Inglewood, California
Mauricio Pochettino said he was happy. He said it in English, he said it in his native Spanish. He swore he was happy.
He didn’t sound happy. And really, there wasn’t much of a reason to be.
A little more than an hour before his post-match press conference in the bowels of SoFi Stadium, Pochettino watched his USA team give up a last-second goal to Turkey that ensured a 3-2 defeat in this final match of the group stage. A weakened US side – nine changes were made from the team that faced Australia last week in Seattle – had scored quickly, gave up two first-half goals and then equalized in a strong second half.
But a goal from Kaan Ayhan, scored with the last kick of the game, handed the US its first defeat after two dominant victories to open the tournament. And with it, he may have ended the honeymoon for this USA team.
Pochettino’s surly mood after the game – brushing off questions about momentum, chastising American journalists for not congratulating him for winning Group D – was a marked change from the gregarious figure who sat in the same chair a little more than 24 hours before. The question now is if that mood was indicative of the vibes around this US team changing ahead of the knockout stages now that the bubble of invincibility has been popped.
“I think it’s all positive, and I am so positive, and I am happy,” Pochettino said in answer to a question about whether the US may have lost momentum. “Maybe I am not showing (it) because your questions are a little bit weird, but I am so happy, and the players are happy because I think we perform, we compete, and we are first.
“I was talking with the Turkish channel now, as I said, ‘Have a good trip back to Turkey,’ and we are going on. But I think now when I arrive here (in the press conference) – maybe I am confused – but maybe the mood is like we go home tonight and Turkey stay.”
Pochettino is, of course, right on some very important points. By winning its first two games of this World Cup, the USA locked up the top spot in Group D and has a Round of 32 matchup against Bosnia and Herzegovina set for July 1 in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s exactly what this team would have hoped for when the tournament started and gives them a favorable path for a deep tournament run.
His lineup on Thursday, which consisted of eight players making their first World Cup starts, showed off the depth of his team as key players like Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson were able to rest and avoid possible suspension for the game against the Zmajevi. Despite the multitude of changes, the Americans started the game well with an opening goal in the third minute and then fought back to tie the match in the second half after Turkey finally got on the score sheet.
And Christian Pulisic returned to action and looked like his game-changing best, coming on in the 58th minute and quickly providing scores of chances as the US took the game to the Turks. A loss is ultimately a harsh result on the Americans after the way they recovered in the second half, looking like the more likely side to score until the game reached the final minutes.
“We are much better (now) than before that game because we are players now with 90 minutes in the legs and performing, and I think ready to help if we need from the beginning or after from the bench,” Pochettino said.
Still, Pochettino’s tone indicated he was still annoyed to have lost. The way the loss came about should be raising alarm bells inside the US camp.
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Before the tournament began, it was no secret that the USA’s defending was suspect. While the Stars and Stripes can go forward at opposing goals with flair and intent, the backline has been known to give up goals. The shutout against Australia was the first time they’d kept a clean sheet since a friendly against Japan nearly a year before.
With the games now having the kind of stakes that Thursday’s contest lacked, that leaky defense – especially in crunch time toward the end of matches – is the possible Achilles heel for this team.
The Turks put the US under pressure for much of the first half and again in those final minutes, playing with the desperation of a team that didn’t want to leave this World Cup without getting at least one result. When the Bosnians take the pitch in Santa Clara in a little less than a week, they’ll likely bring that same verve as they play in their nation’s first World Cup knockout game.
At times on Thursday, the US struggled to cope with that pressure. The Americans are used to being the team that brings the game to their opponent, not being the squad that is absorbing and repelling attacks.
But when faced with their first real setback of this tournament, the US responded positively. The introduction of Pulisic in the second half will also be a reassuring takeaway from this contest as the AC Milan man looked likely to score from the moment he entered the fray and was the best part of what the US did after Sebastian Berhalter’s strike drew the Americans level.
“I think it was important to for him to get the feelings I seen again after not to be able to available for Australia,” Pochettino said. “One of the objectives in that game, not only was to win, (it was) to provide Christian in between 30 and 40 minutes to get the feeling to be ready for the next game, that is important too.”
The loss to Turkey doesn’t mean all that much in what the US has to do going forward. The squad knew who its next opponent would be, when it would be playing and where it was going next. Any worries about complacency were wiped away in the third minute when Auston Trusty fired home the opening goal and caused the stands at SoFi Stadium to shake (literally) with the noise and jumping fans.
Sure, it was a starting lineup of players who are usually backups or impact subs. Sure, the result has no effect on the Americans’ path toward a deep run in the tournament. Sure, a lot of the mistakes or poor moments in defense can be waved away by recognizing that most of the team’s best defenders were sitting on the bench when the Turks wheeled away in delight with Ayhan’s goal.
But results do not happen in a vacuum. American soccer fans had been stunned at the way this US team looked in its opening two games, finding themselves believing that a nation that has won one knockout game in the World Cup in its history could have the squad to make a run far into July.
It felt like a new day was dawning in US men’s soccer. And the moment Ayhan’s goal hit the back of the net felt like a reminder of gut-punch defeats past from teams that didn’t quite have what it took.
Time will tell if this team is different. The time to prove it comes in five days at Levi’s Stadium.
