AFP – Mauricio Pochettino suffered his first defeat as coach of the United States (US) yesterday, 2-0 to Mexico in a friendly.
The US had been unbeaten in seven games against their North American rivals – a run going back to 2019 – but goals from Raul Jimenez and Cesar Huerta ended that streak.
Pochettino had enjoyed a victory in his first game on Saturday, 2-0 against Panama in Austin.
But his team, with several key absences, were second best in their first away game for almost a year.
Pochettino had come into this window without midfielder Tyler Adams and forwards Tim Weah and Folarin Balogun.
He made the trip south of the border also without star winger Christian Pulisic and Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie, who have returned to their clubs.
“It wasn’t a great performance,” said the Argentine Pochettino, who was appointed last month to lead the team towards the 2026 World Cup which the USA will co-host with Mexico and Canada.
“But this type of game I think is perfect for us to learn.
“I think we started the game well (but) after we conceded the goal, I think the impact was massive for us and, of course, they started maybe to win the duels and to be a little bit better, a little bit more aggressive than us,” added the former Tottenham Hotspur manager.
“Overall I think Mexico was a little bit better than us and fully deserved the victory.
“But for us it’s a process that we started a few days ago and today was a great opportunity for our players to visit a very difficult place to play.”
