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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Beau Dure

The US men’s national team aren’t just underachievers; they’re unlikeable

Christian Pulisic #10 of U.S.A. returns to the locker room with head in hands after losing the CONCACAF Nations League Cup Semifinal against Panama on Thursday March 20, 2025 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Christian Pulisic and the USMNT disappointed in the Nations League. Photograph: Javier Rojas/PI/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Imagine the 1980 Miracle on Ice, but with the USA on the other side.

In this scenario, the US men’s hockey team aren’t a scrappy band of outmatched amateurs playing for the country perceived as the good guys in the cold war. The opponents aren’t an aloof, brutally effective Soviet Union team expected to steamroll their way to a gold medal just as their military were attempting to steamroll their way through Afghanistan.

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