Ex-USWNT Legend Trashes USMNT for Shocking Friendlies Disaster Before World Cup: “They Are Scrambling”

The US is less than 10 months away from hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Safe to say, this is the endgame right now. And despite standing just 279 days away from soccer’s biggest tournament, the USMNT is only adding to the fans’ woes. At the Sports Illustrated Stadium on Saturday, Mauricio Pochettino’s squad fumbled hard against the Korean national team by losing 2-0. The national soccer squad has now lost seven of it seventeen matches under the storied coach, and justifiably, the frustration is simmering.

Carli Lloyd, the two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winner, took a dig at the ex-Tottenham manager and the USMNT for looking drab ahead of next year’s big challenge. “They have lost the foundation that the #USMNT and #USWNT have been built on all these years,” the veteran star slammed. “Grit, passion, energy and the fearlessness to go out and compete against anyone. Now they are scrambling to get that mentality back which isn’t an automatic switch,” the 2x Olympic gold medalist went on about how both the men’s and the women’s squads don’t look like the fighters they are known to be.

Lloyd also fumed at how the national teams are not working toward sharpening their skills on the pitch either, despite being so close to the FIFA competitions. “In the meantime they have been missing out on tactically and technically getting better as a team these last several years,” she wrote in her social media update. The USMNT went into Saturday’s match with both Timothy Weah and Christian Pulisic in the lineup. Naturally, a prolific star of the sport like Carli wasn’t happy that the team still couldn’t manage a win.

The USMNT coach, however, had a different take on the match. “Overall, I think we were better than South Korea, but then if you are not clinical in your own area, and in the opposite box, it’s difficult,” Pochettino said. “Because we create more chances, we have, you know, the feeling that we control the game,” the Argentine coach said after the game. Ironically, though, it was his former mentee that took the game away from the USMNT.

Son Heung-Min, who signed with LAFC for a record fee in August, opened the scoring in the 19th minute of the match by finding the perfect pass and smashing the ball into the back of the USA’s net. Then, in the 43rd minute, Heung-Min found Lee Dong-Gyeong with a pass inside the penalty box, and the latter didn’t miss the chance to extend the lead.

Seeing his former star leading the charge against the USMNT probably wasn’t a pretty sight for Pochettino. However, the coach looks to the road ahead. “I think it is (normal) to be disappointed with the result because you want to win, but I think we need to take the positive things and prepare now the game in Japan that is going to be similar,” “Poch” said about the upcoming challenge waiting for the team in Columbus.

The Argentine coach now has fewer than 10 more games with its full squad before the World Cup arrives. But the gaping holes that were visible in the team’s defensive line at today’s game should be a major concern for Pochettino & Co. Stars like Tyler Adams, Tim Ream, and Sergiño Dest looked clueless, as they played catch-up with Korea almost all the time.

Ahead of the World Cup, such chaos can be daunting. Thankfully, though, Lloyd has the perfect suggestion about how to make sure the USMNT doesn’t go astray at the upcoming quadrennial event.

Lloyd gives her two cents on USMNT captain, Pochettino says timing is everything

Talking to former star Alexi Lalas recently, Carli shared who gets her vote of confidence to lead the USMNT into the World Cup next year. “The captain takes on a little more media, has to navigate different things that may arise, but I’m going with you, Lex. I think Tim Ream would get it,” she said on how the 37-year-old defender fits the bill of a team captain perfectly. But while the veterans debate on the USMNT’s chances of doing well at the WC, Pochettino knows that how a team performs before the big rumble hardly matters.

Surprisingly, many of the fans who turned up at the Sports Illustrated Stadium were seen cheering for the visitors. Maybe that’s the Heung-Min effect that has been the talk of the town since the ex-EPL star’s LAFC signing. But it was evident that without the moral support from the home fans, the USMNT stars couldn’t find it in themselves to match Korea’s brilliance. However, Pochettino believes that come the World Cup, things could get better.

“We need to start to win when the World Cup starts. (There are) too many examples of teams that win during (the previous) five years and then arrive at the World Cup, and they don’t arrive in the best condition. I was involved in 2002 with Argentina, we were beating (teams for) years and then (at) the World Cup, and we were out in the group stage,” the USMNT coach said in the post-match presser on how stepping up on the big stage is all that matters, and how that can make everyone forget previous results.

Agree with the coach? Or do you think the stepping-up needs to happen again Japan first to make the fans believe in Pochettino’s vision? Tell us below!