INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The last time the United States men’s national team faced Canada, in a September friendly match in Kansas City, the Reds played the Americans off the field, winning for the first time on U.S. soil since 1957.

Afterward, interim USMNT coach Mikey Varas publicly called out his players’ lack of effort.

“The mentality is on the players. They know it,” Varas said. “We speak the truth to each other. I love those guys. But they know that mentality to fight, to run and to sacrifice, I can’t do that for them. That’s on them.”

Mauricio Pochettino was hired as the full-time U.S. coach a week later; at his introductory press conference, the highly respected former Chelsea, Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain manager vowed to restore the Americans’ fighting spirit above all else.

That combative spirit was nowhere to be found in Thursday’s soul-crushing 1-0 loss to Panama in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals. The defeat eliminated the U.S. from title contention in a tournament they’d won the first three editions of, and the manner of it sets up what now feels like a inflection point in Pochettino’s short tenure so far: Sunday’s third place match against the Canadians (kickoff at 6 p.m. ET).

Most third place games mean nothing. Neither team wants to be there. But given the way Pochettino’s squad lost to Los Canaleros, this one sets up as a pivotal gut check for USMNT a little more than a year before this generation’s legacy will be cemented at next summer’s FIFA World Cup on home soil.

“For me, [Sunday] is going to be an important game to see how we react,” Pochettino said on the eve of the rematch. “We need to show character.”

Some of the players who under-performed on Thursday — which was basically all of them — won’t get the chance. Pochettino confirmed on Saturday that there will be changes to his lineup.

“Maybe you can find different ways to motivate people,” he said. “But at the same time, you need to identify the players that have their own motivation.”

The coach explained that he didn’t think the loss to Panama came down to his team not caring. But he also suggested that the U.S. took their opponent for granted. 

The hosts were heavily favored to advance to the championship tilt. Panama, despite its success against the Americans in tournament play, was considered the weakest of the four semifinalists. Now they’ll face Mexico for the trophy.

If the U.S. underestimates Canada on Sunday, it could be another long night. There’s no lack of fight in Jesse Marsch’s Canadians, who lost 2-0 to El Tri in Thursday’s nightcap in a game that was closer than the scoreline would indicate. Although he wasn’t asked, it was still notable that Pochettino didn’t mention Sunday’s opponent once in his pre-game press conference.

Marsch, the Racine, Wisconsin native who was a finalist for the U.S. job following the 2022 World Cup and who took over Canada before last year’s Copa América, leading the Reds to the semifinals, said on Saturday that he expects the USMNT to play like their hair is on fire.

“The media here in the U.S. has been very aggressive about how disappointed they are in this team, and now they’ve turned a little bit and put it toward the players,” Marsch said. “So we would be very foolish that if based on those two factors, we don’t expect a hard, real game and a big response from the U.S. national team.”

Marsch knows the USMNT inside out. He managed star midfielders Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie during his time with then-English Premier League club Leeds United, and handed a 16-year-old Adams his professional debut in 2015, when both were with the New York Red Bulls of MLS.

“I would criticize us, too,” Adams said before the U.S. trained later Saturday. “If we want to be praised, we have to give people something to praise us about.”

“The one thing I know for sure is that it’s a team of very good players,” Marsch said. “I’m not underestimating their talent, and I’m certainly not underestimating the response that they’re going to give to this match.”

Competitiveness wasn’t the only thing the Americans lacked against the Panamanians. Pochettino also thought his team played too conservatively. He’ll no doubt implore them to be more daring on Sunday. Playing a wide open game is a gamble, especially with European standouts Jonathan David, Alphonso Davies and Cyle Larin leading the visitors’ attack. Yet the way the Argentine sees it, safe is death. 

It certainly was on Thursday.

“They need to trust that they can make a mistake,” Pochettino said. “People that take risks, it’s what we want. It’s what we love. You cannot play football without risk. If you want to play safe, you are not going to affect the game.”

Add it all up, and Sunday should reveal plenty about where the USMNT stands a little more a year away from the biggest test of them all.

Although Pochettino still has the bigger picture in mind, the Americans desperately need both a victory and a much improved showing on Sunday. Pochettino knows it, even if he acknowledged that the results this month or even at the Gold Cup in June and July won’t necessarily foreshadow what happens in front of a global audience next summer.

“But this is not an excuse for not winning,” Pochettino said. 

“Things happen, and it’s about how you bounce back,” winger Tim Weah said. “We know what’s at stake.”

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports who has covered the United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him at @ByDougMcIntyre.

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