ST PAUL, Minn. — The United States Men’s National Team is back in a big way. After a disappointing Round of 16 World Cup exit at the hands of Belgium, the team has regrouped, re-staffed and embarked upon a stellar run under coach Mauricio Pochettino. It went four-for-four in its first set of post-World Cup matches, beating Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada in quick succession to kick off its new competitive cycle on a high.
The USMNT that orchestrated this undefeated run looked very different from the one that fell at the World Cup. 13 new players, eight of them teenagers, made their debuts in this camp, while team veterans like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Folarin Balogun were all absent. The experimental nature of this new-look USMNT helped Pochettino and his staff gather valuable data about which players might matter most for the team’s future…and put serious pressure on the veterans to live up to the standard set by their debutant teammates.
Here are the USMNT’s winners and losers from this fascinating window of undefeated play.
Winner: Tyler Adams
Let’s kick things off with the veteran of the moment: 27-year-old midfielder Tyler Adams, who inherited Tim Ream’s captain’s armband over the course of this window. Adams was one of the few World Cup performers who returned for this camp, and his leadership, energy and on-the-field grit are the example that Pochettino hopes his new recruits will follow. No one else matters more to this team’s future, both on and off the field.
Loser: Christian Pulisic
While Adams was busy cementing his place in the USMNT lineup, attacker Christian Pulisic was watching his place slip away. He missed this camp for legitimate reasons—he’s recovering from an injury and wasn’t fit enough to play—but his absence allowed young players like Julian Hall, Cavan Sullivan and Justin Ellis to step into his shoes. Pulisic has never been a captain-like figure within this squad, but he has always been its public face; the contagious joy of the USMNT’s teenagers might change that moving forward.
Winner: Diego Kochen
The USMNT has pulled together some great performances under Pochettino, but it has not pulled together many clean sheets. Most of its biggest wins—the 5-1 win over Uruguay and 4-1 win over Paraguay—came with at least one silly goal concession that took a little shine off the performance.
It was such a relief, then, to watch 20-year-old goalkeeper Diego Kochen line up between the sticks against Mexico and deliver a much-needed clean sheet in his first USMNT start. Kochen still has plenty to learn, but his instinctual saves against el tri in a hostile pro-Mexico environment spoke to a real talent in the making. The USMNT has a long and proud tradition of turning out stellar goalkeepers; Kochen may well be the next prospect to come good.