more.
"I made some rookie mistakes, giving the ball away," Dempsey said afterward, his assessment characteristically direct, "but I got positive feedback. I did some good things, as well. We were playing to win and [Arena] told me he wanted me to get involved in the attack, that the defensive midfield was a little too conservative, and to take it at them a little."
The final whistle confirmed what Panama's three-goal victory over El Salvador had already guaranteed: Jamaica would not advance. The Reggae Boyz, expected by many to join the United States in the final round, finished their campaign at one win, six losses, and three draws under Lazaroni—a collapse that stood as one of qualifying's most surprising narratives. Panama, improbably, would join Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States in February's hexagonal, where the top three would secure passage to Germany.
For the Americans, the evening carried significance that transcended the draw. Arena had extended the unbeaten streak against regional competition to twenty-nine matches. More importantly, he had gathered intelligence on players who might be required when the qualification transformed into tournament play. Jonathan Spector, the 18-year-old Manchester United defender and grandson of original Boston Celtic Art Spector, had looked composed in his debut. Dempsey had demonstrated hunger and tactical understanding even as fatigue overwhelmed ambition in the final minutes.
And Johnson, departing for a training arrangement with Manchester United the following week, had now scored five goals in his first sixty-one minutes of national team playing time—a conversion rate that bordered on absurd and suggested European clubs monitoring his progress had sound reason for their attention.
Yet Dempsey's 50-yard run lingered in a way Johnson's goal did not. Goals in blowouts and goals in dead rubbers carry their own weight, but they rarely reveal character. That sprint—desperate, audacious, ultimately unsuccessful—had revealed something Arena valued more than clinical finishing in a match without consequence. It revealed a player who understood that debuts without drama still demanded everything, that evaluation never ceased, that the absence of stakes created its own pressure more revealing than any scoreboard.
"Playing for the national team is something I used to think about when I was little," Dempsey had said before the match, reflecting on practices that felt faster than games, on preparation that would serve him when he returned to New England for the following season.
In Columbus, on a cold November evening, that had been enough. The road to Germany continued, and Dempsey—rookie of the year, future consideration, 21-year-old midfielder from Nacogdoches who had learned the game in a trailer park among Hispanic immigrants—now traveled it as well. Not as a passenger, but as someone Arena had judged capable of contributing. The work of building a World Cup team, Arena understood, rarely announced itself with coronations. Sometimes it revealed itself in rain, in front of 9,000 supporters, in a 50-yard sprint that ended without a shot but confirmed everything a coach needed to know about hunger.
With the Clock Winding Down, the U.S. Still Did Not Give an Inch
What started as a competitive but controlled friendly between two World Cup-bound nations descended into chaos in the dying moments at Subaru Park on Saturday night, as a dispute over possession sparked a bench-clearing brawl that overshadowed the United States' 2-1 victory over Paraguay.
The incident erupted in the 91st minute when USMNT defender Alex Freeman and Paraguay captain Gustavo Gómez wrestled over a ball that had rolled out of bounds. The match official appeared to signal for an American throw-in, but both players refused to relinquish possession, triggering a physical altercation that quickly escalated.
Within seconds, players from both benches flooded onto the field. Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and FC Cincinnati defender Miles Robinson were among the first to sprint into the fray, followed by nearly every player from both matchday squads. Punches were thrown amid the melee, and at one point, Freeman shoved a Paraguayan player who had grabbed hold of him outside the main scrum. A bottle was even thrown toward the pitch from the stands during the chaos.
USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino became an unintended casualty when he attempted to intervene. After trying to get in front of his players, Pochettino was knocked to the ground near the camera bank. Fortunately, Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro witnessed the fall and helped his counterpart to his feet. "I'm lucky that Alfaro saw me and helped me up," Pochettino said gratefully.
The incident resulted in six yellow cards and a red card for Paraguay's Omar Alderete, who wasn't even in the match as a player. Despite condemning the brawl, goalkeeper Matt Freese praised his teammates' solidarity. "There were a few cheap shots thrown from their end, to be honest," Freese said. "But that's part of being a team, we'll be sticking up for each other no matter the moment."
Gio Reyna's journey back to scoring for the United States national team has been nothing short of tumultuous, making Saturday's performance against Paraguay all the more significant for the 23-year-old midfielder.
Once considered American soccer's brightest prospect—becoming the youngest American to appear in the Bundesliga at 17 years and 66 days—Reyna's career has been derailed by injuries, controversies and diminishing playing time. His promising start at Borussia Dortmund faded amid fitness issues, and his involvement in the 2022 World Cup saga permanently altered his standing. After then-coach Gregg Berhalter nearly sent him home for poor training effort, Reyna's parents revealed a decades-old domestic abuse allegation against Berhalter, triggering a messy public fallout that temporarily cost Berhalter his job.
Since that watershed moment, Reyna has struggled to find stability. A loan spell at Nottingham Forest yielded minimal impact—just 10 appearances and no goals. He managed only 341 league minutes at Dortmund throughout 2024-25 before making a permanent €7 million move to Borussia Mönchengladbach last August. Even there, he's started just once while battling another thigh injury.
His recall to Mauricio Pochettino's November squad came as a surprise given his lack of game time. Reyna hadn't started for club or country since September 14, and that had been his first start since March. Yet Pochettino's faith proved warranted. Starting against Paraguay marked Reyna's first international start since the Copa América—the final game under Berhalter. Within four minutes, he scored with a header, surpassing his father Claudio's eight international goals. The playmaker then assisted Folarin Balogun's winner in the 71st minute, logging 75 minutes without issue.
"It was an opportunity for me to show that I belong here," Reyna said afterward, crediting Pochettino for giving him "freedom and confidence." For a player desperate to redefine himself beyond injuries and controversy, Saturday represented a crucial step toward redemption and World Cup inclusion.
Goals From Reyna and Balogun Were the Difference in a "Friendly" Victory
The United States men's national team secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Paraguay on Saturday night in a friendly that ended in dramatic fashion with a bench-clearing brawl at Subaru Park in Philadelphia.
Gio Reyna provided the spark for the Americans, scoring just four minutes into the match—his first international start in 16 months. The 23-year-old, celebrating two days after his birthday, rose to meet Max Arfsten's cross with a header that glanced off goalkeeper Orlando Gill's fingertips and bounced in off the crossbar. The goal was particularly meaningful as it gave Reyna nine career international goals, surpassing his father Claudio's total of eight for the national team.
Paraguay responded quickly, equalizing in the 10th minute when Junior Alonso's long ball found Miguel Almirón, whose cross was headed home by Álex Arce past goalkeeper Matt Freese. The decisive moment came in the 71st minute after substitute Diego Luna forced a turnover. Folarin Balogun collected the loose ball and found Reyna, whose cut-back pass deflected off Damián Bobadilla before Balogun finished to restore the American lead.
The match's intensity boiled over in stoppage time when defender Alex Freeman and Paraguay captain Diego Gómez wrestled for a loose ball near the touchline, triggering a melee that drew both benches onto the field. Paraguay's Omar Alderete received a red card despite not being in the game.
"That type of situation is very, very, very dangerous," said U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino, who was knocked into the camera area during the fracas before being helped up by his Paraguayan counterpart Gustavo Alfaro. Despite condemning the brawl, Pochettino praised his team's competitive spirit and noted the importance of such intense matches ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The victory extended the Americans' unbeaten streak to four matches, continuing their positive momentum under Pochettino.
The Americans Fall in a Penalty Shootout to Morocco
The United States U-17 team suffered heartbreaking elimination from the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, falling to Morocco 4-3 on penalties after a dramatic 1-1 draw in the Round of 32. The devastating loss marks the third consecutive youth tournament elimination at the hands of Morocco, following defeats at the 2024 Olympics and the U20 World Cup earlier this year.
Coach Gonzalo Segares' squad appeared destined for the Round of 16 after dominating much of the match. Philadelphia Union academy product Jude Terry gave the Americans a 21st-minute lead, finishing clinically after connecting with a precise pass from teenage sensation Cavan Sullivan. The U.S. had been impressive throughout the group stage, becoming only the second American team to win all three group matches at this tournament, scoring four goals while conceding just one.
The match turned on two crucial penalty decisions. In the 74th minute, the United States was awarded a penalty that could have sealed victory, but Mathis Albert's attempt was sent wide. Morocco was also denied a possible penalty of their own during the intense contest. Morocco's relentless pressure finally paid off in the 89th minute when Abdellah Ouazane scored a spectacular equalizer, forcing the penalty shootout. Despite Ouazane going off injured, Morocco held their composure when it mattered most.
In the shootout, Bellaarouch became the hero, saving two American penalties. While Sullivan, Chase Adams, and Albert converted their attempts, both Maximo Carrizo and Cooper Sanchez failed from the spot, allowing Morocco to advance. The elimination represents a crushing disappointment for a talented U.S. squad featuring promising prospects. Sullivan, who has already featured in MLS this season, was particularly impressive, directly contributing to four of the team's five tournament goals with two goals and two assists.
Los Guaraníes Struggled in Recent Matches Against Japan and South Korea
Paraguay arrives in Pennsylvania riding high on the success of World Cup qualification, but seeks to rediscover its scoring touch ahead of next summer's tournament. Under coach Gustavo Alfaro, Los Guaraníes secured the final automatic CONMEBOL berth for the 2026 World Cup, marking their return to the global stage for the first time since 2010. They finished sixth in the grueling South American qualifying campaign, with seven wins, seven draws, and four losses, accumulating 28 points and a positive goal difference.
However, recent form suggests Alfaro has significant work ahead. Paraguay has won just one of their last five matches across all competitions—a narrow 1-0 victory over Peru. More concerning is their attacking struggles, as they failed to score in three of those five contests. Their most recent outing saw them fall 2-0 to South Korea, following a disappointing collapse against Japan, where they surrendered a 2-1 lead with a goal conceded in the 90+4th minute.
The South Americans bring an MLS-heavy roster to Chester, featuring several familiar names for American audiences. Atlanta United's Miguel Almirón headlines the group after his return to MLS following six years with Newcastle United in the Premier League. Real Salt Lake's Braian Ojeda and Vancouver Whitecaps' Andrés Cubas provide additional MLS representation, while defender Omar Alderete has impressed at Sunderland since his summer move. 21-year-old forward Julio Enciso, currently on loan from Brighton to Strasbourg, offers attacking flair.
Veteran defender Gustavo Gómez can make history this weekend, potentially moving into sole possession of eighth place on Paraguay's all-time caps list, surpassing Celso Ayala's mark of 85 appearances.
Paraguay hasn't defeated the United States since a 2011 friendly in Nashville and will be eager to break that drought. Their tactical flexibility—alternating between 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 formations—provides Alfaro options as his team continues preparations for their World Cup return.
The U.S. Holds a 4-2-2 (WDL) Record Against the South American Side
The United States and Paraguay share a fascinating soccer history that spans nearly a century, beginning with one of the most memorable moments in World Cup lore. When the teams first met at the 1930 World Cup, the Americans secured a commanding 3-0 victory featuring Bert Patenaude's historic hat-trick—the first ever recorded in World Cup competition.
Following that inaugural encounter, the two nations wouldn't face each other again for 67 years. Their next meeting took place in 1997, resulting in a scoreless draw that marked the beginning of more regular competition. A year later, in March 1998, Chad Deering and Marcelo Balboa found the net in a 2-2 draw as both teams prepared for that summer's World Cup.
The early 2000s saw the United States assert dominance in the friendly series. In July 2003, American stars Landon Donovan and Earnie Stewart each scored in a comfortable 2-0 victory. However, competitive tournament play proved more challenging. At the 2007 Copa America, Paraguay handed the U.S. a 3-1 defeat in the group stage, exposing the gap between friendly results and high-stakes competition.
The rivalry continued to fluctuate through the 2010s. Paraguay claimed a 1-0 victory in a friendly in 2011, but when the stakes were highest, the Americans delivered. At the 2016 Copa America held on home soil, Clint Dempsey's 27th-minute strike secured a crucial 1-0 group stage win for the United States.
The most recent chapter came in a 2018 friendly when Bobby Wood converted a penalty kick in the 45th minute to deliver another 1-0 American victory. Overall, the United States holds a narrow 4-2-2 (WDL) record against the South American side—a competitive balance that reflects relatively even matchups despite the teams' different confederation strengths.
Balogun, Pepi and Wright All Vying for Time This Window
The U.S. Men's National Team enters the November international window with an unusual luxury: three in-form strikers competing for playing time. For a position that has plagued the USMNT for years, the emergence of Ricardo Pepi, Folarin Balogun, and Haji Wright offers both promise and difficult selection decisions for coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Pepi returns to the national team fold for the first time in a year, having battled through significant injury setbacks. The 22-year-old El Paso native required meniscus surgery that sidelined him for months, but he's recently rediscovered his form at PSV Eindhoven. With five goals in 12 matches this season—including multiple goals in the Champions League—Pepi has demonstrated resilience despite limited starting opportunities. His recent performances as a substitute have caught Pochettino's attention, even as the coach typically emphasizes regular club minutes for selection.
Balogun has positioned himself as the presumed starter after scoring crucial goals against Japan and Ecuador in recent months. The Monaco forward has scored four goals in 10 Ligue 1 appearances and boasts the versatility to play in various systems, with experience both as a lone striker and in partnerships.
Wright made the most of his October opportunity with a two-goal performance against Australia, building on his impressive form at Coventry City, where he's tallied eight goals in 14 Championship matches. The 26-year-old, who scored at the 2022 World Cup, has proven he can deliver when called upon.
The competition represents a dramatic shift from years of struggling to find reliable options at the position. With Christian Pulisic and other attacking talents absent from this camp, Pochettino may experiment with formations that accommodate multiple strikers, potentially deploying a 3-5-2 system. Regardless of tactics, the healthy competition among these three forwards gives the USMNT genuine depth as the World Cup approaches.
Gio Reyna finds himself at a crossroads as the U.S. Men's National Team prepares for November friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay. After joining Borussia Mönchengladbach in the offseason, the 22-year-old midfielder has managed just 146 Bundesliga minutes this season, raising questions about his readiness for the 2026 World Cup. Despite these struggles, Reyna remains confident, asserting he will be part of the tournament when asked.
This international window marks Reyna's first call-up since March, when the USMNT suffered defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League finals. He hasn't started for the national team since the disappointing 2024 Copa América, where the Americans exited in the group stage. With such limited recent involvement, these upcoming matches represent a crucial opportunity to prove his worth to head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
The situation is complicated by lingering tensions from the 2022 World Cup. Reyna's relationship with then-coach Gregg Berhalter deteriorated amid behavioral concerns and limited playing time, eventually involving both the Reyna and Berhalter families in public controversy. Pochettino wants to leave that in the past.
Pochettino has made his expectations crystal clear, emphasizing that proper behavior is non-negotiable. The Argentine coach is willing to give Reyna a fresh start, but noted that past talent alone won't guarantee a roster spot. With key midfielders like Malik Tillman, Tyler Adams, and Weston McKennie absent from this camp, Reyna has a clear path to minutes—if he can demonstrate the maturity and commitment Pochettino demands.
For Reyna, these friendlies aren't just about soccer; they're about redemption and proving he can contribute positively to the team environment as the World Cup approaches.
