Pochettino's makeshift USMNT promising but naive in 2-1 loss to Turkiye | OneFootball

Before you make grandiose prognostications from the United States men's national team's 2-1 friendly defeat to Turkiye on Saturday afternoon in Connecticut, here's a warning: Just don't do it.

While manager Mauricio Pochettino's June roster for the friendlies and 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup has drawn attention mostly for the names that haven't been included, the XI the Argentine sent out to begin the encounter even omitted several of the biggest names still in the current camp.

Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams was the most surprising omission. But Brenden Aaronson, Matt Turner, Walker Zimmerman and Tim Ream were also among those who were part of the final squad that went to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar but remained on the bench at least to start Saturday's exercise. In fact, Adams was the only member of that quintet who saw the field at all.

And if we learned anything from the 90 minutes, it was this: There's a lot of promise in the second tier of the U.S. player pool, and just as much naivety.

Huffing and puffing

For long stretches, the Americans played some stylish and free-flowing soccer, aided by slick, rainy conditions. Too rarely did they actually turn that style into the substance of a genuine goal threat.

Jack McGlynn's second-minute opener was actually somewhat of an exception to the norm, a direct attack with the midfielder cutting inside from the right flank and simply unleashing a shot from distance.

On many other occasions, this group appeared to be trying to make the perfect play, and the result was a team that led in possession (59%) and overall shots (13-11), but trailed in shots on frame (3-5) and big chances (1-2), according to FotMob.

Both Turkish goals came from U.S. misplays as well, turning a 1-0 lead into a 2-1 deficit before the half-hour mark.

No surprise

Overall, that's about what you'd expect from a group that just isn't all that experienced on the international stage.

With less time to train together and install more complicated patterns of play, the simple things become even more important. It's something you need to learn first-hand to be impactful in international play, and it's better to learn it in a friendly against quality opposition than in meaningful play next week.

As far as what it shows about Pochettino's approach to this job? The proof will be in the coming days and weeks as we begin to evaluate whether this group progresses from Saturday's mistakes and wasted potential.