The U.S. has been scoring freely, but those scorelines hide how the games unfolded. Canada has found a repeatable way to get runners onto crosses at the far post, while the U.S. has had stretches when opponents reached dangerous areas. Pochettino has rotated heavily through this camp and says he is managing players' minutes. That combination shapes my view of this matchup.
Against Peru, Liam Millar supplied from the right and Jacob Shaffelburg finished twice at the far post. Canada had also attacked through Shaffelburg against Chile, so there is more to this than one well-taken finish. Both wide players came off after 63 minutes against Peru as Jesse Marsch used his bench.
The U.S. deserves credit for taking its chances against Mexico. Yet Mexico caused trouble with early pressure, and two U.S. goals came from mistakes in Mexico's own half. Chile made 17 attempts, eight on target, in the previous match. Canada's press and wide movement give this meeting a different shape from the U.S. winning streak alone.
