“Our philosophy is to have the ball.” These were the words Mauricio Pochettino used when he was officially introduced as the new U.S. Men’s National Team head coach last year. Not just this, but adjectives like “aesthetic,” “good,” “exciting,” and, more importantly, “attacking” were used to clearly highlight the vision he had for how he wanted the Stars and Stripes to play. However, as of today, the USMNT is a far cry from what their new coach envisioned them to be.

Keeping possession, even though it remains one of the most crucial aspects of Poch’s tactical game plan, the exact meaning of this word seems to have been forgotten by his players in today’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final against Mexico at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Well, it’s true that from the start of the game, the American boys showcased their dominance, taking a lead within the first four minutes thanks to a strike from Chris Richards.

However, since then, things somehow ended up escalating out of the USMNT’s hands. For starters, they hardly had control of the ball. Mostly, it was Mexico who was running the ball all along the pitch, trying to break into the host’s defensive line. Fortunately, that ended up proving favorable for Javier Aguirre and Co. as forward Raul Jiminez scored the equalizer during the 27th minute.

That only boosted El Tri’s confidence, as they continued to dominate on the pitch. While American fans hoped that a half-time pep talk from Pochettino would get the Stars and Stripes back on track, little changed for them. Forget trying to mount a comeback or even executing their philosophy of keeping the ball at their feet — things actually took a turn for the worse for the USMNT.

The home side kept struggling in the attack and even ended up conceding another in the 77th minute, courtesy of a goal from defensive midfielder Edson Álvarez. The third goal of the night proved to be a winner for Mexico, as they successfully made a comeback to secure the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

As for the USMNT, once again, they were forced to duck their heads in shame, typically not just because of the result, but also of how they conducted themselves on the field. Speaking of numbers, Mexico ended the game with a possession of…wait for it…60%, effortlessly dictating the tempo. They also racked up 518 passes with an impressive 85% accuracy, clearly showing who was in charge. Not to mention, they fired off 16 shots, 8 of which were on target, constantly threatening the hosts.

On the other, rather disappointing note, we had the USMNT, who managed just 40% possession and strung together only 351 passes at 80% accuracy. Their attack looked equally blunt, registering just 6 shots with a mere 3 on target. To top it off, they committed 12 fouls — slightly more than Mexico’s 11 — highlighting a night where almost nothing went their way. No wonder fans have been taking a dig at them on the internet!

Mauricio Pochettino and Co. suffers wrath of Mexico and USMNT fans

Within halftime, ardent USMNT fans took to X and were already thrashing the players for their poor display. Questions were being raised on their preparations for the final game, with many alleging there simply was no game plan whatsoever. Not to mention the lacklustre participation of the USMNT during the rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

But it looks like this fan is rather damned about the fact how the Mauricio Pochettino and Co. are being dominated by a team that has 16-year-old sensation Gilberto Mora. The No. 7, who plays as a midfielder, has been remarkable since getting his debut in this tournament against Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals. That only saw the wunderkind earn a start in today’s final, where he clearly outdid many USMNT players: “How is Mexico outpossessing the USMNT with a 16-year-old on the field?”

On one hand, we have a 16-year-old Mexican boy getting praised by rival fans, on the other, there’s Patrick Agyemang, who is being slammed for doing almost nothing for the past three games. As an attacker, he is the first one to charge at El Tri’s defence, but clearly, that didn’t work at all, leaving him to come under a negative limelight: “Can someone explain to me what Agyemang offers to this side? I swear the last 3 games I’ve watched, he’s contributed very little to the overall possession of the side.”

Then again, one cannot place the blame on the shoulders of any single player. Soccer is all about building good connections, constantly pushing forward, and, more importantly, working collectively. Yet this was nowhere to be found in the game, making it difficult for this netizen to even watch the USMNT in action: “It’s very hard to watch the @USMNT play….they cannot figure out how to keep the ball nor deal with the whole crowd being against them.” Are we overlooking other possibilities that worked against the USMNT? The internet is divided into factions with some attributing the loss to the poor performance by the American team and others calling out a certain referee’s biased officiating calls.

Forgot the final numbers for a moment. The situation was so bad for the USMNT within the first half that they had only one shot on target, which helped Chris Richards score the opener inside four minutes. After that, the ball was mostly under Mexico’s control, leaving this fan feeling embarrassed for the USMNT: “Mexico has 8 shots compared to @USMNT having 1….just embarrassing.”

Overall, this defeat forced Mauricio Pochettino and Co. to look at a bigger picture: Are they ready for the 2026 World Cup? It has been close to a year since the Stars and Stripes made such a big managerial change, hiring someone from the outside. Yet, things haven’t panned out exactly as their fans expected. And with how they host the next year’s prestigious tournament ignites more concern regarding their preparations: “The USMNT is lethargic and nowhere near WC-ready level. This is absolutely disappointing. BTW- where is Luna?”

Be that as it may, this is just a glimpse of what you saw, as many others came to take a sly dig at the USMNT’s unfortunate and shaky performance against Mexico. Regardless, we would like to know your thoughts in the comments below.