U.S. Concerning: Defeat against South Korea and World Cup Preparation in Check

The United States men’s national soccer team, despite the 2-0 defeat against South Korea, maintains an optimistic stance, although things on the field don’t seem to be synchronized.

Party Analysis

The American coach, Mauricio Pochettino, stated that his team was “better than South Korea” due to the creation of more opportunities and allowing only one shot on goal in the second half. Midfielder Tyler Adams added that the incorporation of new players and the return of some veterans was positive. “I don’t think it was a bad performance,” added the United States captain. However, public comments contrast with the evidence of the game. The American defense was overwhelmed from the start, with South Korea exploiting the spaces. Lee Jae-Sung found Tristan Blackmon in a compromised situation, and his pass enabled Son Heung-Min to score the first goal. Shortly before halftime, a clever combination left Son in front of the goal, and Lee Dong-Gyeong scored the second goal. In both goals, the American defense was overwhelmed, leaving the defenders isolated. Tim Ream admitted that there were moments when the players were overwhelmed, especially with the return of some players to the national team and the debut of Blackmon. Beyond individual performance, the lack of protection of the defensive line by the midfield and the general passivity were key factors. “Our roles were a bit distorted,” commented Adams. “In the first half they found solutions easily. We failed to react in time on many occasions, and we ended up chasing shadows.”

Derrota de Estados Unidos ante Corea del Sur

The image shows the defeat against South Korea, another missed opportunity for the United States to deliver a convincing performance, or even a morale-boosting victory, against a World Cup-level opponent. In the second half, there were improvements, especially with the entry of Chris Richards and the switch to a three-man defense. However, the United States couldn’t score a goal to trouble South Korea, with Folarin Balogun wasting clear opportunities, despite the home team’s 17-5 advantage in shots. It’s difficult to extract positive aspects from the match and not worry about the direction the American team is taking. The last time the United States offered an outstanding performance against a World Cup rival was the 0-0 draw against England in the 2022 World Cup, followed by the 1-0 victory over Iran. It’s hard to remember any notable match since then, and certainly not in Pochettino’s year in charge.

Pochettino explained the defeat highlighting the quality of players like Son, who tormented the American defense. But the 2026 World Cup will be full of players of that caliber, and the United States will not have a respite from that type of competition next summer.
Source: Alofoke Deportes

Pochettino even suggested that the results won’t be important until next summer, recalling how the 2002 Argentine team, of which he was a part, arrived at the tournament in great form, only to be eliminated in the group stage. While the form prior to the World Cup doesn’t guarantee anything, hosting a World Cup at home is a unique opportunity to boost the sport in the country. Generating momentum will not only achieve that, but will also instill confidence in a team that is in a low moment. “I love the feeling of winning, so I’d like to win games before the World Cup,” Adams said. “But I understand the thought process [of Pochettino] and we talked about it, you can have good performances and not necessarily get the result. But yes, I think at some point it’s important to have some results.” Part of the problem is that the preparation time for the World Cup is running out, but Pochettino seems to believe that there is still time to look for different players. That is a laudable goal, which would make sense in a normal World Cup cycle. But this cycle has been compressed from the beginning, given that the last World Cup was not played until the end of 2022. Combined with the change of coach, this cycle is far from normal. Player combinations don’t always make sense either. In the previous cycle, the pairing of Tim Weah and Dest on the right worked because Weah is a player willing to fall back and provide defensive protection. Pairing Christian Pulisic and Dest on the same side risks exposing the American defense. Pulisic is not wanted to have to fall back anyway. But it was no coincidence that South Korea’s first goal came from Dest’s side. He was caught out on the second. In many ways, Pochettino is taking a big gamble. He is confident that he will find the necessary chemistry on the field before the preparation time for the World Cup runs out. This runs the risk of encountering scenarios in the tournament for which he did not prepare with his starting players, all because he is giving opportunities to players who have little chance of being part of the squad. For now, Pochettino insists that victories are just around the corner.