Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) — Two games against elite competition. Two losses that left fans of the United States men’s national team short of any confidence that the country’s squad has any hope of making a deep run when they co-host the World Cup in just over two months from now.
Three days after a 5-2 drubbing by Belgium in the same building, the Americans suffered a 2-0 defeat to sixth-ranked Portugal in front of 72,297 fans at the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
Francisco Trincão scored in the first half and João Félix in the second as Mauricio Pochettino’s squad ended this month with another sobering reality check.
“Belgium and Portugal both have top-100 players, some players playing that are in the top 100 in the world,” Pochettino said during his post-match press conference. “I think we don’t have [that].”
Here are my takeaways:
1. Christian Pulisic continues to struggle
(Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/USSF/Getty Images)
The Argentine coach made six changes from the starting lineup that lost to Belgium. Poch reinstalled Freese, brought in central defenders Chris Richards and Auston Trusty, midfielders Sebastian Berhalter and Aidan Morris and defender Alex Freeman. With just two days between games, that was probably the plan all along. The biggest eyebrow-raiser was the decision not to start any of the dedicated strikers — Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi or Patrick Agyemang — and deploy Christian Pulisic as a frontrunner.
The idea, as Pochettino had hinted at on Monday, was to get his struggling star, who was mired in a seven-match scoreless streak for the national team, closer to the target.
And for the most part, it worked. Pulisic got his chances. But once again, he failed to convert any of them. And once again, an elite European opponent went up the field after one miss and converted a goal of their own. A frustrated Pulisic picked up a yellow card late in the half. And when the Americans came out for the final 45 minutes, the AC Milan standout was on the bench, with Agyemang at the tip of the spear instead.
“I think he was very active,” Pochettino said of Pulisic. “When you’re frustrated it’s because you want to win, you want to fight, you want to score…I think frustration is good to have.
“He’s going to score, because he has the quality,” Poch added. “I am sure that he’s going to come back to his club, and the moment that he scores, he’s going to score again.”
2. Another defensive lapse leads to Portugal’s opener …
The home side came out with the sort of intensity and flight Pochettino said was lacking in the second half over the weekend. They out-shot the Portuguese 9-3 in the first half, three of those on target to the visitors’ two.
Yet once again, they were punished for an elementary mistake. Just as was the case twice against Belgium on Saturday, too many defenders collapsed toward the end line in a transition moment led by Bruno Fernandes, leaving acres of space around the penalty spot.
While the Americans surrounded the Manchester United star and prevented him from testing keeper Matt Freese, Roberto Martinez’s savvy captain made them pay when he back heeled the ball into space for a late runner. It found its way to Trincão, and he made no mistake, coolly slotting into the ball-sized gap between Freese’s hand and the inside of his far post.
Just like that, the USA was down a goal and forced to chase the game. “We competed really well,” the former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager said afterward. “I think we lost the game on the first goal we conceded.”
3. …And to their second goal, too
The final score wasn’t as embarrassing this time around. That’s not going to be much solace for supporters worried that their team isn’t close to ready to take on the world’s best when the World Cup begins in June.
Most concerning of all is the fact that Pochettino’s players seem to be repeating the same mistakes. Like Seleção’s first goal, the one that put Portugal up by two was preventable. That one came off a corner kick.
And again — is there a theme emerging here? — the U.S. inexplicably left a huge area of space right in the middle of the field. Eight Americans were inside the six-yard box when Fernandes stuck the ball; rather than send it into the mixer, he found wide-open substitute Felix, who was under no pressure as he settled the ball, let it bounce, then calmly stroked it past a helpless Freese.
“He has to get it through all those bodies.” said Trusty, who had a strong performance despite the loss. “If it hits one of those bodies it’s a straight counterattack, but it went through. And the goal is obviously hard for Freese to see when you have 1,000 bodies in front of you.”
4. A long couple of months await the USA’s fans
The danger of scheduling two of FIFA’s Top 10-ranked teams in the final window before Pochettino must pick his World Cup squad was that the U.S. would suffer a pair of dispiriting defeats.
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Somehow, the worst case scenario was somehow even worse than that. While the hosts were better on Tuesday than they had been the game before, there is no sugarcoating the fact that this wasn’t a good week for the Americans. Not only did they suffer a pair of self-inflicted wounds, they couldn’t even manage a single goal on Tuesday to give their supporters a little bit of hope heading into the summer.
A day before the game, Martinez — an international coach for the last decade — said that he never puts much stock in March matches. This time of year, national teams have been idle for four months. They aren’t the well-drilled teams they are at other times of the year, especially in the summer.
After watching the U.S. get outclassed in a matter of days, backers of the Stars and Stripes better hope he’s right.
“The results are not what we want, obviously,” said Freese, who made a number of fine saves after sitting out in favor of Matt Turner on Saturday. “That said, I do think there are pockets of positives and little details that can take us to the next level. It’s important that we continue to work on them, and work on them quickly.”
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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