I was covering the Concacaf Nations League semi-final this week between the USA and Panama at SoFi stadium in Inglewood, California.
A few hours after Ireland’s victory in Bulgaria on Thursday, Panama ruined the best-laid plans of new US coach Mauricio Pochettino with an injury-time winner from Cecillo Waterman in the semi-final.
Waterman’s celebration is worth watching on YouTube as he leapt on to the CBS perch to embrace his boyhood hero Thierry Henry in what has already become an iconic moment in Panamanian football history.
When it came back to our TSN studio and I said I’d rather celebrate a goal for my country with anyone but Henry, nobody knew what I was on about! Wrong audience.
Kevin Kilbane: Ireland must ditch passive resistance approach when they take the lead in matches
Ireland v Bulgaria: Golden opportunity to finally shake off the stigma of underachievement
Ken Early: The Bulgaria game went to plan and a coach cannot ask for much more
Thomas Tuchel wins opening England match; Northern Ireland draw with Switzerland
Turns out the US will face Canada in the third-place playoff after Mexico beat Jesse Marsch’s side 2-0.
The LA crowd was minuscule for the US semi – although the stadium swelled considerably with Mexicans for the Canada game – as clearly the host nations have a mountain of diplomacy to get through before hosting next year’s World Cup.
It is impossible to ignore the fractured Canadian-American-Mexican relations that have all three football communities worried about co-hosting a major tournament in under 15 months.
Perhaps, like the Qatari winter World Cup and all the human rights issues around the Doha stadiums, when the tournament actually begins the football will wash away all the political nonsense. For a few weeks anyway.
Donald Trump will probably get bored with the soccer until the final in New York when he can brush past Fifa president Gianni Infantino and hand over the golden trophy to Harry Kane. Only joking. Kylian Mbappé to break America.
I am struggling to find any compelling evidence to suggest that the Republic of Ireland under Heimir Hallgrímsson can qualify by winning a group containing Denmark or Portugal, Hungary and Armenia, but the manager is beginning to lay foundations that might take them to the playoffs.
The sensible bet is that Ireland will finish third in the group and miss out entirely on the first 48-team World Cup. There is still time for something special to occur and Hallgrímsson is making progress, just not at the pace that can realistically secure qualification.
Honestly, since 2010 we have lacked the calibre of player needed to qualify for a World Cup, but Finn Azaz and a fully-fit Evan Ferguson might alter this reality later this year. We live in hope.
Azaz was superb in Bulgaria. Ireland have been crying out for a natural number 10 like the Middlesbrough man who links the play with wingers and the centre forward. Troy Parrott deserves credit for his cushion-assist but Azaz did so well to ghost into the space to tap in the equaliser.
On the negative side the Nathan Collins-led defence keeps making unforced errors and, incredibly, they keep conceding goals from long-range shots.
Some old failings were solved on Thursday night, and after going 2-1 ahead before half time the best compliment I can give Ireland is they looked a lot like some of the Irish teams I played on. They tried to shut up shop. It worked against Bulgaria but it won’t be effective against Hungary, never mind Denmark or Portugal.
But I want to stay positive around Thursday’s result as it’s the second win away from home under Hallgrímsson. However, they need a bit more steel about them.
After five minutes Bulgaria took the lead with a goal that should never happen. As soon as Kiril Despodov scooped a ball over the Irish defence, Filip Krastev needed to be tackled or fouled by somebody, anybody, as he drifted across the edge of the box. Ryan Manning was positioned to make the challenge but everyone seemed to switch off.
These lapses in concentration have nothing to do with talent. I’ve always liked Manning and feel he should have more caps, so I was delighted that he recovered from the Bulgaria goal to put in a decent shift.
For all the positives around turning 0-1 into 2-1 by half time, Ireland were lucky to escape with the win. They invited Bulgaria to come at them throughout the second half.
We’ve seen this too many times. Passive resistance is Ireland’s default settling whenever they take a lead. It cannot go on like this. Not if the World Cup is a realistic aim for Hallgrímsson.
Luckily Bulgaria were poor. It sounds like football over there is in a similar state to Ireland when Stephen Kenny took over in 2020. Their FA is in disarray at board level and the infighting is rife.
We should never turn our noses up at wins in Finland and Bulgaria.
For years now it has been frustrating to watch Josh Cullen pass backwards or laterally instead of a penetrative ball into the box. A key figure in the Ireland midfield, irreplaceable really, he spotted Matt Doherty’s run to pick him out for the second goal.
The next six months are all about preparation for Hungary’s visit to Dublin on September 6th. I doubt Ireland will be ready to win the group outright but I can see them being competitive, especially if Azaz grows into his role.
Hopefully Heimir Hallgrímsson proves me wrong and the next time I attend an Ireland game it is with 70,000 travelling fans at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. We might want to avoid Panama.
