The Seattle Sounders ended their season a couple of weeks ago, but during the international break that just wrapped up there were a few players still kicking the ball around. Among them were Cristian Roldan and Obed Vargas, as they took part in the final camps of the year for the USMNT and Mexico, respectively.
Mexico and the U.S. both played friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay during the window, with the U.S. opening with Paraguay and Mexico against Uruguay before swapping opponents for the second game.
Cristian Roldan
Cristian Roldan started and played 75 minutes against Paraguay as Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT earned a hard-fought 2-1 win before making a brief cameo at the end of the side’s 5-1 record-breaking win over Uruguay.
Against Paraguay, Roldan was once again a relatively quiet but valuable presence in Pochettino’s midfield. His 47 touches and 38 attempted passes were the least among the starting midfield trio alongside Gio Reyna and Tanner Tessman, although his 87% completion rate (33/38, 1/2 on long balls) was the best of the three. This was in part because the U.S. struggled to play through the middle of the field, instead largely focusing on attacking through the wings and distributing from the back line into the feet of more advanced players and skipping Roldan who sat the deepest in midfield.
Despite Roldan’s limited involvement, he still managed to play a meaningful part on both U.S. goals. First, when Reyna opened the scoring in the 4th minute from a recycled corner, Roldan had a blocked shot early in the sequence and picked up his own rebound in order to retain possession by playing it out wide to Max Arfsten who took on a pair of defenders before sending in the cross that Reyna headed home.
Then in the second half, just minutes before he came out of the game, Roldan was once again involved in what proved to be the winning goal, albeit more subtly. Diego Luna was applying aggressive pressure on the wing in Paraguay’s half and Roldan stepped in to lend a hand. Roldan wasn’t able to win the ball with his challenge, but his intervention forced a poor back pass that went directly to the feet of Folarin Balogun. Balogun held the ball up then played in Reyna as he ran beyond him, and Reyna in turn sent in a low cross intended for Roldan’s open run to the back post. The cross was blocked, but the ball fell kindly for Balogun who smashed it home to give the USMNT a 2-1 lead in the 71st minute.
Roldan was a consistent passing option for the players around him, providing an outlet to escape pressure and moving the ball along after one or two touches to keep the team in rhythm when they had possession. He only won a total of 3 of his 10 duels (3/8 on ground duels, 0/2 on aerial duels), but as the second goal demonstrated it’s often more important that a challenge is put in than that it’s won. Additionally, Roldan was able to pop up with well-timed runs into the attack, such as his unmarked run to set up a dangerous shot from the top of the box when Brenden Aaronson set him up for a good look in the 18th minute. Taken together, it was the kind of performance that has made him a staple in the USMNT group over the last few windows, and his lack of time in the Uruguay game should likely be seen more as evidence that Pochettino knows what he’ll get from Roldan and needed to see other players in that situation – especially given the way the game was playing out – rather than as evidence he's lost favor.
Obed Vargas
Vargas had a stranger window. Earning a call-up to the full El Tri squad and his second cap for Mexico when he came into the game against Uruguay in the 65th minute, this definitely felt like a positive step. Vargas hardly put a foot wrong in his 25 minutes, completing 7/8 passes with 2 of those being played into the final third, winning 2/2 ground duels and drawing 2 fouls, but that incredibly limited activity provides a glimpse into the game itself when he came in.
For one, as was the case when Vargas played with Mexico at the U20 World Cup earlier this year, with El Tri he’s more of a piano-carrier in service of players like Gilberto Mora than the midfield maestro he plays with the Sounders. Compounding that situation, the game against Uruguay was more of a scrap than a real football match, particularly by the time Vargas was on the field.
From the time Vargas subbed into the game, there were 11 fouls committed, including the 2 that he drew, as well as a bit of a fracas that resulted in a delay in order to sort out just how those involved should be punished. Vargas showed a level of maturity in his performance and handling of his role, but then didn’t appear in Mexico’s 2-1 loss to Paraguay. On one hand, it’s frustrating to see Mexico struggle so much, especially in ways that it feels like Vargas could help the team, while he goes unused. On the other hand, maybe it’s better that he be untainted by those poor performances.
Mexico has now gone 6 games without a win, drawing 4 times and losing twice since they beat the USMNT 2-1 in the Gold Cup Final. With an opportunity to put on a show as one of the hosts of next year’s World Cup, the pressure is really mounting for manager Javier Aguirre. Should Mexico make a change, or should Aguirre shake things up in order to revitalize the group, Vargas could stand to benefit. Only time will tell.
Other internationals
Roldan and Vargas weren’t the only Sounders active during this international window. Georgi Minoungou had what may have been a breakout performance for Burkina Faso, scoring a brace in a friendly against Benin. Osaze De Rosario started for Guyana in games against Bonaire and Antigua and Barbuda, scoring in both. Nouhou started for Cameroon against the Democratic Republic of Congo, but lost 1-0 as D.R. Congo went on to advance to the intercontinental playoffs for a place in the World Cup after also beating Nigeria in a shootout following a 1-1 draw.
Additionally, Snyder Brunell, Stuart Hawkins and Reed Baker-Whiting were in age group camps for the US U19s, U20s and U23s, respectively
