USA Defends Nations League Title

Canada 0-2 USA

LAS VEGAS, NV–The US Men’s National Team defended its Concacaf Nations League title with a 2- 0 win over Canada at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The win caps off what was arguably the best two matches the USA have played in quite a while over its main Concacaf rivals in Mexico and Canada.

Chris Richards opened the scoring in the 12th minute heading in a corner from Gio Reyna. It was Richards’s first ever goal for the national team. The lead would be doubled in the 34th minute as Reyna would play a thru-ball to Folarin Balogun for his much-anticipated first goal for the national team. Reyna had two assists before leaving the match at halftime with a calf injury.

Matt Turner made four saves in the win and Christian Pulisic was named Best Player of the tournament.

For Canada, it was their first tournament final in 23 years, but wasteful finishing and being unable to cope with Richards and Balogun was their undoing.

Both teams will now prepare for the Concacaf Gold Cup with the proper tournament starting Saturday. The USA will start at Soldier Field in Chicago on Saturday against Jamaica with kickoff at 8:30pm CT on FS1 while Canada opens against the winner of the Guadeloupe vs. Guyana match on Tuesday, June 27th at BMO Field in Toronto at 7pm ET.

Panama 0-1 Mexico

In the third place match, Mexico defeated Panama, 1-0, on a goal from Jesus Gallardo in the fourth minute. Anibal Godoy thought he had equalized for Panama in the 53rd minute, but it was chalked off for offside.

Mexico opens up the Gold Cup on Sunday in Houston against Honduras while Panama opens vs. Costa Rica in Fort Lauderdale the following day.

Ziro Castellanos was our photographer on the ground for the action on Sunday in Las Vegas. You can view the galleries for Panama-Mexico and Canada-USA by clicking on the respective links and view a sample below.