‘Means a Lot’—Mauricio Pochettino Highlights Key Factor Behind USMNT’s Gold Cup Run | OneFootball

Mauricio Pochettino praised the U.S. men’s national team’s close bond following a gutsy penalty shootout victory against Costa Rica.

The USMNT has been at the center of controversy this summer. Many of the Stars and Stripes’ best players, including captain Christian Pulisic, opted out out the Gold Cup, leaving Pochettino with a roster full of MLS players. In the build-up to the tournament, the team suffered back-to-back defeats against Türkiye and Switzerland, prompting harsh criticism from fans and USMNT legends alike.

Despite poor performances at the start of June, the USMNT bounced back in the Gold Cup group stage and secured a perfect nine out of nine points. Victories against Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia and Haiti punched the Stars and Stripes’ tickets to the knockout stage, where they faced a resilient Costa Rica side.

The U.S. went down early and then had a chance to equalize from the spot in the 37th minute. Malik Tillman, who is expected to join Bayer Leverkusen this summer, sent his effort off the post, much to the dismay of Pochettino and the USMNT fans at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Malik Tillman failed to convert from the spot in the first half against Costa Rica. / IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

The Stars and Stripes rallied around their teammate, though, and clawed their way back into the game through goals from Diego Luna and Max Arfsten. Even when Alonso Martínez bagged a late equalizer for Costa Rica, the USMNT stayed poised and advanced 4–3 on penalties to the Gold Cup semifinals.

The team’s response to Tillman’s miss was just what Pochettino wanted to see from his squad.

“That means a lot. It means that we are connected, that we care about [our] teammates,” he said. “And that needs to be natural, in between them and that is why [they] deserve the whole [praise]— the experienced players, but also the young players that listen to the experienced players. That is an important thing.

“We can select 26 players, but then to be a team is a different thing. You can have 26 players that play in an individual way and it’s difficult to have this type of behavior. That is because they care, because they made the effort, not only on the field [but off] the field to try to care.”

Pochettino’s strong statement hints at what might be missing from his typical squad of American superstars. The USMNT has come under fire in the past for a lack of pride and its failure to show up on the biggest stages for the Stars and Stripes. With his new group, though, the former Tottenham Hotspur boss is having no such issues.

“That is what we want,” said. “That is how we feel, how we want to represent our country, and we want to fight for our flag and for our shirt.”