After a debut victory over Panama, Mauricio Pochettino and the USMNT came down to earth. Mexico ran riot over them with the nation winning the match 2-0. Hence, questions arose about the team’s ability and, although it’s early days, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The team is far from the benchmark they want to be. Nonetheless, the pitch conditions remain one of the key talking points in the match. With Lionel Messi ranting about the pitch conditions in North America, Pochettino jumped on the bandwagon.

“This was a very difficult match. Damn, it was so hot and the pitch was very difficult to play on. But we have to enjoy what we were able to do,” Messi said, after defeating Canada in the Copa America. The disparity in pitches between Europe and North America remains different.

The groundsman cuts the grass using probably a scare to get the exact measurements for the team to glide around the pitch. However, old-school pitch conditions remain prevalent in nations like Guadalajara, Mexico. With shoddy pitches around, it becomes difficult to maneuver the ball. With those issues in mind, Mauricio Pochettino echoed Lionel Messi’s sentiments in his post-match press conference.

He stated, “We have suffered with the grass. It was very difficult to play on… The risk of injuries was very great.” Well, at first glance, there were some issues. The ball was wobbly while passing it on the ground, and the players took some time to adapt. Moreover, the pitch displayed some damp conditions with the turf looking like it comes out. Yet, never proclaim it as an excuse for the team’s subpar performance.

Okay, we understand Christian Pulisic left for AC Milan because of load management and they missed several crucial players. But, the USMNT and Mauricio Pochettino must learn to deal with setbacks!

Mauricio Pochettino has his work cut out!

In this game, Mauricio Pochettino played a 4-3-2-1 formation with Josh Sargent leading the line. One thing he would love to work on remains the coordination of the players. The alignment of the team needs to be fine-tuned as they have work ahead. Raul Jimenez and Cesar Huerta scored two goals to sink The Star and Stripes. Apart from Weston McKennie and Pulisic, the line-up looked similar to the previous match.

Malik Tillman made an appearance for the club but failed to impress. Despite having 53% possession, they mustered just 1 shot target from a total of 5 shots. Now, that’s not good for the 18th-ranked soccer nation in the world.

Although there is no official confirmation of who the USMNT will face, we can expect them to be ready for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals. To be exact, securing a trophy in that competition would be extremely beneficial for the head coach. Hopefully, we can see the USMNT improve its performance.