One team in Kansas City played with identity, purpose and intensity – and it wasn't the U.S.

KANSAS CITY — It's difficult to boil down a 90-minute soccer game to one takeaway, but Saturday's clash between the U.S. men's national team and Canada really is that easy. Canada has their coach in Jesse Marsch. It's a team that has identity, purpose, fight and belief. It's a team with a clear direction all working for the same cause.

Right now, the USMNT has none of those things. And, until Mauricio Pochettino arrives – as expected – that's the situation.

This camp was all about treading water until his arrival but the USMNT sunk quite a bit on Saturday. A 2-1 loss to Canada was never really that close. From the opening whistle of the friendly, it was Marsch's Canada that looked like the dominant force that the U.S. expects to be in this region.

The USMNT is nowhere close right now. It's a team that needs to do a lot of soul-searching, with or without Pochettino. The malaise this team is isn't coach-specific; it's been going on for some time.

"It's something that that I think we need to get back to: really taking immense pride in wearing the jersey," Tim Ream admitted. "That's not to say that we aren't proud to wear the jersey, but I think there's a certain standard that we need to hold ourselves to and we haven't been doing that. That's on us as individuals, as players, and it has to come from within. You can't coach intensity. You either have it or you don't, and you either bring it or you don't, and we haven't been bringing it."

Added USMNT leader Christian Pulisic, "It's something that we have to fix, but I really don't have an answer."

The USMNT still has one more game to right wrongs and find that intensity. They'll face New Zealand in Cincinnati on Tuesday and they'll have to be better – much better. If not, this camp will have been one big waste at a time when the U.S. can't afford for that to happen.

GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from Children's Mercy Park.

USA TodayWINNER: Jesse Marsch

The big winner on the day, no doubt. After spending the better part of a year venting his frustrations with the USMNT, Marsch took to the sidelines and proceeded to take this team's lunch money.

From the opening whistle, there was no doubt: Marsch and Canada were out for blood. They pressed the USMNT to death, keeping a stranglehold on the game that the U.S. could never disrupt. Canada simply brought more intensity and, just as importantly, more quality to the game.

READ MORE: Marsch prefers Canada situation over U.S.

Marsch will be the happiest of all. This was a big step for his team, of course, and every coach is happy to see their team beat a local rival. For Marsch, though, this was more than that; it was personal.

"Of course, I enjoyed it," Marsch said in his postgame press conference. "I wasn't certain we would win, but I was certain that we would play well, and so, from the beginning, to see us with confidence and personality and loud on the pitch, it was not easy, but we were on the front foot the whole match… There was not a moment where we started to become unstable or become afraid of the situation. We were strong, we were committed. That made me proud to be their coach, that's for sure."

The Marsch storyline isn't going anywhere. He's going to savor each and every clash between these two teams. We learned on Saturday just how fierce these clashes will be, and it's now up to the USMNT to match that intensity.

"You can see the mentality that's been developed," Marsch said of Canada." You can see the way this team plays. You can see how much they love playing for the national team, and they're willing to put their careers and lives in the way they play on the line, to be the best they can be for each other and for the team. And that's all you can ask for as a coach."

AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Johnny Cardoso

There are certain things you simply can't get away with at the top, top level. Giveaways are chief among them. Cardoso had too many, to put it lightly, and they cost the USMNT early.

Cardoso was far, far too loose on the ball early on in a game that was essentially an audition for a bigger midfield role. On this evidence, though, he isn't ready for that. This team simply can't afford to have a player hand the other team possession in dangerous areas time and time again.

Cardoso had a big giveaway early, leading to a Patrick Schulte save. Fine, it happens. He didn't learn from it, though. It was his heavy touch that led directly to Jacob Shaffelburg's goal. It was a mistake that cost his team dearly, and one that true top-level midfielders rarely ever make.

"Johnny now needs to take that step," Varas said. "He needs to take that step in terms of improving speed of play and processing…Johnny will be disappointed, I think, with his game at the end of the day, Johnny tried to do what I asked him to do, and I take part of the responsibility for that as well."

We won't write Cardoso off, particularly based on one friendly. However, he made up exactly zero ground on the incumbent starters. In fact, he probably lost a whole bunch.

USA Today SportsWINNER: Patrick Schulte

There aren't many USMNT players that can walk out of Kansas City with their heads held high. Of the starters, Schulte is probably the only one.

The Columbus Crew goalkeeper started ahead of Matt Turner, reigniting the goalkeeper race. With Turner not getting club minutes, the No. 1 shirt is up for grabs, and Schulte helped himself out with a solid performance.

In total, Schulte made five saves, including two really good ones. He also completed all but one of his 37 passes, showing that he can be composed with his feet, too. it was a good bounceback performance after a tough Olympic run for the 23-year-old goalkeeper, who has officially graduated to the senior team with a performance like this.

He may not be the frontrunner just yet, but Schulte is in the hunt for a starting job. With another performance or two like this, he'll have made a pretty good case.

Getty ImagesLOSER: Tim Ream

After the match, Ream took full responsibility.

"I can sit there and raise my hand and say that was crap," he said. "My own individual game was s–t today."

Harsh, but fair. This wasn't Ream's day. Normally so, so reliable, Ream committed a rare blunder, setting up Canada's second goal. It's a mistake a young defender would make, but not Ream. He's built his resume on being the type of player that avoids those types of messes.

It happens, even to veterans like Ream. He was far from the only one, too, which he also spoke on during his postgame comments. There needs to be a lot of soul-searching in the USMNT locker room, and Ream includes himself in that process.

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Going forward, though, Ream still has a point to prove. He turns 37 in October and he's still hoping to play a part on the road to the World Cup. That goal just got a bit tougher after one of his rougher performances in a USMNT shirt.

"At the end of the day, you really just have to look at yourself and understand that either you bring it or you don't bring it," he said. "I've said this for a long time: the more you don't bring it, the quicker you're going to be out of the game. It's tough, but we do have to speak up a little bit. I think guys know, guys understand."