Weston McKennie Faces Criticism Over Alleged ‘Disinterest’ After Being Proved Wrong in USMNT vs Bolivia

The USMNT may have kept a strong foot in the 2024 Copa America but their star player Weston McKennie was far from impressive. Even though Gregg Berhalter and Co. dominated against Group C rivals Bolivia in the opening fixture with a 2-0 win, it was rather a poor outing from the midfielder, being slammed for his ‘lackadaisical‘ performance as he got proved wrong by fans in the AT&T Stadium.

ESPN Panel of Sebastian Salazar, Herculez Gomez, and Alejandro Moreno discussed McKennie’s performance and it’s fair to say no one is impressed with the 25-year-old. Gomez first offered his criticizing remarks: “On par with how he played against Colombia and how he played against Brazil, it wasn’t the same, the usual Weston McKennie. His energetic self, box-to-box, making his presence felt on either side of the ball—he looked lackadaisical.”

The ex-USMNT forward claimed that McKennie looked rarely involved in the game and wasn’t his best outing. Likewise, fellow pundit Ale Moreno was also critical of the former Schalke 04 star: “In my opinion, he doesn’t look in his maximum, optimal physical condition.” The former Venezuelan star asserted that McKennie often adds energy, intensity, and even urgency in the attacking half, while also helping in counter-press situations to win challenges in the final third whenever the team loses possession. However, all of this has been missing from the defender.

Yet, he failed to make his mark against Bolivia. Notably, in over 78 minutes of his time on the pitch, McKennie made just 42 touches and had 76% pass accuracy. These numbers led him to acquire an xPVA rating of -0.11. While this is something that should upset the Texas-born star, he was rather busy praising the people of his hometown.

Despite criticism, Weston McKennie felt ‘proud’ during USMNT vs Bolivia

Yesterday’s USMNT clash saw an attendance of 47,832 at the 80,000-seater AT&T Stadium. Even though in a previous interview Weston McKennie complained about the ‘lack of atmosphere’ in US stadiums, the midfielder acknowledged that he was proved wrong. “I was on the bench with Tim [Weah] and I said, ‘I’m proud of my hometown.’ Dallas really showed up tonight and I’m really happy about that,” he said.

Meanwhile, many on the internet were critical of the overall attendance, as only just above 55% of the seats were filled. Regardless, McKennie was more than happy with the response from the people of his hometown. While he is pleased with this, it’s time for the former Leeds United star to focus on responding to the criticism he has been receiving. Failure to do so could result in McKennie losing his place in the starting XI.