HARRISON, N.J. — In its first game in the New York area since 2018, and the first friendly in a fall slate full of World Cup opponents from outside Concacaf, the U.S. men’s national team fell to South Korea 2-0 on Saturday evening.
Here are three thoughts from the action at Sports Illustrated Stadium:
What we already knew, confirmed yet again
The USMNT is simply not good enough nor deep enough to expect results against World Cup caliber opponents when the squad is missing some of its key players and best backups.
This wasn’t a secret before Saturday. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
When Mauricio Pochettino unveiled his latest squad without a healthy Weston McKennie and other quality midfielders, his selections were a source of confusion for a fan base starving for momentum and skeptical about the Argentine’s plans with the World Cup on the horizon. Ahead of the South Korea match, Pochettino acknowledged there would be a point where he and his staff would prioritize picking a higher percentage of players who they could count on next summer. He also mentioned the importance of their mentality and buying into his project.
