‘Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard’

March 21 – SoFi stadium, Inglewood, California is for all intents and purposes a spaceship, and the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) probably wishes they were boarding it with a one-way ticket to Mars after being dumped out of the Concacaf Nations League semifinal by Panama.

As Ceclio Waterman celebrated with former Arsenal and France great and TV pundit Thierry Henry, in the dying seconds of the game screaming ‘Eres mi idolo’, Spanish for ‘You’re my idol’, you couldn’t help but think why he didn’t shout…’karma is a bitch’.

What are the chances of a Panamanian with the surname, Waterman, scoring a last-minute winner against the country that wants to take its most treasured possession, the Panama Canal?

Leaving politics aside, Los Canaleros, an 8-1 underdog coming into the match, simply understood a saying that the USMNT doesn’t understand or perhaps, refuses to acknowledge the old adage.

‘Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard’.

Yes, the USMNT out played and out-shot a limited Panama team. Yes, 9 times out of 10, the USMNT wins the game but as we all know, football is the cruelest of sports and in this scenario, hard work did beat talent as the Panamanians just wanted it more.

US coach, Mauricio Pochettino, no stranger to hard work said post-match: “They were hungry, they fight for the game, every single player, for every single ball. From the touch line, you feel that was the difference.

“We didn’t compete in the way that the game required. I feel so disappointed. We all feel disappointed. If you don’t have aggression, it’s impossible. You are going to play safe. You are not going to take risks. If you want to play football, you need to take risks. You need to go forward. You need to win 50-50 balls sometimes.”

Reading between the lines, is Pochettino saying that his team doesn’t have the cajónes when it matters? You be the judge!

What is clear, is that the annual $6 million a year contract that Poch has sealed for himself will never guarantee results in a region where every game against the US has more than football riding on it.

The Argentinian may have tactfully evaded political questions in his press conferences prior to the tournament (he didn’t even turn up for the press day three weeks ago) however, in Concacaf politics will always be the elephant in the room, and over the next four years, unfortunately for his team, it will provide an added incentive for his opponents.

On the other side of the draw, Mexico showed that talent combined with hard work does indeed pay dividends with a clinical 2-0 win over Canada.

Mexican striker, Raul Jiménez, who has defied serious injury and regained the form that made him one of the deadliest strikers in Concacaf was the tormenter with a brace, and now, the Tricolor, have the delicious opportunity to win a trophy in Uncle Sam’s backyard.

While a Mexico-Panama final is not what the brass of Concacaf may have wished for, the third-place match between the US and Canada does give Canadian coach, Jesse Marsch, another opportunity to show that if you work hard enough, politics and sports, can be a delicious cocktail.

Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1742544443labto1742544443ofdlr1742544443owedi1742544443sni@r1742544443etsbe1742544443w.kci1742544443n1742544443