Mauricio Pochettino sat in the press room at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles quite irritated. As if the United States had not won and in its debut against a stunted Paraguay (4-1) in the early hours of Friday to Saturday, but the noises coming from the guts of the venue threw the coach off. Regarding what had happened on the grass, of course, there could be no fault. After his team’s great match, the Argentine had to manage, in addition to his anger, the message and the local euphoria after such a resounding victory. Also some individual performances, such as those of Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun, manager and hammer of the good local debut. The coach haggled over individual praise and pointed to the collective in an attempt to enhance the union spirit at the beginning of such a titanic undertaking.
Pulisic’s good minutes, until he had to leave at half-time due to physical discomfort, in the great stretch of his team’s game came a year after the public friction he had with his coach. Things between the two have not always been easy. The disagreement occurred when the footballer refused to participate in the Gold Cup, but did want to sign up for two previous friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland, two more attractive rivals than the majority of opponents in the official tournament (Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti or Guatemala, among others). The answer was blunt: here you don’t choose a la carte when to come and when not to. “The players must listen and adhere to our plan. They cannot dictate theirs. Since I signed the contract with the federation, I am the head coach. Not a mannequin,” he stated without half measures. “It was my decision not to include Pulisic in the two friendlies, period,” he concluded.
“I am the main coach, not a mannequin,” Pochettino told him when Pulisic wanted to go to two friendlies but not the Gold Cup.
The attacker, who had justified his absence from the Gold Cup because he needed some rest after 120 games in two seasons, replied that he did not understand the coach’s position of excluding him from those two friendlies. He only respected her, as he had no other choice. The crack was visible to everyone, although that episode had no consequences in subsequent calls. Of course, they asked him who the leader of the locker room was, he cited Tim Ream, Charlotte’s 38-year-old captain and center back. “He has the experience and ability to be the leader we want. He is a positive leader,” he said.
Against Paraguay and under the fascinating showcase of the World Cup, Pulisic started well to sew the energy of the American team with passes and dribbles. “We had no answer for their movements behind the midfielders’ backs,” lamented the rival coach, Gustavo Alfaro, who found no explanation for the total bankruptcy of his boys. The great personal action of the Milan attacker, beating two defenders in one fell swoop, opened a hole in the Guaraní defense before Damián Bobadilla scored his own goal to make it 1-0 already in the seventh minute. It was the beginning of the South American team panicking, and the United States shooting towards victory. Balogun’s 2-0 came with another assist from Pulisic, Captain America, a guy who is very fond of chess and has a queen, the most powerful piece on the board, tattooed on his left arm.
President of the United States, Donald Trump gave Mauricio Pochettino and the United States National Team a phone call last night ahead of their opening World Cup game…
— george (@StokeyyG2)
“The first half was incredible. It’s difficult to find a team playing like that,” Pochettino summarized at the foot of the grass, before the noises from the press room pissed him off. Perhaps the only distortion when the break was reached was the physical discomfort of Pulisic, who stayed in the dugout. He took a hit a couple of days before and, in the middle, decided to stop. “I’m taking some precautions, but I hope to be fine in the coming days. I’ve already been through similar situations, I maintain a positive attitude. I don’t think it’s anything serious,” he said. The United States coach also downplayed it. The next game for the hosts is on Friday, in San Francisco, against Australia, and who knows if Pochettino will also receive a call from then to wish the team luck, as happened against Paraguay.
Pulisic, this time, did not need the goal to set the pace. The Milan player had arrived at the World Cup under suspicion due to the desert in scoring that he has suffered since the calendar entered 2026. With the team red and black He has not celebrated one this year and with the national team he broke last May, against Senegal, a wasteland of a course and a half dry. This Friday, however, a collection of passes and associations was enough to open the suffering Paraguay. In a team without stars that appeals to the community, he presents himself as the player with the most experience in the elite.
