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Pochettino Finds Hope in Seven Conceded Goals

1 min read

19:23UTC

The USMNT coach declared himself more positive after back-to-back defeats at the World Cup opening venue, while his captain's drought reached 20 games.

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Key takeaway

The host nation goes into its final preparation window with two defeats and seven goals conceded at its opening venue.

Mauricio Pochettino surveyed 2 back-to-back losses at the USMNT's World Cup opening venue and declared himself "more positive now than before. Because seeing the team compete, we are not far away. It's only details we need to improve." ¹

The details: 7 goals conceded in 2 matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. A 2-5 defeat to Belgium . A 0-2 loss to Portugal . Captain Christian Pulisic was substituted at halftime against Portugal and is now goalless in 8 consecutive USMNT appearances. His combined club-and-country drought stretches to 20 games, with his last AC Milan goal on 28 December 2025. ² He has not scored for club or country in over 3 months.

Weston McKennie scored against Belgium, strengthening his case. Matt Freese solidified his starting goalkeeper position. Chris Richards missed the Belgium match with a knee injury but returned for Portugal. The pre-tournament schedule offers 2 more tests: Senegal on 31 May in Charlotte, Germany on 6 June in Chicago. Pochettino has the 26 May squad announcement to resolve a defensive crisis and a captain question simultaneously.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

The United States is co-hosting the World Cup and their national team recently played two practice matches at one of the tournament stadiums. They lost both games and conceded seven goals in total. Their head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, said after the defeats that he was actually 'more positive than before'. Their captain, Christian Pulisic, has now gone 20 matches without scoring for either his club or his country — a significant drought for a player expected to be the team's main attacking threat at the home World Cup.

Sources:NPR

Mentions:Mauricio Pochettino →Christian Pulisic →USMNT →Mercedes-Benz Stadium →AC Milan →Weston McKennie →Sergiño Dest →Chris Richards →Matt Freese →United States →Pochettino →Portugal →Belgium →Senegal →World Cup →US Soccer →Germany →

First Reported In

Update #5 · Italy Empties Its Federation in 48 Hours

NPR· 5 Apr 2026

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Causes and effects

Caused by

USMNT Lose Again at Their World Cup Venue

The 0-2 loss to Portugal on 31 March completed the two-match run of seven goals conceded that prompted Pochettino's response.

Occurred 31 Mar 2026

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USA routed 2-5 by Belgium at World Cup

The 2-5 Belgium defeat on 28 March was the first of the two matches producing seven conceded goals at the World Cup opening venue.

Occurred 28 Mar 2026

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This Event

Pochettino Finds Hope in Seven Conceded Goals

The host nation enters the final preparation phase with seven goals conceded at its own opening venue and a captain who has not scored in over three months.

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