USMNT win their third Concacaf trophy in a row, cementing regional dominance ahead of 2026 World Cup

In a region once dominated by the rivalry between the USMNT and Mexico, now USA stands alone at the top

The United States men's national team won their third consecutive Concacaf trophy, defeating Canada in the Concacaf Nations League final by a 2-0 score. Canada may have topped World Cup qualifying, a run which saw their stature rise, but the United States were the only Concacaf team to make it out of the group stage of the 2022 World Cup and they entered this tournament as the clear favorites. Historically, Concacaf events would see the United States as a joint favorite or second behind Mexico. Not anymore. 

In the Nations League final, Tyler Adams, Sergino Dest, and Weston McKennie all weren't available. Didn't matter. By halftime, even Gio Reyna was injured. Didn't matter. The team was still able to bring a La Liga regular off the bench to steady the ship in Luca De La Torre. Battle-tested players like that would've been automatic starters in past years but as the talent pool grows and the team's depth increases, the level is getting raised year after year.

For the past few years, this improvement has been happening gradually, albeit with a major fly in the ointment. The general consensus has been that the USMNT was a good team but they would need to find a true striker somewhere to be a great team. Now they not only have one. Folarin Balogun opened his account with the USMNT in the first half, doubling the team's lead on a sweet feed from Reyna. The striker who scored 21 goals in Ligue 1 last year, and then committed his future to the U.S. is head and shoulder above any option the U.S. have had. But that's not all! Ricardo Pepi, the young American striker who narrowly missed out on the World Cup roster scored in the team's semifinal romp against Mexico. If Pepi can continue his development -- especially with a possible move to PSV in the Eredivisie -- then the USMNT could actually have depth leading the line. Ahead of the 2024 Copa America and the 2026 World Cup, this team is only getting better and is operating themselves from the rest of Concacaf.  

Beyond this team, young American players like Josh Wynder are moving to clubs like Benfica monthly, Major League Soccer academies are becoming established and producing talent at a high level, and Gregg Berhalter has continued one of the hallmarks of Jurgen Klinsmann's tenure --  the recruitment of dual nationals. Balogun only needed two games to show what the team has been missing for an entire World Cup cycle, scoring a goal showing impressive skill on the ball and even coming close to making Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan lose possession for an easy goal while pressing.

Listen below and follow In Soccer We Trust: A CBS Sports Soccer Podcast where your three favorite former USMNT players cover everything you could possibly want to know about the beautiful game in the United States.  

Across Concacaf El Tri has taken a step back and Diego Cocca is the latest head coach under pressure, but it's their lack of youth development and losing dual national players to the United States that's making the difference. Even Jamacia tried to push to improve with the impressive dual national recruitment of Michail Antonio and Leon Bailey to go along with their core and Andre Blake in net, but those moves have yet to bear fruit. For Canada, they're at a tipping point as they have top-level talents like Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David but they lack strength in depth, an area where the USMNT has grown by leaps and bounds.

Canada's issues are likely the easiest to fic of the trio but that still doesn't mean that they won't take quite a bit of investment to tackle. An investment that, in the past, the Canadian soccer federation hasn't been keen on providing, which Herdman addressed after the loss.

"It's the preparation period which it costs a lot of money to get things together. I think it's not a secret that the organization has been suffering financially even through World Cup qualification, your head coach is raising money to make sure we've got charter flights, security on those charter flights, and that's it. That's where we've got the best generation of players that we've had and there's more coming. You can see it, you're on a corner and it just drops out of the sky. Tajon Buchanan just dropped out of the sky, Alistair Johnston just dropped out of the sky. It's coming," Herdman said in his post-match presser.

"But we've gotta figure this out financially. We've got to get serious about winning a World Cup. When you play at home, you get a chance to win it. You get a chance to get to a semifinal, a quarterfinal and get on the road to win it. And we're not serious. We've brought a World Cup to our country and we're not serious about winning it and you see how close that team is tonight, tactically, we were there. Chances, shots, we were there. The margins were so tight tonight. We've got to get real and wick because these players deserve it. They deserve a shot. The country deserves it. All the people at work to bring it, deserve a shot. Let's get after it."

Herdman's words were pointed, but this is the kind of backing that Canadian soccer needs to compete and utilize the platform that they're building. With the Canada Premier League now up and running, Canada is in a place where soccer can explode but that won't happen if they continue to cancel friendlies and don't invest in infrastructure to bring in top teams and tournaments north of the border. The World Cup should be an amazing time to provide that funding but from what Herdman is saying, a lot needs to be done.

What Herdman's statement amounts to is a plea to his federation to invest so that the country can take the steps that the U.S. already has. In all of these aspects, the United States is miles ahead of the rest of Concacaf, but if things go in the right direction, 2026 can help pull other teams out of their slumps. Of course, if 2026 is going to rescue those federations, imagine what it could do for America. By then, it may be too late to catch the United States, as current youth players will be starting to enter their prime only to be replaced by even more talented players within the pipeline. There's also, and only on a night where the USMNT won a tournament could this be an afterthought, the impact of Lionel Messi playing in MLS and if it will pull even more talent into the league that has already accelerated at developing talent. 

Things are great for the USMNT right now. They're setting records. Imagine what could happen if they get even better over the next few years.