Yesterday, the U.S. males’s discipline hockey staff opened its run within the 2025 Pan American Cup championship with a 6-1 win over Uruguay.
The U.S. males’s program, underfunded and under-served for a century, is up in opposition to the chances as ordinary. The staff has by no means certified for a FIH World Cup earlier than and faces steep odds to make it this time round. The percentages obtained steeper with the withdrawal of the Trinidad & Tobago males’s staff, which handed forfeit victories to Pool B males’s rivals Chile, Canada, and Mexico.
Because the Wolves are in Pool A, they might nonetheless should play all three of its fixtures, together with tomorrow’s recreation in opposition to the favorites, Argentina. Although the Albicelestes are ranked seventh on the planet within the newest world rankings, they’re a staff able to successful world championships. They took gold on the 2016 Olympics, however have been on a little bit of a slide since. They have been ninth on the 2023 World Cup and eighth on the 2024 Olympics.
Alternatively, the U.S. staff has quite a lot of gamers with worldwide expertise, together with ahead Alberto Montilla and attacking midfielder Christian De Angelis. Goalkeeper Jonathan Klages is a participant who can steal a consequence if he has a superb recreation, and veteran Patrick Harris has greater than 150 caps for the senior aspect.
Does this imply that the USA might pip a consequence from Argentina in pool play tomorrow? Properly, let’s bear in mind 2009, a match the place, frankly, every thing appeared the wrong way up. Argentina completed third within the 2009 Pan American Cup that 12 months, and the U.S. completed second, a penalty stroke away from qualifying for the 2010 FIH Males’s World Cup.
Keep tuned, people.
