Two years can feel like an eternity – just not in international football.
The USMNT hit restart on their 2026 World Cup cycle at its midpoint, changing coach after exiting the 2024 Copa América at the group stage. Mauricio Pochettino admitted as he arrived that he had scant familiarity with his inherited player pool, then embarked on an experimental year-plus of trying fresh faces and combinations in search of a winning formula.
Last year ended with signs of encouragement. A switch to a back three provided needed stability in possession and defensive sequences. Several players seemed to benefit from Pochettino’s growing trust, especially senior team newcomers Sebastian Berhalter, Patrick Agyemang, Alex Freeman and Matt Freese. Lining up a pair of high-level opponents, Belgium and Portugal, in this international window seemed like a chance to showcase how far the team had come under the Argentinian’s tutelage.
Instead, the US started the window with a 5-2 drubbing on Saturday. After scoring first, the US conceded five consecutive goals, including four in a half-hour onslaught. While Pochettino and Belgium manager Rudi Garcia both stated that the scoreline flattered the visiting Red Devils, the body language across the USMNT bench late in the second half told a very different story. The big screens at Mercedes-Benz Stadium broadcast their hung heads and slumped shoulders. Little went to plan after the opener.
“The first half, I think that’s in the way that we need to play, we want to play,” Pochettino said afterwards. “Against a team like Belgium, it’s only about [keeping] this level during 90 minutes. That is the challenge for us.”
Pochettino went on to say that when his team matched Belgium’s intensity, the US was “even, in some moment, we were better”. There was some evidence to that point. The US struck first on a well-orchestrated corner kick, and did well to stymie Belgium as it reached the final third for most of the first half.
Ten minutes later the US opener, Belgium broke through with center-back Zeno Debast striding onto a loose ball beyond the edge of the box. A scrum of players adequately screened Matt Turner, cutting his window to react. Tim Ream was slow to swing a leg as it fizzed by his shin, and Belgium entered the break with needed momentum.
Debast benefitted from a lot of US combinations across the pitch that were either rusty or entirely untested. Ream and Mark McKenzie paired at center-back for the first time since November 2024; Antonee Robinson made his first appearance since that same window. Tim Weah started at right-back for the first time in 48 caps to date, while Turner made his first start since June.
All five players are program veterans, but the lack of recent combination was clear. It didn’t help that Weah’s first assignment in a role he’s increasingly playing at the club level was to defend Jérémy Doku, one of the world’s most dangerous wingers. Garcia called the Manchester City winger a “detonator” that the US failed to contain. While Pochettino called Weah’s shift a “good opportunity,” the scoreline brands this as a lesson learned the hard way.
“[In] too many actions we were in place, we have superiority, but we were not aggressive enough,” Pochettino admitted. “We can see the first goal, because I think in this action, I think we have 10 players inside the box. But we were not aggressive enough.”
Pochettino’s late-stage experimenting extended beyond his defense. Given McKennie’s success in an advanced role with Juventus, Pochettino opted to start him alongside another attacking midfielder, Malik Tillman, ahead of Johnny Cardoso and Tanner Tessmann. McKennie and Tillman alternated between the central third and the right channel, while Weah provided width on the overlap.
At times, this left the midfield with few clear avenues to breach the final third. After turnovers, many players were visibly unsure of their responsibility while Belgium broke upfield. There was panic-stations defending in the box, swarming toward the ball and abandoning posts, giving Debast a golden opportunity to shoot at the edge of the box.
Such was also the case on Belgium’s second goal, with an off-kilter US offering Amadou Onana ample time to notch his first international goal in 26 caps.
It’s an assist in spirit by Doku, whose menace left the US desperate to offer additional support at the cost of the team’s shape. A contentious penalty call, upheld by VAR, doubled Belgium’s lead. The fourth goal was a bit more routine, with Dodi Lukébakio beating left-back Max Arfsten one-on-one in transition. The fifth, however, was another instance of missed assignments. After Cristian Roldan cleared an initial surge, Lukébakio was left unmarked at the corner of the box. Berhalter scuffed a poor cross back to him, and he didn’t waste another look.
“Some good stuff, some not so good stuff,” Turner said of the effort in front of him. “It reminded me a lot of the Netherlands game in the [2022] World Cup, where you’re going against a really experienced team that knows how to suffer, knows how to accept pressure and then turn around. They were absolutely clinical in the final third.”
This is where the revolving door nature of Pochettino’s tenure, coupled with the truncated nature of a half cycle, left the US overmatched. Defending is seldom a one-on-one affair. The series of abandoned assignments gave Belgium and its ample technical quality too many easy looks.
The forward line struggled to help defend second waves of pressure, particularly Christian Pulisic. The Milan winger scuffed his chances in front of goal, but was also out of position on Debast and Onana’s opportunities. While teammates tried to react, Belgium didn’t give them the time. That’s the business at high levels like these – like World Cups, too.
Pochettino has overseen one major tournament, last summer’s Gold Cup. Pulisic opted out, seeing a summer of rest as being better for his World Cup preparations. McKennie and Weah were unavailable as Juventus played in the Club World Cup. Injuries omitted Folarin Balogun and Antonee Robinson. Close to full strength this month (albeit with key absences at center-back), partnerships looked underrehearsed across the pitch.
The consequences of unforged chemistry were also at fault for the final goal. Up 5-1, Garcia gave Nathan Ngoy his second Belgium appearance at center-back, partnering with Koni De Winter in his seventh cap. Both players operated to the side of Senne Lammens’ box in possession, and were woefully adrift when the goalkeeper was two-on-one in close quarters after a poor Youri Tielemans backpass. Patrick Agyemang was decisive with his finish, and a few blushes were spared.
Garcia will view this as a learning moment for a pair of young center-backs and a rising goalkeeper who will almost certainly deputize for Thibaut Courtois this summer. Their lessons don’t need an immediate payoff. The US can’t say the same, with just one friendly – Tuesday’s bout with Portugal – before Pochettino names his squad on 26 May.
“This type of scene is good, because I think we have time to improve and realize that that is the way,” Pochettino said.
In his second-to-last test before submitting his roster, Pochettino tried a brand new right-back, reverted to a formation that bore headaches before September, and restored a goalkeeper after nearly a year on the sidelines. The time for experimentation should have long passed.
Showbiz refers to weeks like these as “hell week,” the last chance to iron out the kinks and ensure a troupe is ready for their close-up. Barring a dramatic reversal of form against Portugal, this March window feels worthy of that descriptor. With the grand stage awaiting, Tuesday is the last chance for this side to nail their marks.
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