"One game can't totally erase the dysfunctional and dispassionate performances that have marked much of the brief Pochettino era, one which included four consecutive losses at home and two losses in as many games with Mexico. Nor can it make up for a player pool that has seemingly grown thin and ever-changing or speed the learning curve for a successful club coach who has struggled with the transition to the international game."
""Touch the right buttons and we start to perform," Pochettino said last September, shortly after he took the U.S. job. Just now, however, is he finding those buttons. The win over Japan clearly lifts a huge weight off Pochettino and his players, but the reprieve may be temporary. If the U.S. regresses in friendlies with Ecuador and Australia next month, the angst and despair that have hovered over the team most of the year will return."
"What it all means is Pochettino and the USMNT have reached a fork in the road. And the path they take will likely shape U.S. Soccer's future for years, if not decades. A World Cup the federation has been pointing to for years is just nine months away and much is riding on the U.S. team's performance. A deep run in the tournament will engage and ignite the country, open the wallets of deep-pocketed sponsors and do more for the sport in the U.S."
A 2-0 victory over Japan and a switch to a 3-4-2-1 formation produced lively, innovative play and suggested improved chemistry under Mauricio Pochettino. One win cannot erase a run of dysfunctional, dispassionate performances that included four consecutive home losses and defeats to Mexico. The player pool appears thin and unsettled, and Pochettino continues to adapt from club management to the international game. The Japan result buys temporary relief and time, but upcoming friendlies with Ecuador and Australia will reveal whether progress is genuine. The team's direction now will shape U.S. Soccer's trajectory ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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