USMNT admit they need to ‘play in different way’ as Concacaf Nations League losses inspire World Cup concerns

Inglewood, Calif. – It was difficult not to feel a version of optimism, because last week the national team of the American gentlemen gathered in the Los Angeles area prior to the semi -final of the Concacaf Nations League, a tournament of which they were the only earlier winners. Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino had told the media in London last week, the city in which he has long lived, that the US could be the best team in the world in the following decade in a chorus that corresponded to the ambitious vibes he has been in the moment he got into last autumn.

By the time the week was packed, Pochettino encouraged usmnt fans to feel not pessimistic instead, because they recorded two consecutive losses in the CNL, ending a tough week with a 2-1 loss to Canada in Sofi Stadium on Sunday. There was an argument after the 1-0 loss on Thursday for Panama in the semi-final that the US surpassed the opposition, but that was not necessarily the case against Canada. Although they are confronted with a more open and dynamic playing style opposite a Canada side, the USMNT succeeded in having only five shots than the 12 that they collected against a defense-oriented Panama and only 0.74 expected goals closed together. Neither outings were particularly impressive and forced Pochettino to do some claims control.

“I want to send a message to the fans. Don’t be pessimistic and don’t get bad feelings,” Pochettino told Canada on Sunday after the defeat. “The process is always painful when you lose, but we have to accept [it]But I don’t want people to feel pessimistic. We are all disappointed, and the fans must feel the disappointment that we have not won. “

He succeeded that with a promise.

“We’re going to find a way to act.”

Pochettino and his players agreed that things had to change, with the argument that this week’s results force a period of reflection before they meet again in June for a few friendly matches and the Gold Cup, which marks their last competitive matches before next year’s World Cup. It was difficult to point the finger at a certain problem, which may not come as a surprise, considering how the last few days have been out for this group.

For example, the head coach wondered aloud if he might have to try something else during his training camps, but he remains focused on setting up a competitive advantage before being laid in tactical ideas. He said he was happy with the attitude [of] All players, “but also accused them of being on autopilot during these games.

“If that is not your habitat, you can stand for a while, but you can’t be consistent,” he said. “We realize that the way we competed against Panama was not good, but then we talked [about] How to change the autopilot. You will try to survive the way you will be safe and you come back to your habit. If it is not your normal habit, yes, you are aware. I think, “I have to go, I have to press.” If we don’t have the ball, but if we have the ball, I want: ‘I have to change the pace. I have to go on. “”

Christian Pulisic repeated that statement, especially because it relates to the differences in the versions of the USMNT and Panama on Thursday – even if he thinks the discussion about intensity levels is somewhat lazy.

“It’s just the easiest to say after a loss is to say that they were more aggressive and have more heart,” Pulisic said. “I certainly see it, especially in Panama, what it means for them, sure. It is just like them everything, it’s the biggest game, so that’s definitely something we can learn from a fair way.”

In the meantime, Tyler Adams has chosen inconsistent individual trips if something that prevents the usmnt impressive collective versions.

“I think there should just be a collective for better individual versions. I think when you have good individual designs in international football, it usually breeds something,” Adams said. “You can find someone to support, you can find positivity within the team and I think when you start combining those individual versions, this leads to a good team.”

Pochettino: ‘We have time’

The CNL matches would always offer a valuable progress report on the state of the USMNT when they prepared for the World Cup 2026 on a home floor, many hope that it will be a transforming moment for the growth of football in the country. The center of that Growing Plan is an American team that compiles a statement performance performance, and although the first months of Pochettino had gone well in the work, this month’s games had forced many to reconsider what the true ceiling of this group is.

This version of the USMNT meets many of the traditional markers of success in a way that their predecessors do not have. The majority of the nuclear schedule is located in Europe, with 11 players participating in the edition of the UEFA Champions League of this season – a new record for USMNT players. Some, such as Christian Pulisic and Antonee Robinson, are easily among the best players in their competitions. Many of the players, however, are team players for their club teams and a remarkable handful of such as Matt Turner and Gio Reyna have been struggling for years to earn regular playing time. There is a real argument that their inconsistency has hindered their growth and that this promising group has not made meaningful steps since the 2022 World Cup.

There are some champagne problems that are accompanied by the movements of the USMNT players to Europe – they had to deal with the fatigue of long flights from the continent to Los Angeles last week and the planning of the first game on Thursday meant that they could only press three training sessions. Combined with the fact that they missed many important players due to injuries such as Robinson, Sergino Dest and Folarin Balogun, these are clearly non-ideal conditions for a team to build a new identity under a new tactician. They continue to trust the process, no matter how new it is, because there is a huge task.

“The journey we are doing is growing the sport in America,” said Adams. “If you want to be negative about what we want to build and where we try to take it, the sport will not grow – that is the Bottom Line. We try to be a bit the catalyst and with that you have to be successful to give people optimism, of course. [be] A team that people can find out and support, whether it is by passion, whether it is a great playing style, whether it is about winning games, scoring great goals, whatever it is, but certainly winning that optimism. “

Pochettino also said that dealing with growth pains is now preferable to experience them next year.

“We have to change and I don’t think I’m going to say I’m happy,” he said. ‘Don’t take me wrong, but if there is something negative [the] result, [there’s] Something to learn. It is better now because I think we have time … In this situation, in a year, I will certainly tell you: ‘Houston, we have a problem’ … in a year, [if] We are talking about that, it is because we have a big problem and we were unable to discover and try to decide on the best strategy and to give the team the capacity to play in a different way. I think we have time and I prefer that this is happening today and not in a year. “

There is an argument that the USMNT will learn meaningful lessons from this disappointing outing at the CNL final, although many years have passed without this group that shows that they have gone out of the learning phase. With about 15 months to go to their opening match of the World Cup, the clock taps.

Luna makes the best of his moment

Many things went wrong for the USMNT in the past week, but there was one person who earned universal praise on Sunday – midfielder Diego Luna. After Stints designed for MLS players in January 2024 and 2025, the 21-year-old midfielder earned a call-up with the entire team for this camp and started against Canada, making the assist to the first half of Patrick Agyemang. Pochettino spread him as one of the striking players on Sunday and called him as an example of what he wants to see from players.

“Diego Luna played well,” he said. “The desire and the [hunger] That he showed is what we want and that doesn’t mean nothing to say to the rest of the people. It’s just one example. When I told [him] Today, “you are going to play,” he was ready. “

Pulisic was just as positive about Luna, with whom he played for the first time at international level on Sunday.

“He is a great child, man,” said Pulisic about Luna. “He has a very bright future. You can see it today. He brings something different. He has heart and I love the way he plays and as I said, he has a big future ahead of him.”

It is an impressive upward route for Luna, which was left of the Olympic schedule of U-23 USMNT last summer and the opportunity refused to be an alternative while Leave the door open to represent Mexico In the aftermath of that decision. He came up with his own motivation for this month’s matches, which led him to be stuck with the USMNT.

“I don’t have my name outside and don’t play in Europe yet, things like that,” said Luna, discussing his way of thinking in the camp. “I think the route I have taken is very different from many players, from Academy to USL to MLS to not playing and now start and to be honest, I think it has been a different route and I always have a chip on my shoulder.”

He also demolished in a comment that one would guess that music is to Pochettin’s ears.

“I think for me, it comes from a difficult background and has to fight for everything I have earned,” Luna said. “I think it is easy for me to say that I am looking for more, work for more and to offer my family, for my son, for my mother, dad, all these kinds of things, so I think it is exactly that and to be able to play for the comb. I don’t know what other motivation you need, good? I think it’s the biggest step in football to play for your country.”