United States men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino asserted that his players deserved a better outcome despite succumbing to a 2-1 defeat against Turkey at Pratt & Whitney Stadium on Saturday, marking the team’s third consecutive loss.
The Americans initially took the lead in the opening minute through Jack McGlynn. However, two rapid-fire goals in under three minutes from Turkish stars Arda Güler and Kerem Aktürkoğlu secured the win for Turkey, handing the U.S. a defeat in the first of their two pre-Concacaf Gold Cup friendlies.
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This latest setback drops the USMNT’s record under Pochettino to 5-4, who took over after the team’s first-round elimination at last year’s Copa América led to the dismissal of former coach Gregg Berhalter. The three consecutive losses represent the second such streak for the squad within a year, making Pochettino the first USMNT coach since Jurgen Klinsmann in 2015 to experience such a run.
Despite the result, Pochettino expressed satisfaction with the team’s display. “The performance was good,” Pochettino told reporters. “We faced a team like Turkey, which is a very good team with experienced players at the top. This group of players, after playing together for the first time, I think we started the game so well. We played 20 minutes at a high level. We did very good things, very good things.”
The coach acknowledged the psychological impact of Turkey’s quick replies. “It had an emotional impact when we conceded after we scored in the second minute, after we conceded the first, we conceded the second goal and that was difficult.” He concluded, “I am really sad because I think this group of players are working so hard and I think we deserved a better result today. But if we go to only focus on the performance, I think we perform really well and now we can be focused on how we can improve on the situation and be focused only on game situations.”
Pochettino’s assessment was echoed by midfielder Tyler Adams, who came on at halftime after Johnny Cardoso’s error led to Real Madrid’s Güler equalizing. “Yeah really exciting,” Adams told TNT. “I think for the first time probably in the past few camps we’re going to take a lot more positives away than negatives, so a good building block for a lot of those guys. A lot of them, it’s their first opposition from outside of Concacaf, which is good — good experience for a lot of them. The game is just a little bit different but they played excellent tonight.” Fellow midfielder Luca de la Torre added, “The performance was good, the draw was more deserved.”
Pochettino emphasized that the upcoming two weeks are crucial for Gold Cup preparation, especially for an unfamiliar USMNT roster. Veterans like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Antonee Robinson, and Timothy Weah will not join the team for the Gold Cup, creating opportunities for emerging talents such as Alex Freeman, Matt Freese, and Diego Luna to gain international minutes.
“We knew that the level of the players are at different levels, that is why these two weeks are important to prepare for the Gold Cup,” Pochettino explained. “I think we want to win and compete really well in the Gold Cup. And it’s going to be tough, of course it’s going to be tough. But I think what we expect is what we saw.” He praised the team’s cohesion: “I think what I cannot complain about is that every single player was very connected with the team. Even the players that didn’t play, they were helping the team, the players that were playing, knowing that maybe they have the opportunity or the chance to play in the next one and they need also the help from the teammates that they are going to play. And that is why I think the impact of the whole team, I am so happy with that.”
The USMNT will play their final friendly against Switzerland on Tuesday at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee, before kicking off their Gold Cup campaign against Trinidad and Tobago on June 15. Pochettino’s side will then face Haiti and Saudi Arabia in Group D as they aim to qualify for the knockout stage.
