COMMERCE CITY, Colo – Thanks to Cristian Roldan and Haji Wright, who linked up for both goals, the U.S. men’s national team earned a 2-1 win over Australia on Tuesday night.
The victory wrapped up a positive October window for the United States, leaving two more camps before Mauricio Pochettino convenes his team for the 2026 World Cup. With an eye towards that tournament, here are three big-picture thoughts after a hard-fought win at altitude.
The central midfield picture
…is starting to come into focus.
First, there’s the Weston McKennie situation. Against Ecuador, Pochettino opted against deploying Weston McKennie as a holding midfielder and instead used him as a No. 10. Ahead of the Australia victory, the Argentine’s comments about McKennie referenced the importance of giving him freedom while maintaining the team's overall balance. Then against Australia, McKennie again operated as one of the U.S.’s dual No. 10s in possession. That all but confirms Pochettino would rather leverage the Juventus midfielder’s versatility as an attacking weapon rather than a deep orchestrator.
