GLENDALE – The recent success of the U.S. men’s national team is less a story about results and more about the identity it is building.
Ever since last summer’s World Cup, the USMNT has worked to create a culture that makes it a player in the world of soccer. Every game, even friendlies, has a big stake in shaping its identity.
Saturday, which featured the third of four friendlies before the start of the Nations League quarterfinals in November, was no different. The vibe from the meeting against Mexico at State Farm Stadium suggested it was about much more than the 80th match between longtime rivals.
The U.S. team’s 3-0 victory confirmed just that.
“This was a great opportunity to see ourselves in a difficult game against a very good team,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said.
A breakout youth movement is a key part of this team’s success. In Saturday’s match, Julian Hall, 18, became just the third USMNT player in history to score in each of his first three international appearances. Cavan Sullivan, 17, became the youngest USMNT player to score in an international game. The results have shown that this jelling of young and veteran players has allowed the USMNT to build a unique environment.
USMNT goalkeeper Diego Kochen believes this has helped the team’s momentum.
“Obviously there’s a lot of new players that came into camp and everything,” he said. “But the veterans, the staff, the entire U.S. roster, they’re making it so easy just to come in and integrate and just play our identity, play our soccer. So it’s been unbelievable.”
The team’s recent success over three friendlies has provided the evidence. The U.S. team has won each game and has outscored opponents 11-3 in that stretch.
“I think that there is a sense of just always wanting to win and compete at the highest level, and I think this is one of those games,” midfielder and USMNT captain Tyler Adams said about playing Mexico during Friday’s pre-event press conference. “For the long run, if the U.S. wants to grow and get better, we need to be able to compete with the likes of Mexico at a high level.”
Even with the success, the need to keep players in check is clear, especially when they’re eager to go out and play.
After Saturday’s success, the coach kept his goal clear.
“Our responsibility now is that this group of talented (players) grow in the right direction,” said Pochettino, who then reflected on the two other friendlies. ”And today, they were so excited to play. Again (like) in St. Louis against Chile, they were so excited. And they were so excited playing against Peru in Orlando. We need to continue that idea.”
Handling a camp roster consisting of many young prospects also means encouraging a serious mindset. Pochettino wants to make sure of that with this roster, and that players are capable of proving themselves.
“I think … what we expect as a coaching staff,” he said. “It’s not playing well or not. It’s that commitment and the desire to play, and that today is the most important game in your life. That is why we need to translate that we … come to the national team for business, not for fun, and that is important.
”If we are capable of understanding that, I think we have plenty of talent to compete and to grow and to compete for big things. That is the objective.”
A friendly against Canada on Tuesday remains, followed by the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals.
That more than anything will tell the story of the team’s identity at the start of this new cycle of international play.
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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