CHESTER, Pa. — The signs of the progression of Mauricio Pochettino’s national team have manifested not just in the results — and after Saturday’s 2-1 win over Paraguay, that’s now four straight unbeaten, all against World Cup-qualified teams, if you’re counting — but also in how the team is playing.
The U.S. has looked increasingly confident on the field. A team that felt for months like it lacked an identity now has a distinct personality. The Americans aren’t rigid in how they play, but the ideas of the system are consistent and effective. They are aggressive in how they press and how they attack. There is a demand not to shrink away, no matter the opponent.
“It starts from being aggressive from the first whistle,” Tim Ream, who captained the U.S. once again Saturday, said. “And kind of, in a way, just laying a marker and having the other team understand that we’re here to fight, we’re here to play, we’re here to win a game.”
Comfort begets confidence. Confidence begets more comfort. Over the last three windows that has been the ebb and flow of this national team. After the win over Paraguay, another game in which the U.S. looked calm, composed and in control, the talk around the national team was about thinking less.
They know who they are.
“We were talking now in the dressing room with the players, how they started to feel the football that we want to apply on the pitch,” Pochettino said.
What is most impressive about it all is that the team that played on Saturday is not at all the same as the team that played last month in Denver. Four players in the starting lineup against Paraguay — Gio Reyna, Sergiño Dest, Joe Scally and Brenden Aaronson — had not started in any of the previous three games. Pochettino started 24 different players across the last four games.
Still, the comfort in the system has sustained. That’s a testament to the progress of the whole, he said.
“It always takes time to implement, to set the principles,” Pochettino said. “And then our experience always happen: in Espanyol, in Southampton, in Tottenham, in Paris Saint-Germain and in Chelsea. Always with time we can apply the ideas, the philosophy, the culture that we want to implement. It always takes time … and decisions, strong decisions. Sometimes people cannot understand why we decide something, or we take some decision, but that is our duty.”
And in Saturday’s friendly, with players like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Chris Richards, Tim Weah, Malik Tillman, Antonee Robinson and Tyler Adams absent, several others had a chance to make an impression.
Gio Reyna enjoyed a successful return to the U.S. men’s national team in Saturday’s friendly vs. Paraguay (Vincent Carchietta / Getty Images)
The big winner
The most prominent, of course, was Reyna. The 23-year-old midfielder scored in the fourth minute and showed his quality on the ball in several key moments over the game. Reyna was more active off the ball, though he was late to press on Paraguay’s lone goal. Still, Reyna certainly made an argument for future inclusion in this squad.
“I think he did a very good job,” Pochettino said. “I’m so happy with him. He showed why he started and confirmed he is a player that needs to improve, because he needs to play more in his club, but we can see today he was great. … Always the capacity to read the game and find the free space in between the lines. I think it was a nightmare for Paraguay.”
Tuesday against Uruguay – if he features again – will present a different challenge for Reyna, who said after the game he was about 85 percent fit. Pochettino has said that he will value players who can show they have the fitness and ability to play several games in a short amount of time. Reyna, obviously, has had injury issues over the past several seasons, and playing time at Borussia Monchengladbach has been spotty. Tuesday will be an important test to show he can play a role in games a few days apart.
“I feel like I can play again,” Reyna said. “I’m going to do everything I can to be ready to play (however) many minutes required. But I haven’t even thought about that yet.”
USMNT defender Joe Scally is back in camp for the first time since last March (Drew Hallowell / Getty Images)
A mixed bag out wide
Scally and Dest both had positives and negatives in their respective performances. Scally came into this game with more to prove, especially considering that his skillset and versatility make him a strong fit for the hybrid fullback-right center back role in Pochettino’s system.
The U.S. plays a back four, but builds out of a back three with two central midfielders. Scally fits well to stay in that back three in possession. While he was exposed with the speed of Miguel Almirón on the U.S. goal, the Atlanta United winger was sprung by a gorgeous long ball and took the ball beautifully to play a one-time cross. No doubt, Pochettino will see value in Scally at a position where he has been searching for consistency beyond Tim Ream and Miles Robinson.
Dest, meanwhile, thrives in a more attacking role. He pushed forward effectively against Paraguay and adds a dynamism on the right side that, combined with Reyna and Balogun, kept the opponent off balance.
A need to show more
Aaronson, meanwhile, tried to show he can be an effective option in central midfield. He brings such incredibly different qualities than his counterparts at the position. The U.S. has started players like Pulisic, Reyna, Tillman and Diego Luna in attacking midfield – all players who want to get in the half spaces and get on the ball. But Aaronson’s aggressiveness and ability to press could bring a different look off the bench in certain scenarios at the World Cup.
His performance was solid against Paraguay, but Aaronson has plenty more to gain if he gets minutes against Uruguay. He needs to show he can also create goals and be dangerous in and around the box.
Ricardo Pepi scuffs a great chance to score vs. Paraguay (Omar Vega / Getty Images)
The same is true for Ricardo Pepi, who came into the game as a substitute for his first appearance with the U.S. since last November. Pochettino said this week that Pepi was behind the other strikers simply because he’s been away from the team and working back from injury for so long, but he felt it was important to bring him in.
When the PSV striker missed a golden opportunity in the second half, though, it felt like a bigger miss to show Pochettino why he was a top-three forward in the pool, and thus a World Cup striker. That’s the type of role Pepi will likely need to master at the World Cup – the ability to come off the bench and deliver in the clutch moments. Pepi, typically a very effective super sub, will look for another chance to find that goal on Tuesday.
Many of the players spoke this week about how little time there was left to make an impression and win a job. The intensity in camp is increasing as the competition gets more real. Tuesday’s friendly in Florida will give the Americans perhaps their toughest test of the last three windows — probably the best team they will have seen since a South Korea side that is the last to beat them.
For the players here, the audition continues.
“You can see today all the players that were on the pitch, how they show their quality, the capacity to play (entertaining) football,” Pochettino said. “I think we created chances. We were better. It’s very competitive and difficult to beat (us). Big credit. But that is not enough. We are happy. We need to keep going. Because we need to improve, improve, improve, and arrive to the World Cup in our best, in our peak.”