Disgruntled Poch: Wearing U.S. shirt 'not enough'

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — United States manager Mauricio Pochettino was left visibly frustrated after his side’s shock 1-0 defeat to Panama in the semifinals of the Concacaf Nations League, bluntly telling his players it was not enough to just simply show up in the national team shirt and expect to win.

“We are USA. You cannot win with your shirt, or you cannot win if you play here, there or I don’t know,” Pochettino said after the game at SoFi Stadium on Thursday. “You need to show, and you need to come here and be better and suffer and win the duels and work hard.

“If not, it’s not going to be enough.”

The U.S. dominated possession 66% to 34%, but also didn’t create much in the way of chances, registering an xG of 0.68. Panama created an even lower xG — 0.10 — but made their chance count. Substitute Cecilio Waterman scored in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time to claim the win.

The loss ended the USMNT’s chance to remain the only team to have won the Nations League.

The win marked the third consecutive time that the Canaleros have beaten the U.S. in official competition, including a victory over the Americans in the 2024 Copa America that led to their elimination from the tournament and, ultimately, the firing of then coach Gregg Berhalter.

Pochettino was especially upset with how the U.S. started the game, in that it was a little too content to play possession without being incisive.

“The way that we approach the game and start the game wasn’t in the right way,” he said. “That is why I feel so disappointed and we all feel disappointed. I think in the first half, we played too slow, so comfortable on the pitch. We didn’t show aggression with the ball.”

The U.S. perked up a bit after halftime, with Timothy Weah making some inroads down the left wing. Substitute Patrick Agyemang had a glorious chance to put the U.S. ahead in the 82nd minute, only for Panama keeper Orlando Mosquera to deny him with a superb save low to his left.

With creativity in such short supply, Pochettino was asked why he didn’t opt to put creative players like Giovani Reyna or Diego Luna into the match. He indicated he was waiting for extra time to possibly introduce them.

“We never expect to concede in this moment,” Pochettino said. “That is the truth but [I] agree. We were thinking to give option to play Gio and Diego, but for sure they’re going to have the opportunity [next match].”

The U.S. will now face the loser of Thursday’s second match between Canada and Mexico in the third-place consolation game on Sunday.

Regardless of the opponent, Pochettino wants to see more aggression, both with and without the ball.

“If you don’t have aggression, it’s impossible because the opponent, [they] know that we are going to play into the feet. You are going to play safe. You are not going to take risk.

“If you want to play football, you need to take risks, you need to go forward, you need to win duels, sometime 50-50. That is my goal.”