THE UNITED STATES MEN’s NATIONAL team was on the wrong side of 2-0 scoreline to Mexico in Guadalajara on Tuesday. The game was a friendly and the result was of no consequence. But the performance was disappointingly lackluster given that the new hire of Mauricio Pochettino should have created more urgency among the group.

There are some mitigating factors, of course. The U.S. was missing a lot of key players and Pochettino has only been with the team for a little more than a week. But the team was timid and unenthusiastic. Pochettino has not made things so overly complex that this team should be unable to compete until he has had this team for several windows. In fact, the new Argentine manager kept nine players in the starting XI, only replacing Christian Pulisic who returned to Italy and Mark McKenzie, who was schedule to start but had to be replaced in warm-up. This is also a group of players where a huge majority of the team has been together for a long time.

The USMNT started decently during the first 15 minutes, and the game was even to that point. But it unraveled after that. Once Raul Jiminez opened the scoring in the 22^nd minute with a wonderful free kick, the U.S. team’s offense was completely lost. The “front six” attacking players were unable to do anything. The number of completed passes in the first half among these six players were telling.

• Malik Tillman: 3
• Josh Sargent: 4
• Brenden Aaronson: 9
• Aidan Morris: 6
• Gianluca Busio: 8
• Yunus Musah: 5

Meanwhile, Andres Guardado at age 38 was given a ceremonial start for El Tri and had 11 completed passes before being subbed out in the 19^th minute.

The shots were also lopsided in the first half with Mexico outshooting the USMNT 13-0 (3-0 on target).

Once Cesar Huerta gave Mexico a 2-0 lead in the 49^th minute on a calamity in the back where Ream tried to dribble out of his own box and lost the ball, Mexico simply sat back and absorbed everything with ease. The U.S. then had more of the ball, but was unable to do anything with it. The closest the U.S. team came to scoring was a nice through pass from Aaronson which found substitute Brandon Vazquez for a shot which forced the only save of the night for Mexican keeper Luis Malagon.

Mexico finished with a 17-5 edge in shots (5-1 in shots on target).

Here are some thoughts.

Capable of more

Even with the depleted roster, the U.S. team was capable of a much better performance. Except for Aidan Morris, every player in the starting lineup has played in a win over Mexico that came in an official competition (World Cup qualifier, Nations League, or Gold Cup). The U.S. team is capable of competing well with Mexico when Pulisic is missing, or when McKennie is missing.

Players such as Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna are hurt so often that the team needs to readjust its mindset that they’re normally part of the group. That can be revisited once they’re back to playing regularly for a significant amount of time. They are not examples of typical players who just happen to be injured.

The United States is not always going to win against Mexico, but even when they lose, they need to be more competitive than what we saw on Tuesday night. The team was stale and it will be up to Pochettino to actively fix that. His presence alone won’t fix it. He needs to find a way through lineup  decisions, having consequences for poor performances, and other wats of connecting.

Pocettino is right to say this is a long process that is in its first steps. But this game was a reminder that a lot of work needs to be done and it is indeed a long journey.

“For us it’s a process that we started a few days ago and today was a great opportunity for our players to visit a very difficult place to play,” he said. “I think only we can improve from and learn from this experience.”

Specific takeaways

There weren’t many positive takeaways for the USMNT, but there might be some useful learning lessons that highlight the challenges ahead.

Aaronson was a rare bright spot: Brenden Aaronson wasn’t great, but his “okay” performance made him the best USMNT player on the day. He won duels, he created rare moments of danger (such as setting up Vazquez), and he challenged Mexico. He is a player Pochettino will certainly want to keep around. He won’t always start, but this era of the USMNT needs a player who will always bring the intensity that we saw in previous eras of the team.

Tillman’s USMNT struggles continue: Everyone had a bad night for the USMNT but the news was worse for some more than others. Malik Tillman produces for PSV on a consistent basis in Eredivisie games. The problem, however, is that he is yet to standout for the USMNT in the over two years he has been with the team. He seems like the logical replacement for the constantly injured/benched Gio Reyna. It’s an important job for Pochettino to figure out away for Tillman to be at the best version of himself with the USMNT, or else give those minutes to other players who might be a better fit with the team.

Musah, Morris and Busio: The trio had nice moments against Panama, but were completely neutralized against Mexico. Specifically Morris, who can get on the ball 90-100 times a game at Middlesbrough but was limited to 42 touches in 83 minutes against Mexico (most of them came after Mexico had a 2-0 lead and started sitting back). But it was also the propensity to turnovers in addition to the lack of touches which hurt. The USMNT needs a lot more from this area of the field to compete against good national teams. Without this group performing, the link between defense and attack is lost.  

Pochettino remained upbeat after the game.

“We have good talent and good quality,” Pochettino said of the midfielders. “Today was difficult. The [condition of] the grass and the pitch didn’t help players like them. We need to adapt to the pitch, of course. But I am so happy with these young players with massive potential.”

Central defense questions continue: Tim Ream had a bad day. Miles Robinson wasn’t great, although was delt a tough hand given he was only thrown into the XI minutes before kickoff. Chris Richards would make this team when healthy, although he has been prone to the same type of mistakes while also with the USMNT. We know Tim Ream’s age issues, but this area of the field isn’t seen nearly enough players making solid cases to start. Berhalter and now Pochettino have to start somebody. But this continues to be the hardest area to fix and there seems to be little consensus who the top pairing is. It’s also extremely consequential. The U.S. team is never going to be a threat for a World Cup run without a good central defense pairing and a clear pecking order.

Looking ahead

The U.S. team will now prepare for Nations League quarterfinal games in November against Jamaica. The USMNT will be favored but Jamaica has enough to be tricky and playing in Kingston is never easy.

In this first camp, Pochettino elected to keep most of the roster from September. The only players from September not involved were players who were injured. Now Pochettino will have more date to go by in making his decisions. He’s been in charge for two friendlies, he’s had individual 1v1 meetings with players.

My guess is that there might be some minor changes to the roster, but most of Pochettino’s stamp on the team will come in 2025.

Player Ratings

The Starting Lineup

Matt Turner: Wasn’t at fault for the goals, but his distribution didn’t help. Rating: 5.0

Antonee Robinson: Played only the first half at left back and was decent although not part of anything dangerous nor responsible for Mexico’s best chances. Rating: 5.5

Tim Ream: Tough day for Ream who was primarily responsible for the second Mexican goal when he attempted to dribble out of his own box as opposed to clearance: Rating: 4.0

Miles Robinson: Tough assignment when he moved into the starting XI after warmup, but Robinson wasn’t sharp and made mistakes that led to dangerous Mexican chances: Rating: 4.0

Joe Scally: The Monchengladbach right back took a beating as he was fouled four times. Overall, he wasn’t good or bad on the day. Rating: 5.0

Aidan Morris: After a promising start to his USMNT career, this was a step back for Morris who wasn’t able to contribute much with possession or in defense. He needs to be on the ball more. Rating: 4.0

Gianluca Busio: Similar to Morris, Busio didn’t help in possession and lost the ball easily. He was okay in the first 15 minutes but then disappeared. Rating: 4.0

Yunus Musah: Musah did not contribute much of anything offensively in his 45 minutes on the field. He also lost every dual and completed only five passes. He started at right wing but then moved back to midfield. Rating: 4.0

Brenden Aaronson: The best American player on the day, which isn’t saying much. He still turned the ball over on occasion but was aggressive and bright rare intensity to the team. Rating: 6.0

Malik Tillman: Very tough outing for Tillman with only three completed passes in 24 touches during his 63 minutes. He wasn’t able to get anything going at all. Rating: 4.0

Josh Sargent: Nothing much to report again for Sargent who was completely starved for service: Rating: 4.0

Substitutes

Alex Zendejas: The Club America attacking midfielder/winger came into the game to start the second half. He had one nice moment where he found Lund for a chance but otherwise wasn’t part of anything dangerous. Rating: 4.5

Kristoffer Lund: The left back from Palermo was decent but missed one of the U.S. team’s good chances. Rating: 5.0

Tanner Tessmann: A quiet 27-minute shift off the bench for the recent Olympic team captain: Rating: 5.0

Haji Wright: The Coventry winger/forward was ineffective after coming into the game in the 63^rd minute. Rating: 4.0

Brandon Vazquez: The Monterrey forward saw a good chance saved and on the balance was slightly more dangerous than Josh Sargent. Rating: 5.0

Auston Trusty: A late 7 minute-appearance for Trusty in this game. Rating: NR