Pochettino Praises the Spirit of the United States After Draw Against Ecuador
The United States manager, Mauricio Pochettino, highlighted the bravery and spirit of his players after the 1-1 draw against Ecuador in a friendly marked by intensity. The match, played on Friday, saw Folarin Balogun score the equalizing goal in the 71st minute.Pochettino highlighted the difficulty of the match against an Ecuadorian team that is “very physical”, but praised his team’s ability to adapt and generate opportunities. “I think we improved in the second half. I think we dominated the game in all aspects,” added the coach. After going down 1-0 following Enner Valencia’s goal for Ecuador in the 24th minute, the United States reacted by maintaining possession and offensive pressure. Balogun, with an assist from Malik Tillman, managed to equalize, demonstrating the team’s ability to respond. Pochettino expressed his satisfaction with the performance of Balogun, AS Monaco’s striker. “A striker always needs to feel the net, and his work ethic is amazing in the way he is always available in every aspect of the game, with and without the ball. I am very happy with his performance,” he stated.We were brave in trying to move forward, trying to find the space,” Pochettino commented on his team’s performance in the second half.
Mauricio Pochettino
However, not everything was good news for Pochettino. Alejandro Zendejas suffered a knee injury in training and had to return to Mexico. “Zendejas, bad news, because he leaves tonight… because he has a small problem in his knee, in the back of his knee. It’s not a serious problem, but he will not be available for the next match, and he needs to return to his club,” explained the coach.
Antonee Robinson was also unavailable for Friday’s friendly. Pochettino also mentioned that Christian Pulisic is not 100% after an ankle problem. Pulisic played only 17 minutes against Ecuador, and Pochettino indicated that they will assess his availability for the next match. The United States has one win, one draw, and one loss since last summer’s Gold Cup final. After the October window, the United States will play two friendlies in November against Paraguay and Uruguay to close out the year.
