Wednesday’s U.S. men’s national team defeat served as another example of how far the squad is from competing with some of the world’s best.
The Americans suffered a 4-0 hammering at the hands of Switzerland in Nashville, raising pressure on the squad and USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino. Not only did the USMNT get blanked on home soil, but they never responded after getting punched early in the mouth by the Swiss.
Pochettino took the blame for Wednesday’s defeat, and for overall calling in a very youthful squad for the June window.
“That was my decision, and it was my fault,” Pochettino said in his postgame press conference. “The first half, all the critics should be, or could be for me because I think that was my decision. But at the same time, it was the good intention to provide all the players the possibility to play and try to compete for a place at the World Cup.”
Walker Zimmerman, Matt Turner and Brenden Aaronson were among the experienced starters in Wednesday’s match while several young players featured with hopes of earning valuable experience against the No. 20-ranked Swiss.
However, the inexperience of several starters was clear, with Max Arfsten, Quinn Sullivan, and Nathan Harriel all being among the defensive errors during the first-half onslaught.
Tim Ream, who entered the match after halftime, admitted that simple mistakes will be punished by experienced teams but that Wednesday’s loss can also serve as a learning lesson.
“I think there’s some individual errors that we make, and we get punished for them at this level, and you see it all around the world,” Ream said during TNT’s postgame coverage.
“And that’s a learning process for a lot of guys who are earning very, very few caps, very first caps,” he added. “And again, it’s a learning experience. We have to be calm; we have to keep our head on right, analyze what the first half especially, and even things in the second half that we can do better. And if we do that, we will be all right.”
The good thing for the USMNT is that they don’t have to wait until the fall window to get back on track. Sunday’s CONCACAF Gold Cup opener against Trinidad & Tobago will be a much different test in comparison to the previous matches against Turkey and Switzerland.
The Soca Warriors are coming into the match fresh off of World Cup Qualifying, and will be itching to get after a wounded USMNT squad. Pochettino knows the fanbase’s current frustration with the squad after four-consecutive losses, but admits the support for the program will remain very high.
“The fans are going to be there for sure in the Gold Cup and the World Cup,” Pochettino said. “I have no worries about that. The fans are going to be with the team.”
