Mauricio Pochettino made it loud and clear that the USMNT are about the collective rather than the individuals after Sebastian Berhalter and Alex Freeman stepped up with breakout performances.
TAMPA, Fla. – Mauricio Pochettino's press conference wasn't indicative of a 5-1 win. There was no celebration and, in truth, no joy. It was, in a word, feisty, as the U.S. manager laid down a marker for players, media, and fans. It was, in that sense, a challenge for everyone to recognize that the U.S. Men's National Team is a squad, not a select group of individuals.
Pochettino fought back against the idea of "regulars". Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, and Tim Weah, among others, weren't here, for sure, but, on Tuesday, it was the USMNT that beat Uruguay. Regardless of who wears the shirt, who's in the team, or who scores the goals, it's the USMNT. Nothing changes.
"I don't want to be negative, but I hate that: 'no regular players'," Pochettino said. "What this means is that the USA is playing, the national team. We have to stop with that mindset. Every time that we make our decision and pick our starting XI, the U.S. Men's National Team is playing. I think after one year, you need to really know me and that I hate to talk this way. It's disrespectful. I think we need to give credit to all of the guys who were involved today."
That message, quite clearly, resonates. After making nine changes following the win over Paraguay, Pochettino's USMNT came to play. They scored four first-half goals and one in the second to stun an overmatched Uruguay, outplaying them at every turn. It was, in a word, relentless.
Over the last few months, Pochettino hasn't built an XI; he's built a pool. Every player in that pool, quite clearly, believes they have a chance at the World Cup. On Tuesday, that belief helped create the USMNT's best result of the Pochettino era, one that allowed them to close the year on a high.
"This is his first year and a half, and knowing how he built this roster, he's had this team here to be intense and be able to compete," Alex Freeman said after the match. "It feels good for all of us to have that connection. We know that, every game, every part of it is going to be intense. I feel like we're all building connections, and we're going to build right into the next games and then the World Cup.
"Knowing we've had these outcomes lately, we've [gone unbeaten] in five games against top 40 teams, so that shows we're a team that's hard to beat. No matter what competition we go against, we're hard to beat."
That's the big takeaway from Tuesday: the USMNT, as a whole, has become tough to play against and, with the World Cup looming, there's plenty for Pochettino and his staff to be happy about.
"That's the main thing that we've been focused on, is [building] that DNA, and that grit, that hard-working mentality, because that's us, that's us as a country, and that's us as a team," Diego Luna told
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Raymond James Stadium…
AFPWINNER: Sebastian Berhalter
Set pieces, set pieces, set pieces – they're important after all. It helps when you have someone who is apparently very good at them, and Berhalter might actually be just that.
In a matter of minutes, Berhalter scored one from a set piece and set one up with a perfectly hit corner. It's the type of danger Berhalter has shown he can bring, but in truth, Berhalter had never shown anything quite like this even at his best in MLS.
Up first was the free kick. Positioned on the left-hand side, Berhalter played it short to Sergino Dest, who laid it off right back to him. The Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder proceeded to smash a shot right into the back of the net, netting his first international goal. The celebrations after were emphatic, but Berhalter wasn't done. Just four minutes later, Berhalter whipped in a corner kick right to a wide-open Freeman, and the Orlando City star did the rest to make it 2-0.
"We wanted to make a statement," Berhalter said postgame. "We wanted to show what U.S. Soccer is about. We had a chance to go out here and give everything we had and show that we're ready."
Two goals in four minutes, and for a player fighting for a World Cup spot, this was a hell of a statement. It will surely leave Pochettino pleased. Berhalter has already shown he can bring the fight; now he's shown he can bring some goals, too, against an excellent Uruguay team.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportLOSER: Cristopher Fiermarin
Uruguay are looking for a goalkeeper. That much was made clear by their call-ups this month. In total, the group had eight caps between them heading into these games. After watching Santiago Mele start the 0-0 draw with Mexico, Fiermarin was given the nod on Tuesday.
He'll wish he hadn't. The 27-year-old goalkeeper wasn't at fault for all of the USMNT goals, but he surely did little to prevent them as he, like the rest of Uruguay's team, looked slow, lethargic, and, by the end of the first half, a little bit shellshocked.
There are times in a game like this where a goalkeeper can make one good save just to calm things down. That never happened. As goal after goal sailed past the goalkeeper, Uruguay seemingly got worse, ultimately leading to a dreadful scoreline and even worse performance.
Getty Images SportWINNER: Alex Freeman
The Orlando City defender broke out in MLS season as a dynamic, goal-threatening attacking fullback. We hadn't gotten a full glimpse of that yet in a USMNT shirt – despite playing in the 2025 Gold Cup. Yet, on Tuesday night, Uruguay had absolutely no idea how to handle the 21-year-old defender.
Freeman scored his first two USMNT goals on Tuesday, scoring one from a set piece and one from open play. The first came via a header, one perfectly placed thanks to a great ball in from Berhalter. The second, though, was all his. After receiving a pass just past Manchester United's Manuel Ugarte, Freeman then put Barcelona star Ronald Araujo on skates to create the space needed to fire his second into the back of the net.
"Before the game, you see the players and go 'Wow, he plays in the Prem, he plays in La Liga, they play in the Champions League', and, going into the game, you just try to get that out of your system and not think about it," Freeman said. "You think about you because it's you and him at the end of the day. If I'm able to think like that, I think it gives me confidence in myself. I'm not overthinking it, but I'm just trying to do my best to try and win my duel. At the end of the day, it's just me doing that and trying to play like I'm the best player on the pitch in my mind in every game."
It was certainly a statement performance from the player who was named the MLS Young Player of the Year Award this season. There will be a lot of big nights for Freeman ahead, but it'll be hard to have one bigger than this one, as the 21-year-old was the star of the show.
"I am so happy because today he scored twice," Pochettino said, "but, in a way, I think you need to analyze the way that he plays. He can play like a third center back. He can go forward on the side. How difficult is it for the opponent to stop him from going inside and playing? When he has the ball, the team [can exhale]. He's so strong."
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Getty Images SportLOSER: Marcelo Bielsa
Ahead of the match, Pochettino was asked about his relationship with Bielsa. The two Argentines worked together at Newells, where Pochettino was a player under the legendary manager. He described the now-Uruguay coach as something more than a mentor; he described him as some sort of mythical figure, one that even he defers to when they come face to face.
"Always, my admiration and my respect are massive," Pochettino said Monday. "I cannot consider him like a friend. I cannot consider him like another normal person. It's a bigger respect. I speak with him like a man that you admire, like one that is your hero. He's the type of person that you wait [to] talk to. You always wait for him to say hello and then you say hello."
The USMNT showed Bielsa's side no such respect on Tuesday as they battered them thoroughly. And, through it all, Bielsa could only watch, frustrated, from his seat on his cooler.
Bielsa, of course, is known as "El Loco" for a reason. Behind closed doors, he will be none too pleased with this. There will be ramifications, no doubt, even with the World Cup on the horizon. This was a bad night for him, but more importantly, it was a bad night for Uruguay's players, who will now feel his wrath as a result.