The United States men’s national team returned to training Friday one day after suffering a 3-2 loss against Türkiye to conclude Group D play in the FIFA World Cup.
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It was a loss that didn’t affect the standings in the group or advancing into the next round. The team had clinched a spot in the Round of 32 after the second game and finished with six points.
“We’re proud of the performance we put in,” midfielder Sebastian Berhalter said after the game. “We’ll be ready (for the knockout rounds).”
There’s an additional knockout round this year, with the tournament expanding to 48 teams, and the USMNT will play Bosnia-Herzegovina, the third-place team from Group B, Wednesday in Santa Clara.
“To make history is to win a World Cup, it’s not to win three games in a World Cup,” USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino said through translation Thursday. “It’s a little bit petty, no, or thinking in too small terms. You have the chance to make history. What’s the point of winning three matches only to lose the next one and miss out on (winning) the World Cup?”
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The USMNT ended up surviving a tough group. Australia and Paraguay ended up advancing to the Round of 32. Finishing on top was the first goal.
“There’s no different feeling for us,” captain and defender Tim Ream said. “We expected to be top of the group, we wanted to be top of the group. We’ve done that. And we know that we have the ability and we have the players and we have the talent, we have the togetherness and everything that we need to move on and win knockout games.”
Winning knockout games at the World Cup hasn’t been easy for the U.S. and something that hasn’t been done since 2002. In fact, that’s the only time it has been accomplished. Then, the USMNT knocked off rival Mexico 2-0 in the Round of 16 before losing to Germany 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
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In 2010, the USMNT lost to Ghana 2-1 in the Round of 16, then to Belgium, by the same score, at the same stage in 2014. In 2022, the Netherlands handed the U.S. a 3-1 defeat in the Round of 16.
“When we look back at ’22, we made a couple of mistakes against the Netherlands and that cost us being in the tournament longer,” forward Tim Weah said. “Those little mistakes are something you have to fix, but I believe in this team. We’ve done such a great job to get to this point.”
Another streak that the USMNT will look to snap is a 13-match winless skid against European nations, including 10 consecutive losses. The last win came in 2021 against Northern Ireland. If the USMNT advances past Bosnia-Herzegovina, a meeting is likely with Belgium in the Round of 16.
“We’re not looking past Bosnia,” Ream said. “We’re not looking past the Round of 32.”
Return of Christian Pulisic
Pulisic returned in the 58th minute Thursday and finished with an approximate 40-minute appearance, including stoppage time. He was credited with two shots on target, one chance created. As expected, he was also drew the immediate attention of Türkiye, getting fouled three times.
“I think it was important for him to get the feelings again after not (being) available for Australia,” Pochettino said. “I think one of the objectives in that game not only was to win, (it was) to provide Christian in between 30 and 40 minutes to get the feeling to be ready for the next game. That is important, too. Yes, happy because I think he finished well and I think it was a good impact when he was on the pitch.”
Full-strength lineup
With Pulisic back, the expectation is that Pochettino will revert to the starting 11 from the opening game against Paraguay: Matt Freese in goal; Alex Freeman, Chris Richards, Ream and Antonee Robinson on the back line; Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Malik Tillman in midfield, along with Sergino Dest and Pulisic, with Folarin Balogun at forward.
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