One year later from the 2023 Deaf World Cup in Malaysia, the USA Deaf Men’s National Soccer Team was back in action competing in the 2024 Deaf Pan American Games. I am excited to share my journey in the 2024 Deaf Pan American Games that took place in Brazil. Before I dive into the tournament, I want to provide some background on the Deaf Pan American Games and the importance of this tournament. The Deaf Pan American Games is one of the most important events for USA Deaf Soccer because it is our only opportunity to qualify for the Deaflympics and Deaf World Cup. Out of the teams that are competing in the tournament, only three teams qualify for the 2025 Deaflympics which is taking place in Tokyo, and the 2027 Deaf World Cup. So, the stakes are very high entering into this tournament and every team is fighting for a spot to go to Tokyo. The last time we competed in this tournament was in 2019, and it occurred in Chile. In the 2019 Deaf Pan American Games, we got first place and beat every team we played against which were Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. It was the first time in history that the USA Deaf Men’s side has gotten first place and it was a massive moment for the program. I was lucky and grateful to be part of that team.
Five years later, we are back competing in the Deaf Pan American Games in Brazil with an opportunity to go to Tokyo. The team took off from Dallas to Brazil a week before the opening games in order to prepare for the competition. During the week leading up to the first game, we were able to train together, get used to the weather, adjust to the time change, and catch up on sleep from the long travel. As we prepared on our final day before our first game against Colombia, we found out that Colombia and Jamaica both had dropped out of the tournament and that there are only four teams in the tournament now: USA, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. The tournament was set up into two groups with three teams in each group and the top two teams in each group made it to the semi-finals. Since Jamaica and Colombia dropped out, we automatically made it to the semi-final, but still have to face Argentina in the group stage to see who we will play in the semi-final. With Colombia dropping out, we still had to wait a couple days to play our first game of the tournament. We trained, ate, rested, recovered, had team meetings, watched game film and we were ready to face Argentina. Argentina was a massive game as it has been five years since we have played them and the last time we faced them, we beat them 1-0 to win the gold medal in the 2019 Deaf Pan American Games. It was game day, both teams were ready to compete in the opening game and fight for the qualification. After a lot of battling, tackling, shots on goals, fouls, passing, the intense game ended in a 0-0 draw. The winner of this game gets first place in the group and plays the loser of Mexico and Brazil. Since we tied, the tie breaker went to whomever has the least yellow cards in the game. Both Argentina and USA had the same amount of yellow cards, so the game was decided on a coin flip, in which we lost the flip and got second place in the group. This meant we will be playing Brazil who beat Mexico in their group stage game to take first place.
As a team, we were a little disappointed we did not beat Argentina, but used the days off to reflect on the game and to discuss what things we can clean up and improve on for the next game. As a team, we know the mission is to qualify for Tokyo and in order to do that we need to get a result against a solid Brazilian team. Game day Two, we got another early morning game against Brazil on their home turf and in front of their crowd. This was a big semi-final game as the winner goes to the gold medal match and the loser goes to a must-win bronze medal match, so the tensions were high. This game had everything from goals, red cards, penalty kicks, extra time and more. In the middle of the first half, we got a 1-0 lead against Brazil and had momentum on our side, our keeper made a couple massive saves for us to keep the lead. Going into the second half, we had a couple chances to extend the lead but failed to put our chances away and Brazil ended up tying the game to make it 1-1 late in the second half. Towards the end of the second half, one of our players got a red card unfortunately, and we were forced to play with a man down for the rest of the game. As the whistle blew, the score was tied 1-1, we were going into extra time with a man down. Early in the first half of extra time, we scored to make 2-1 and had the momentum going our way.
We had several chances to extend the lead but were not successful, and Brazil scored once again at the end of the first half of extra time to make it 2-2. No goals were scored in the second half of extra time, therefore we were going to penalty kicks. At this point both teams were exhausted from playing 120 minutes, but we needed to recharge and get locked in for another 10-20 minutes for penalty kicks. Both teams made the first two penalties, Brazil missed their third and we made our third. Both teams made their fourth kick and we were up next. If our fifth kicker makes the penalty kick, we advance to the finals, unfortunately the goalie made a great save and Brazil made their fifth kick. The sixth kick, we missed our shot and Brazil made their shot to advance to the gold medal game. It was a devastating loss for our team as we knew we had opportunities to put the game away and could have been sharper on the defensive side during the moments they scored. We were all upset for a couple hours after the game and gave ourselves time to reflect on the game and how we can grow from it individually and as a team. During this time, we learned that Argentina beat Mexico and that we will be playing Mexico for the Bronze medal and a qualifying spot to the Deaflympics. The attention turns to beating Mexico and finishing the tournament out with a win.
Last game day, we played Mexico in another early morning game at a different field. We started off the game strong with a couple early goals to make it 2-0. Later in the first half, we got another goal to make it 3-0 and we had most of the possession of the ball during the game. During the second half, the score was still 3-0 until we got a late goal towards the end of the half to make it 4-0. The final whistle of the tournament blew and we qualified for Tokyo! Everyone rushed onto the field, celebrated together and we received our bronze medals. It was a long journey of unfortunate results for our team, but we ended the tournament on a win and a new goal heading into the new year. Our team had to overcome a lot of adversity such as injuries, playing a man down, weather conditions, field conditions, teams dropping out, and more. This was also the first tournament with the new coaching staff, some new players, and our first international game since last year in Malaysia. Even though we wanted to repeat as Deaf Pan American Champions, we still got the job done and qualified for the Deaflympics and Deaf World Cup.
For me, I was so grateful to be a part of the team and for the opportunity to start and play minutes in all three games. Even though we did not get the win against Brazil, it was thrilling to be part of that game for 120 minutes, including penalty kicks. It is always an honor to wear the crest and represent my country, family, and friends. Each team presented a different problem and tactic against us and we had to adjust and find ways to win these games. One of the unique moments for me during the two-week period was when our team did multiple mindfulness sessions together. As a team, we all took the time to be present, focused on our breathing, and learned a new tool that we can use for ourselves for competitions and in life. This tournament reminded me to enjoy every moment, and to not take these moments for granted, especially since our team only meets once or twice a year for training camps. I am grateful for these moments and grateful for everyone that has been a part of my journey so far. Next step, the journey continues with training camps next year in preparation for the 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo, Japan.
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