A superstar in the Premier League who just moved to the U.S. to join LAFC, Son Heung-Min scored the game's opening goal in the 18th minute, beating USMNT goalkeeper Matthew Freese from a tight angle on the left side. Son played for years at Tottenham under current USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino, developing into one of the world's top players.

Learn more > With just one more full year to go in the 2026 World Cup cycle, head coach Mauricio Pochettino has precious few chances against top-tier competition to get the USMNT ready for that all-important competition.

Pochettino spoke about “principles” and “concepts” that would “develop with time.” He envisioned a USMNT that would play “with the ball” and “dominate games,” then be “desperate to recover the ball as soon as possible” after losing it.

Superstar forward Son Heung-Min led the way against a U.S. defense that folded easily, and a U.S. attack that barely showed any spark until substitutions late in the seond half.

For an Argentine used to diehard fans packing home stadiums, the huge numbers supporting visiting teams and the lack of U.S. fan support seemed to catch Pochettino off guard. After the final, he implored U.S. soccer fans to come out and support the team.

Those stars missed due to a variety of reasons such as injuries, rest requests, Club World Cup duties, and lack of form. There was real hope and belief around the USMNT after Pochettino was hired to take the team in a better direction following Gregg Berhalter’s summer departure after the Yanks were dumped out of the 2024 Copa America on home soil in the group stage.

Pochettino was supposed to make this USMNT into something special, but he's finding it hard to make them even remotely competitive